Someone you know who has been quietly doing a lot for your community could be the next outstanding citizen of Baguio.
But their hard work can only be recognized if you, as a member of the community, will nominate the one whom you think is deserving to be called an outstanding citizen.
Last Jan. 31, the Society of Outstanding Citizens of Baguio (Socob) launched this year’s search for citizens whose contributions made an impact to the Baguio community.
The Socob assures it has polished the guidelines in selection to ensure nominees are carefully selected.
“We have improved through the years. We have professionalized it (the search) and everything is done aboveboard,” said retired school principal and Socob past president Elma Donaal.
There are three committees in charge of screening the nominees at various stages. These are the nomination committee, validation committee, and judging committee.
The nomination committee is in charge of accepting and checking the completeness of a nominee’s documents; the validation committee, which handles bulk of the screening process, is in charge of checking on the background of the nominee before endorsing for final screening to the judging committee.
The judging committee is in charge of interviewing the nominees based on the information contained in the nomination forms and finally “grades” them based on the criteria set by the search committee.
The Socob also maintains that other than being recognized as an outstanding citizen of Baguio, there should not be a monetary reward for those who will be selected.
The awardees said being able to sustain or even expand their voluntary services is rewarding enough.
“It is not for money. Nothing beats the heart of a volunteer,” said Anthony de Leon, 2013 awardee and this year’s chair of the search committee.
Categories in this year’s search are community service, culture and arts, business, and professional.
Basic qualifications of a nominee are, should be of legal age, should not have been convicted; should be a resident of Baguio for at least 10 years, and should have initiated voluntary projects that benefitted the community.
Nomination forms are available at the City Mayor’s Office or the Philippine Information Agency-CAR.
Submission of nomination forms and other requirements will be from March 15 to June 16; validation will be on June 19 to 28; and judging will be from Aug. 1 to 11.
Outstanding citizens of Baguio are awarded every Sept. 1 coinciding with the annual celebration of the city’s charter anniversary. – Rimaliza A. Opiña
April 19, 2024
