UST is set to fete a new set of The Outstanding Thomasian Alumni (Total) awardees, including construction magnate Alice Eduardo and critic and veteran newsman Lito Zulueta, on Sept. 27.
The Total Award is the highest honor conferred by UST upon its graduates who have made significant contributions to society and the Church. It has been awarded to 290 alumni and 10 Thomasian families since 1993.
The 2024 Total awardees are as follows:
Alice Eduardo (Accountancy, Business, and Management)
Thomasian builder Alice Eduardo earned her business administration degree from the College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1986.
Dubbed the “woman of steel,” she is the founder and president of Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corp., one of the country’s largest construction and real estate firms. Her firm is known for major projects such as the SM malls, power plants, ports, and expressways.
Eduardo was named by Forbes Asia as one of its “heroes of philanthropy” in 2018. She received PeopleAsia’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 for her charitable work. In May, she was the keynote speaker at the 2024 UST Student Awards.
Sr. Maria Marissa Viri (Allied Health)
Sr. Maria Marissa Viri was the first woman to become president of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), the largest organization of Catholic schools, colleges, and universities in the country.
She completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees, both in pharmacy, in UST in 1990 and 1999, respectively.
Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier (Law and Judiciary)
Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier graduated from the Faculty of Civil Law in 1982 at the top of her class and with magna cum laude honors. During her time at UST, she was editor in chief of the UST Law Journal and a member of the UST Debating Team.
Lazaro became the 182nd associate justice of the Supreme Court in 2019. She is the chairperson of the high court’s Committee on Family Courts and Juvenile Concerns and Sub-Committee on the Revision of the Code of Professional Conduct. She is also president of the Philippine Women Judges Association.
Nestor Cuartero (Media and Entertainment)
Nestor Cuartero, a veteran journalist and former Varsitarian managing editor, began his extensive journalism career after obtaining his undergraduate degree from the University in 1974. He first served as a researcher for BusinessDay.
Cuartero had served as coordinator of the UST journalism program, now the Department of Journalism. He is a longtime editor at the Manila Bulletin and had also edited for Panorama and Mr. and Ms. Magazine. He earned the Grand Prize in Primer Premio de Periodismo in 2000 and the Graphic Salute award at the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards in 2023 and 2024.
Asst. Prof. Lito Zulueta (Media and Entertainment)
Longtime Varsitarian adviser Asst. Prof. Lito Zulueta is a multi-awarded journalist and author with over three decades of experience. He completed his journalism degree and master of arts in literature in UST.
Formerly a senior editor at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Zulueta has reaped accolades such as Best Editorial from the Manila Rotary Club in 1993, the Carlos Palanca Award for the Essay in 1996, and the National Book Award for History in 2007.
Dr. Catherine Teh (Medicine)
UST medicine alumna Dr. Catherine Teh is the head of the hepatobiliary surgery section at the Makati Medical Center.
She was the first Asian woman to join the Les Campagnons Hepato-Biliaires, an esteemed society of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary surgeons. As a researcher, she has accumulated 3,791 citations from her 21 publications, primarily in the fields of medical and health sciences, as well as general surgery.
Edgar Doctor (Music, Arts, Literature, and Design)
Visual artist Edgar Doctor is a UST fine arts alumnus specializing in abstract sculpture and watercolor. He has participated in various exhibitions in the Philippines and abroad, including the International Exhibition of Drawings at the Triennial in New Delhi, India; the Festival de la Peinture in Cagnes Sur Mer, France; and the VIII Biennial of Fine Arts in Valparaiso, Chile.
His works are included in prominent collections such as those owned by the National Museum of the Philippines, Cultural Center of the Philippines, GSIS Museum, and the Central Bank Collection, among others.
Jose Pedro Recio (Music, Arts, Literature, and Design)
Jose Pedro Recio is the founder and principal architect of RCHITECTS, Inc. He completed his undergraduate degree at the College of Architecture in 1975 and began his international career the year after.
Recio designed UST’s sports complex, the Quadricentennial Pavilion, alongside another Thomasian architect, Carmelo Rosas. He designed Shangrila in Boracay, the Cebu Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Church of the Gesu and New Rizal Library at Ateneo de Manila University.
Hasan Fard (Science and Technology)
Hasan Fard is the CEO of Trends and Technologies Inc., one of the country’s leading information and communications technology (ICT) solutions and services providers. Trends has been UST’s partner since the mid-2000s in introducing wireless internet across the campus.
Grace Tan Caktiong (Service to Humanity)
Grace Tan Caktiong, wife of Jollibee founder and UST alumnus Tony Tan Caktiong, completed her chemical engineering degree from the Faculty of Engineering in 1975.
She is the chair of the Jollibee Group Foundation Inc.
Assoc. Prof. Pilar Romero (Service to the Church)
Assoc. Prof. Pilar Romero earned her undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate degrees in UST. She was the inaugural principal of the UST Senior High School, later transitioning as dean of the College of Education.
Romero had served as assistant to the Rector for administration and as a teacher at the UST Education High School.
Paul Anthony Pangilinan (Young Thomasian Achiever)
UST civil engineering alumnus Paul Anthony Pangilinan was appointed commissioner of the National Youth Commission by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017. He chairs the commission’s Committee on Global Mobility, Environment, and Social Inclusion and Equity, and is one of the Asean Senior Officials on Youth.
Ling Family
The Ling family, led by UST alumni Jose Siao Ling and Ana Mangalino Ling, is behind JSLA Architects, one of the leading architecture firms in the Philippines. The firm designed the P300-million UST-Dr. William T. Belo Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
The Thomasian-run firm was also responsible for designing the Mall of Asia Arena, SMX Convention Center, and the development planning of the Regina RICA in Tanay, Rizal. Jose Siao Ling received the Total Award in Architecture in 2007.
Mariano ‘Morris’ Agoncillo (Posthumous award)
UST High School alumnus Mariano “Morris” Agoncillo was a construction tycoon whose firm, DATEM Inc., has been a major sponsor of the UST’s women’s volleyball team since 2017.
In 2023, he was named the Outstanding Professional of the Year in the field of civil engineering by the Professional Regulation Commission. Agoncillo passed away on May 1 at the age of 65. Ella Mae A. Sison
