Deadline for Bagong Bayani nominations extended

The deadline for nominations for awards that pay tribute to the Philippines’ outstanding overseas workers has been extended to Feb. 28, 2014.

The 2013 Bagong Bayani Awardees is presented in coordination with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and the private sector.

The Bagong Bayani Awards is a national search for the country’s outstanding and exemplary Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs.

The awards seek to recognize and pay tribute to OFWs for their significant efforts in fostering goodwill among peoples of the world, enhancing and promoting the image of the Filipino as a competent, responsible and dignified worker, and for greatly contributing to the socio-economic development of their communities and the country as a whole.

There are five award categories, an innovation introduced in the 2005 Bagong Bayani Awards, to allow the recognition of specific contributions of OFWs corresponding to the different areas of their involvements.

The awards also open itself to as many nominees as possible. The highest honor is the Blas F. Ople Award Para sa Natatanging Bagong Bayani, which is awarded to the most outstanding and exemplary OFW who satisfies all the requirements of other awards criteria.

The five categories are:

– Bagong Bayani Award for Outstanding Employee

– Bagong Bayani Award for Community and Social Service

– Bagong Bayani Award for Culture and the Arts

– Capt. Gregorio S. Oca Achievement Award

– Blas F. Ople Award Para sa Natatanging Bagong Bayani

Any Filipino working overseas, whether land-based or sea-based, and possessing the following qualifications, may be nominated for pre-qualification:

-Must be or have been an OFW for at least two years;

-Has no past or present criminal or derogatory record;

-Must be of good moral standing, or has received recognition from past or present employer for exemplary behavior or outstanding service; and

-The employment contract must have been processed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

Nominations may be made either by the employer, the deploying recruitment or placement agency, industry associations, co-worker/s, or other reputable individuals or institutions.

Nomination form and criteria on the 2013 Bagong Bayani Awards may be downloaded at http://www.bbfi.com.ph/bagong-bayani-awards/.

The 2013 Bagong Bayani Awards awarding ceremony in Malacañang will be held on June 3, 2014, during the country’s Migrant Workers’ Week celebration.