Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI) recently honored a new batch of awardees with the 2019 Award for Continuing Excellence and Service (ACES). Prof. Allan B. De Guzman, Ph.D., former dean of the College of Education, a Metrobank Foundation Most Outstanding Teacher in Higher Education awardee in 2011, and a multi-awarded researcher, was one of the 40 recipients.
The awardees were handpicked from the Foundation’s roster of awardees. De Guzman was a recipient of the Foundation’s Outstanding Teacher award, and as a researcher, he has published more than 120 articles in various ISI-listed journals. He has also been given recognitions such as the 2007 SEAMEO-JASPER Research Award given by the Government of Canada and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), the 2006 National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) Achievement Award,
among others.
“[Awardees of] the Metrobank Foundation Award for Continuing Excellence and Service (ACES) have proven that the littlest gestures of love and passion are ultimately the distinctive qualities that drive service excellence,” said MBFI Vice Chairman Alfred Ty.
The ACES is given to exceptional men and women who have consistently adhered to the highest standards of performance and conduct of duty and demonstrated continued excellence in the performance of their respective professions, substantive contributions to their chosen disciplines, and sustained outstanding service to their respective institutions and communities.
Awardees received the “SPIRAL” medallion that was conceptualized by 1984 Metrobank Foundation National Painting Competition awardee Roberto Feleo. It is described on the MBFI Facebook page as a representation of “the incessant journey of every public servant: a continuous march toward greater and greater impact, progressing through phases of succession and legacy. Circling ever-upward, the SPIRAL conveys the message of transformation for a better nation.”
Included among the ranks of ACES recipients this year are veteran journalist and Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Executive Director Malou Mangahas, multi-awarded painter Mark Andy Garcia, and Philippine Academy of Microbiology Regent Chair Professor Emeritus Virginia C. Cuevas, Ph.D. The giving of awards by Metrobank coincides with the bank’s celebration of its 40th year.