Top young Filipinos picked for Asia leaders program

The Asia Society, a renowned international organization based in New York that aims to strengthen understanding among the peoples of the Asia Pacific region, has selected nine Filipinos to be part of this year’s batch to the Asia 21 Young Leaders program.

The program aspires to develop the next generation of leaders who would take up the challenge of collaborating on creative solutions to address national and regional issues.

The honorees will take part in the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit where Asia Society gathers the top 200 young leaders of the Asia Pacific region. This year’s summit will be held in November in New Delhi, India.

This year’s batch includes lawyer Paulino Salvador Leachon, lawyer Lesley Jeanne Cordero, Maria Doris Dumlao, Jeffrey Tarayao, Alvin Cloyd Dakis, Michael Sandejas, Soledad Sylvia Nubla-Lee, Annalie Edday and Joy Anya Lim.

Leachon and Cordero represent the government sector. Cordero was chosen for her contributions as the assistant secretary for legislative affairs in the Presidential Communications Operations Office, while Leachon was picked for his effective management and policy implementations as the mayor of Calapan City.

Nonprofit sector

Nubla-Lee and Edday represent the nonprofit sector with Nubla-Lee being cited for her work in providing access to quality higher education for underprivileged public high school students through Pathways to Higher Education. Edday was cited for her advocacy of improving educational systems in the rural areas through programs such as Quality Education in Sarangani Today (Quest).

Tarayao was chosen for his achievements in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) being the chief CSR officer of Meralco and, previously, of Globe Telecom.

Dakis, founding chair and national president of Alliance of Young Leaders and Advocates International Inc., was selected for his advocacies in health and human rights. Lim, a social entrepreneur from Cebu, founded Anthill Fabric Gallery which promotes cultural preservation of the Philippines’ weaving industry.

Dumlao was honored for her work as a multiawarded business reporter of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Sandejas represents the arts and culture sector who uses his films as a means to shed light on marginalized sectors of society such as the deaf.

Former Filipino fellows include education advocate Ching Jorge, former National Youth Commission chair Bam Aquino, DNA forensics scientist Dr. Ma. Corazon de Ungria, human rights lawyer Damcelle Torres-Cortez, social entrepreneur Lt. Col. Dennis Eclarin, IPVG’s Enrique Gonzalez and Mayor Jeng Reyes of Alicia, Isabela.

To select this year’s delegates, the Asia Society in the Philippines screened more than 100 Filipinos between the ages of 25 and 40. They came from various sectors such as government, academe, media, business, health, nonprofit, military, and culture and the arts.

The honorees were chosen based on their leadership experience, achievements in their chosen field, impact of their leadership, and service to the country. The program is supported by Metro Pacific Investment Corp.