MANILA, 15 October 2004 — Even Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) who have returned for good to the Philippines can now be nominated for next year’s Bagong Bayani Awards which was re-launched on Wednesday in a new format.
“We are also considering OFWs who were able to bring technology they learned abroad back to the Philippines,” Gregorio Oca, president of the Bagong Bayani Foundation Inc. (BBFI) which gives out the honors every year.
BBFI Vice President Rene Cristobal explained that the achievements of these OFWs should have been accomplished within the past year.
He said all the nominees will be judged by a Special Board of Jurors which include the secretaries of Foreign Affairs and of Labor and Employment.
The BBFI was specially created to manage the awards taking it out of government hands and hopefully increasing its prestige, he said. The search for awardees was initially spearheaded by the government but many OFWs were not in favor of this system.
This year, Oca added, there will be four award categories whereas in the past there was only one general award. The different categories include the Bagong Bayani Award for Outstanding Employee, Bagong Bayani Award for Community and Social Service, the Bagong Bayani Award for Culture and the Performing Arts, and the Blas F. Ople Award para sa Natatanging Bagong Bayani.
