Speech by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Awarding of the Medallion of Excellence to the 2026 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos

Thank you, Education Secretary Sonny Angara. [Please be seated.]

The honorable members of the Cabinet here present; the Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Rommel Roldan and the Major Service Commanders; Metrobank and Metrobank Foundation Chairman Arthur Ty; GT Capital Holdings Alfred Ty; Metrobank Foundation President Philip Francisco Dy; awardees of the 2026 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos and their families; my fellow workers in government; our partners in the private sector; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

Good afternoon.

Since 2022, I have had the privilege of joining this gathering and meeting the remarkable Filipinos whom the Metrobank Foundation honors each year.

And I was just reminding the Chairman that before that, they would present the awardees in the Senate. So, I remember that, and in the House of Representatives, and I remember that.

And I have just to interject a little comment here in that we paid attention when you brought these awardees to present to us. And the reason that we did was that it has come to pass that the awardees, when you are honored by the Metrobank Foundation, it means something. It has come to mean something.

I hope the awardees this year understand the stature and the prestige that comes with this award. Because the Metrobank Foundation has established this whole system of finding the best public servants in the Philippines, at least for that year.

And it has gained credibility, it has gained great stature in terms of the way we look at those awardees and the process that has gone through, the rigorous process that has gone through, so as to be able to arrive at the choices that they make.

And so I am very, very honored today because it is an occasion that I look forward to. Because behind every award are stories of men and women who have devoted years of their lives to serving others, certainly without grandeur and far from public attention.

And so, for the fifth time as President now, I am pleased to join you all once again as we award the Medallion of Excellence to the 2026 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos.

Since ‘85, the Metrobank Foundation Awards have looked at the entire career of each honoree, including every sacrifice that they have made and every service that they have provided.

It recognizes exemplary professionals in education, in the military, and the police whose service has changed the lives of their communities in profound ways.

They wear different uniforms but they share the same instinct: to serve our people above all else.

Education remains one of the foremost priorities of this administration. While much work is left to be done, PISA 2025 showed encouraging progress, with Filipino learners improving in reading, mathematics, and science as compared to 2022.

These remind us that improving education requires sustained work from teachers and innovators who strengthen literacy, to make difficult concepts easier to understand, and to bring new technologies and opportunities closer to our learners.

Our education awardees embody this work in many different ways, from developing culturally responsive learning tools and new approaches to physics education to advancing emerging technologies through innovative research.

Our military awardees have likewise provided the systems behind national defense and improve them, from strengthening coordination among government agencies to improving efficiency through digital platforms to enhancing maritime awareness and operational preparedness in the West Philippine Sea.

Our police awardees show the value of prevention and innovation in public safety, from guiding our young people away from crime and strengthening the role of women in anti-drug efforts to using digital systems and timely data to improve road safety.

Ladies and gentlemen, our 10 honorees come from different corners of our country, but they share the same story of service and of sacrifice.

Each chose a life of service and remained committed to it throughout all these years.

And the value of that service can be seen in what they leave behind: stronger institutions, safer communities, [and] lives changed for the better.

In many ways, the work of our honorees reflects the larger initiatives of the government in supporting our teachers who help our youth, strengthening the capabilities of those who protect us, and giving our [police] the right tools to keep us safe.

In our schools, thousands of newly hired and promoted teachers have found better opportunities as we have expanded their career progression and improved their overall welfare.

In the security sector, we have given local governments digitized and unified systems to coordinate their own security and disaster response, modernized the equipment of our armed forces, and improved the pay and allowances of our men and women in uniform.

These also complement the measures that we have taken at the community level, such as a unified 911 hotline for faster response and barangay-based campaigns to continue to rid our streets of illegal drugs.

But policies and programs only go as far as the people who carry them forward. Our 10 awardees show us what happens when skill is matched by dedication and a strong sense of duty.

We thank the Metrobank Foundation for recognizing these well-deserving Filipinos and their efforts.

To our 10 awardees, know that your fellow Filipinos see you and are grateful to you for all that you have done and continue to do.

You remind us that nation-building is not confined to high office. It is carried out in classrooms, in institutions, [and] in communities all over the country.

May this award inspire you to keep going, and may it inspire many more Filipinos to follow your shining example.

Again, congratulations on this remarkable achievement.

Maraming salamat po.

Mabuhay ang ating mga awardees.

Mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas. [applause]

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