Rappler’s Patricia Evangelista wins 2015 TOYM award

MANILA, Philippines – Rappler multimedia manager Patricia Evangelista is among this year’s 10 recipients of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM), the Junior Chamber International (JCI) announced Monday night, December 7.

The TOYM Awards recognizes young men and women who have demonstrated excellence in their fields and whose dedication to their profession “resulted in significant contributions to the welfare of their countrymen.”

Evangelista was recognized for her contributions to the journalism profession. Below is the complete list of 10 awardees who were chosen from a pool of 106 nominations.

• Raymond Abrea, accounting and finance
• Engr Jose Ramon Aliling, civil engineering
• Michael Barney Almazar, law/legal aid
• Geoffrey Brian Chua, education
• Patricia Evangelista, journalism 
• Sofronio P. Fortich Jr, arts in music 
• Donald Patrick Lim, community development
• Nico Jose Nolledo, business
• Roderick Salenga, public health
• Rogelio Santos Jr, social entrepreneurship

Nolledo is a member of Rappler’s board. He was recognized for his contributions to the business industry as the CEO of Xurpas Incorporated, the first Southeast Asian consumer tech firm to be listed in December 2014.

“All our awardees have done well, but they have done well by doing good…. To do well by doing good, that is the hardest path. And our 10 outstanding young men and women took the harder path,” TOYM Foundation president Bienvenido Tantoco III said during the awarding ceremonies.

“I would like to argue that this is the most meaningful award. Because this award does not only recognize talent, it also recognizes character and service to mankind,” Tantoco added.

The TOYM has recognized more than 400 individuals in the last 5 decades for their achievements in the fields of  public service, education, science, and the arts. The awards are presented annually by the Junior Chamber International Philippines, together with the TOYM Foundation and the Gerry Roxas Foundation. 

Evangelista is also a recipient of back-to-back international awards. She will be in New York in January as an Ochberg Fellow, along with 12 other reporters who represent the best of trauma-aware journalism worldwide.

She also won the Agence France-Presse Kate Webb Prize last year for her compelling body of work reporting on two major events in 2013 – the devastation of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Central Philippines and the bloody standoff between military and Muslim rebels in Zamboanga City. 

Nolledo also won earlier this year the Ernst and Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 Philippines award for his achievements in improving the local business landscape.

He will be representing the Philippines to the EY World Entrepreneur of The Year awards to be held in Monaco in June 2016. – Rappler.com