THE PHILETS Foundation of former students of the defunct Faculty of Philosophy and Letters awarded seven of its alumni with Golden Owl medals for outstanding achievement during its annual reunion last June 22 at the Quezon City Sports Club.
The Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, which was established in 1896, is now the Faculty of Arts and Letters.
Blanquita David Gallardo, former editor of the Hong-Kong based Dimensions and Asia Magazine, and Marietta Velasco Giron, former columnist of Malaya and the Philippine Daily Inquirer, led the roster of awardees for the Golden Owl Awards for Journalism.
Giron’s husband, Eric, former short story writer and former editor of Mirror Magazine, received the Golden Owl Award for Literature.
The Golden Owl Award for Book Publishing was given to Evelyn Sebastian Peplow, who edited books for Oxford University Press and Gullivers Books, as well as the Orientations Magazines.
Lydia Castillo was awarded the Golden Owl for Marketing after a successful career as marketing manager of Cathay Pacific Airways. Castillo is also a columnist of Starweek Magazine.
Mitos Araneta Cabrera, who served as instructor and module designer of Couples for Christ’s affiliate, Handmaids of the Lord, received the Golden Owl for Lay Ministry.
Meanwhile, Mary Joyce Ong Laig, former Faculty of Arts and Letters journalism and Central Seminary religion professor, whose teaching career spans 50 years, received the Golden Owl medal for Education.
The Philets Foundation also honored its golden jubilarians, the members of Class 1957, led by Dean Emeritus Magdalena Villaba.
The members of the Golden Owl Awards Committee are former professors of the Faculty of Arts and Letters Roger Buhay (chair), Ma. Luisa Zumel Lopez, Vic del Fierro Jr., Arturo Dimayuga, and Artlets professor Alice Colet-Villadolid.
“The winners were chosen based on their contribution to their fields,” Buhay said.
