Thank you PeopleAsia, to its publisher and CEO, Ambassador Babe Romualdez, and Editor-in-Chief Joanne Rae Ramirez and her team, for this recognition.

I also wish to thank our President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, for the inspiration to always give our best and sincere service to the Filipino people. I also thank my fellow workers in the IATF, who continue to work hard in sifting through the many statistics and advice from experts and resource persons to always come up with a much-deliberated way forward, balancing the need to save both lives and livelihood.

I wish to share this recognition with my fellow servants in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), who have been living up to our mantra “Serbisyong Higit pa sa Inaasahan.”

Allow me to also share this award with my wife, Malou, and my children for their continued support.

I dedicate this award to the MSMEs that serve as the backbone of our economy and who have been hit hard by COVID-19. Let us all continue working together to build back better in the post-pandemic future.

Congratulations as well to the other awardees.

Magandang gabi at mabuhay po tayong lahat. ♦

Date of Release: 14 April 2021