This year, 12 Kapampangans bagged the “Most Outstanding Kapampangan Awards [MOKA] for 2012” including Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar during the 441st Pampanga Day celebration on December 11.
Aside from the annual search for Mutya Ning Kapampangan, the 2012 MOKA was the highlight of the Pampanga Day celebration held at Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center, this city. The awardees were led by Villar who was named Moka awardee in Business and Entrepreneurship. He is known for his guiding principle “Sipag at Tiyaga.” Villar is a true-blooded Kapampangan. His maternal grandfather, Nicolas David Bamba, came from Purok Bamba, Barangay San Nicolas I in Sasmuan town. His mother Curita Bamba is a seafood dealer who hails from Sasmuan, Pampanga while his father Manuel Villar Sr. came from the province of Iloilo. Villar Jr. has excelled both in business and politics. Hard work, persistence, and perseverance became his work ethics. Through the years, Villar has proven his guts in housing business which earned him the title given by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism as “Dean of the Philippine Real Estate Industry.” For Culture category, Lilia Lising Borrromeo fondly called “Atching Lillian” by locals, a culinary expert and food historian from the town of Mexico was named Moka Awardee. Atching Lillian, well-known for her traditional way of cooking Kapampangan dishes (Capangan Capampangan) with the use of antique cooking implements and secret recipes—family heirlooms inherited from her ancestors and passed down to every female family member for generations now. Because of this, she is now referred to as the “Guardian of Kapampangan Kitchen.” In the field of education, Dr. Leonardo C. Canlas who won the Moka award is well-loved family man, a prominent and highly respected educator and leader because of his shared brilliance and humility to serve the Department of Education. ALE partylist Representative Lina Bagasina was named MOKA for Government Service. She served as mayor of Sasmuan and secretary general from 2001 to 2007 of the Pampanga Mayors League (PML). Police Supt. Perez bagged the Moka award for Law Enforcement. He serves as police for 18 years. He is the current company commander of the Pampanga Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) based in Camp Diosdado de Leon, San Felipe, City of San Fernando. For Mass Media, John S. Manalili was conferred as MOKA awardee who is currently serving as Ceso III, director IV of the Bureau of Communications Services. Manalili was a former director and chief of the Public Affairs Division of the Bureau of Broadcast Services-Philippine Broadcasting Service. He was also the former station manager of Radyo ng Bayan 738 kHz, the flagship station of government radio. He hosted a one-hour daily television news program over NBN 4 and was also one of the Freedom Broadcasters of the newly-liberated Radyo ng Bayan in 1986. Fr. Victor Nicomedes Nicdao was named Moka awardee for Religion. Felix Galang Tienzo won the Moka award in the category of Social Service. Lourdes Sur East Barangay Captain Patrick Cura, youngest village chief of Angeles City bagged the Moka award for Youth Service.
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