CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The Most Outstanding Kapampangan Awards (MOKA), the provincial government’s annual recognition of the exceptional sons and daughters of Pampanga, is once again open for nominations.
The prestigious MOKA started in 1978 as part of the festive commemoration of Pampanga Day and an effort to identify the outstanding men and women of the province and their contribution to its progress.
MOKA nominees fall into the following categories: law enforcement, education, parenthood, sports, government service, business and entrepreneurship, religion, culture and the arts, agriculture, science and technology, mass media, youth service, judicial service, and social service.
As per the MOKA entry qualifications stipulated in Ordinance 56-2005 of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the nominees should be Kapampangan by blood or by birth. At least one of the nominee’s parents should be a Kapampangan or the nominee is born in any of the towns or cities of Pampanga.
However, the Capitol is not closing its doors to non-Kapampangans who are as deserving and as influential in the further growth of the province. It also confers the Outstanding Honorary Kapampangan Award for an individual who served in Pampanga and contributed to its development.
This year’s executive committee is headed by Vice Governor Dennis Pineda and its vice chairman Board Member Anthony Joseph Torres.
Members of the committee are as follows, Board Members Cherry Manalo, Rosve Henson, and Arthur Salalila; Dr. Ma. Lourdes Javier, MOKAwardee for Education (2000); Ma. Theresa Laus, MOKAwardee for Community Service (2002); Roberto Tantingco, MOKAwardee for Culture and the Arts (2004); and Ma. Lourdes Carmela Jade Pangilinan-Gonzales, MOKAwardee for Youth Service (2007).
Interested parties can get their nomination forms and list of requirements at the Provincial Information Office (PIO) or the Arts, Culture, and Tourism Office of Pampanga (ACTOP). Said forms can also be downloaded from the PIO website, www.news.pampanga.gov.ph or through the Most Outstanding Kapampangan Awards Facebook fan page.
The submission of nominations is open until October 31, 2015.
The winners for this year will be named on December 11, in culmination of the 444th Aldo ning Kapampangan (Pampanga Day) celebration.
By Angelique DC Tuazon
