Candidates to the Davao Bago Awards screened

DAVAO CITY, Feb 19 (PIA) An officer of the governing board of the Datu Bago Awards Organization Incorporated revealed the current evaluation for the awardees to the conferment of the 46th Datu Bago Awards, one of the highlights of the Araw ng Dabaw celebration.

Maria Julieta Torres, executive director of the Datu Bago Awards Organization, Incorporated said they are currently assessing the leadership traits of the endorsed names who might receive the award this year.

“Datu Bago award conferment is the highest recognition given by the city government to its residents who have contributed greatly to its development and way of life as city of Davao,” she said.

Torres said the awardees might come from various fields namely education, journalism and the like with highly recognized accomplishments that make Davao City known to the world.

She said the awardee must be law-abiding, of good moral character and has a good reputation to the community.

“There were a total of 154 Datu Bago awardees already,” Torres said.

She said the Datu Bago Awards Board will eventually announce the names of the awardees once Mayor Rodrigo Duterte confirmed the results of their evaluation.

Marina Ruivivar, a member of the board and a Datu Bago awardee in 2008 underscored other criteria of an awardee ranging from being a resident of the city for ten years, a Davaoeno by heart and spirit,  and has contributed much and significantly to the growth and development of the city.

She said an awardee must not only be good in his profession, but also exemplary in his effort, time and ideas of serving the Davaoenos.

“The financial status is the least of all criteria because in the past there were many awardees who came from the middle class and poor sector,” Ruivivar said.

She said Datu Bago was a warrior of Tausug lineage, whose father was a chieftain.

Ruivivar said Datu Bago was remembered as a warrior with strong leadership in defending the country against the foreign invaders, a feat shared by Lapu-lapu in Mactan Island, Cebu and Dagohoy of Bohol Island.  (PIA 11-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines)