The Outstanding Mapuan (TOM) Awards for 2008

The Outstanding Mapuan Award is the most prestigious award for alumni of the Mapua Institute of Technology and it is one of the most cherish tradition of the institute and its alumni community. As a project, it is a joint undertaking of the Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) and the National Association of Mapua Alumni (NAMA), the premier alumni organization for all graduates of Mapua.

This project primarily seeks to give due recognition to the alumni of Mapua who have excelled in their profession or vocation, or have made outstanding contributions to the welfare of the school, the community, the country, and/or the world. The project also aims to focus the attention of the Mapua alumni and the public on these achievements so they may serve as inspiration for everybody. MIT and NAMA pay tribute to these outstanding alumni every year. Nominations for TOM are open to Alumni of the Mapua Institute of Technology for the different categories of awards. The candidates are nominated by using the prescribed TOM Nomination Form which should be duly accomplished and signed.

There are four main categories for the TOM Awards: In the Professional Fields of Practice, Specialized Fields of Endeavor, International Fields of Endeavor, and in the Fields of Service. The Professional Fields of Practice includes the following: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Sanitary Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Management and Industrial Engineering, Mining Engineering, Geology/Metallurgical Engineering, Textile Engineering, and Business Administration. The Specialized Fields of Endeavor includes the following: Academe, Government, Military, Entrepreneurship, Pioneering Endeavor, and Management. And the International Fields of Endeavor includes the following: Alumni and Community

For the year 2008, the TOM awards were given out during the Mapua Alumni Homecoming held last 17 May at the Le Pavillon which is located at the Metropolitan Park along Roxas Boulevard, Manila, Philippines. The following distinguished alumni of the Mapua Institute of Technology were the recipients of the TOM Award:

Eduardo Alfonso, EE '72 Telecommunications Engineering Vancouver, B.C., Canada Awardee's Resume	Mario A. Alix, EE '77 Electrical Engineering Philippines Awardee's Resume	Edgardo Dacanay, MET '78 Alumni Service Philippines Awardee's Resume	Jaime O. Dee, EE '75 Community Service Philippines Awardee's Resume
Alfredo Espino, CE '72, SE '73 Sanitary Engineering Philippines Awardee's Resume	David B. Farala, CE '72 Entrepreneurship Philippines Awardee's Resume	Florencio Guinhawa, CHE '70 Community Service Houston, Texas, USA Awardee's Resume	Juny P. La Putt, CE '61 Academe Honolulu, Hawaii, USA Awardee's Resume
Hermenegildo Moguel, AR '53 Architecture Guam Awardee's Resume	Pascual P. Oliveria, CHE '73 Alumni Service Ontario, Canada Awardee's Resume	Reynaldo S. Principe, ME '75 Mechanical Engineering California, USA Awardee's Resume	Carmencita L. Rosales, AR '60 Architecture Philippines Awardee's Resume
Lemicio J. Roxas, ME '64 Mechanical Engineering Philippines Awardee's Resume	Luis R. Sarmiento, EM '79 Mining Engineering Philippines Awardee's Resume	Jose R. Umipig, ECE '86 Elect & Comm Engineering Philippines Awardee's Resume	Joselito T. Uy, CHE '75 Alumni Service California, USA Awardee's Resume
Renato L. Yapyuco, ME '70 Management Vancouver, B.C., Canada Awardee's Resume	The TOM Award Plaque Click to Enlarge Image	The Original MIT Logo Click to Enlarge Image	The HAMA Logo Click to Enlarge Image

All nominations for the TOM award shall be delivered or mailed to MIT-NAMA TOM Committee, Mapua Alumni Center, Unit 1107, Tycoon Center, Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines, and must be received by the TOM Committee on or before the submission deadline set for the specific TOM Awards Year which is at least five weeks prior to the TOM Awarding date. Advance copies of entries can be sent by Facsimile or email (authorized Fax numbers and email addresses shall be properly announced) provided the originals are received within one week after the submission deadline.

The TOM Board of Judges, composed of five members appointed by the Mapua Institute of Technology, the National Association of Mapua Alumni (nama), and the NAMA immediate past president, shall select the awardees in accordance to prescribed judging criteria. The Board decision shall be final and unappealable. For the international endeavor awards, the endorsement of the affiliated international chapter recognized for the particular area, state, country or region, shall be mandatory. The judges shall deliberate on the recommendation of the international chapter and shall decide whether or not to grant the award to the nominee based on the merits of the nominee's achievements and guided by the prescribed judging criteria.

Normally, there shall be only one awardee per international chapter per year, however, the judges can declare two or more awards provided that said decision is unanimous and without any objection from any single judge. The judges can opt not to declare an award winner if none of the nominees meet the minimum set criteria for the award. Failure on the part of the awardee to personally receive the award under any and all circumstances shall mean forfeiture of the award.

There were 17 engineers and architects who received the TOM Awards - 9 of them were from the Philippines and 8 from abroad. Only one awardee was a woman (Arch. Cita Rosales) while the other 16 were all men. From Canada, there were two awardees from Vancouver, British Columbia (Engr. Rey Yapyuco and Engr. Eddie Alfonso) and one from the province of Ontario (Engr. Pasky Oliveria). Two awardees were from Southern California (Engr. Reynaldo Principe and Engr. Joey Uy), one from Houston, Texas (Engr. Florencio Guinhawa), and one from the State of Hawaii (Col. Juny La Putt). And from Guam there was one awardee (Arch. Hermenegildo Moguel). After the TOM Awards were given, Col. Juny La Putt was asked to give a response speech in behalf of the 17 awardees. Shown below are some pictures which were taken during the 2008 Mapua Alumni Homecoming and the giving of the TOM Awards.