MANILA, Dec. 10, 2016— Caritas Manila executive director Fr. Anton Pascual will be feted with The Outstanding Filipino Award for “humanitarian service.”
The Junior Chamber International (JCI) Senate Philippines said the priest will join two others who will be given this year’s TOFIL or the “The Outstanding Filipino Award.”
Pascual was cited for his “selfless dedication and contribution” in the field of community service and for establishing cooperatives and other programs to help poor families.
Other awardees include former Philippine Ambassador to the United Sates Jose Cuisia Jr. and former Agriculture Secretary William Dar.
The awarding ceremonies will be held at the Malacañang Palace on Dec. 12.
Pascual is currently the president of Radio Veritas and founder of the Simbayanan ni Maria Community Development Foundation, Inc.
He also heads several cooperatives such as Bahay Pari Credit Cooperative and Caritas SALVE Microfinance Cooperative.
For several years now, the priest has also been an official of several non-government organizations, including the Philippine Council for NGO Certification, Alfonso Yuchengco Foundation, Inc., and One Meralco Foundation.
In the year 2010, he was a recipient of the Order of the Golden Heart (Orden ng Gintong Puso) Presidential Award from the Office of the President.
He also received the AIM Alumni Achievement (Triple A) International Award, the highest recognition given by the Asian Institute of Management to its outstanding alumni, in 2014.
Last year, Pascual was honored as the Most Outstanding Cooperative Leader in Metro Manila by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Gawad Parangal.
With this new award, Pascual joins the ranks of previous TOFIL awardees such as the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, former President Diosdado Macapagal, and former Sen. Jovito Salonga.
Established in 1988, TOFIL is a jointly organized by JCI Senate Philippines and ANSA Foundation to recognize men and women who have made significant contributions to public welfare and national development. (CBCPNews)