A PROFESSOR at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery received the 2025 The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) award for her contributions to the academic community.
Dr. Maria Minerva Calimag, a full professor of pharmacology and clinical epidemiology, was recognized for her work in medicine education and academic leadership, and for advancing teaching, research, and innovation in medicine in the Philippines and the Asia-Oceania region.
“I receive this honor with deep humility, mindful that no recognition is ever the achievement of one person alone, but the fruit of many hands, generous hearts, and shared purpose,” Calimag stated in her acceptance message.
She obtained her bachelor’s degree in general science from the College of Science and her medical degree at UST Medicine, where she specialized in anesthesiology.
Calimag, known for utilizing educational media and technology in medicine education, also served as pedagogical lead and professorial lecturer in various program offerings at the UST Graduate School.
Calimag served as president of the Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania and advocated for women’s empowerment through her leadership in organizations such as the Philippine Medical Association and the Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists.
She has also been recognized with the Thomasian Outstanding Alumni Award for Medicine, the Banyuhay Doctor Leader of the Year Award, the UST Medicine Sesquicentennial Award, and the Outstanding Mother Award, having raised eight children who are all physicians.
Other recipients of the 2025 TOFIL awards were Alfredo Pascua (government), Neil Aldrin Mallari (civil society), Rene Meily (private sector); and Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito as a “Past Outstanding Young Men” honoree.
The awarding ceremony was held on Jan. 19 at the EDSA Shangri-la in Mandaluyong.
Established in 1988, the TOFIL awards, organized by the Junior Chamber International Senate Philippines, honor Filipinos aged 41 and above who have made contributions to nation-building and national development.
