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FORMER senator Jovito R. Salonga on Tuesday won the
2007 Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s Nobel Prize, for government
service.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award
Foundation said, Salonga, 86, is being recognized for “the
exemplary integrity and substance of his long public career in
service to democracy and good government in the Philippines.”
Established in 1957, the Ramon
Magsaysay Award is Asia’s highest honor and is widely regarded as
the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It celebrates the
memory and leadership example of the third Philippine President,
Ramon Magsaysay, and is given every year to individuals or
organizations in Asia who manifest the same sense of selfless
service that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.
Other RM Awardees this year are
Kim Sun Tae, from Korea, for Public Service; Mahabir Pun, from
Nepal, for Community Leadership; Tang Xiyang, from China, for Peace
and International Understanding; Palagummi Sainath, from India, for
Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts; Chen
Guangcheng, from China, for Emergent Leadership; and Chung To, from
China, for Emergent Leadership.
“The Magsaysay Awardees of
2007,” says RMAF President Carmencita T. Abella, “are truly
moving Asia forward through their remarkable and selfless service to
their respective societies. Working in different countries on
diverse issues of poverty, prejudice, politics and the planet’s
future, these seven individuals nevertheless share an uncommon faith
in the tremendous potential of people and social institutions. They
share as well an indomitable will and persistence to tap into this
potential and thus create greater, and lasting, good. Mobilizing
many others to join their efforts, their accomplishments bring us
reassuring news of progress, justice, generosity, reform, and hope.
In a world grown increasingly fragmented and cynical, the Ramon
Magsaysay Award Foundation is uniquely privileged to be the bearer
of such inspiring news from Asia.”
The seven 2007 Magsaysay awardees
join 256 other laureates who have received Asia’s highest honor to
date. This year’s Magsaysay Award winners will each receive a
certificate, a medallion bearing the likeness of the late President,
and a cash prize.
They will be formally conferred
the Magsaysay Award during the Presentation Ceremonies to be held on
August 31, 2007, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
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