MANILA, Philippines – Launched in 1995, the annual Bayaning Pilipino Awards is a brainchild of the late Don Eugenio Lopez Jr, the founder of ABS-CBN network, through a partnership with Ugat Foundation.

Since then, it has awarded notable Filipinos who had stretched the whole nine yards in the name of public service.

The nationwide award-giving body has 3 categories: Bayaning Pilipino, Bayaning Kabataan, and the Bayaning Samahan.

Annually, entries are collated by regional promoters including ABS-CBN radio and TV stations nationwide. The entries are then forwarded to the Central Office to be sorted out by Ugat project associates.

This year, 57 entries were received by ABS-CBN and Ugat Foundation nationwide and from Japan and the United States.

The project associates then do site visitations, interviews, testimonials, video documentation, and verification procedures.

After a rigorous pre-validation process, the National Screening Committee is tasked to verify the regional finalists and the regional winners.

Eleven were declared regional winners in the Individual category, 4 in the Youth category, and 3 in the Individual section.

From the regional winners, the number were cut down to 5 finalists and the names will be forwarded to the Board of Judges of final deliberation.

The Board of Judges is composed of Eugenio Lopez III, Regina Lopez, Dr. Ambeth Ocampo, Luther Calderon, and Dr. Arthur Tansiongco. – Leilani Chavez, abs-cbnNEWS.com