PHSA, NYFH to unveil a marker

Three ordinary men who became national heroes. Contemporaneous yet had left different contributions for one common goal—the making of a nation: Jose Rizal the inspiration, Apolinario Mabini the moral compass of his time, and Miguel Malvar the uncompromising Filipino hero of freedom. They are only three of countless heroes the Southern Tagalog region has produced; and the 2015 Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP) finalists and the members of The Outstanding Students of the Philippines Alumni Community (TOSP AC) will visit the hometowns around the majestic Mt. Makiling of these founding fathers of the Filipino nation, walk at the very soil they had once passed, and breathe the air they had once breathed.

The TOSP National Week's Heritage Day Program scheduled on Monday, 27 July 2015 is among the official conjunction activities of the 1st National Youth Forum on Heritage (1NYFH), a collaborative project of RFM Foundation, Inc., Philippine High School for the Arts, The Outstanding Students of the Philippines Region 3 Alumni Community of Heroes, Project Saysay, and Proyekto Ph.

This year's Heritage Day's theme is "Sa Lunduyan ng mga Dakilang Bayani" ("At the Cradle of Noble Heroes"), highlighting the role of Mt. Makiling in Laguna province in shaping the Tagalog folklore and the imagination of the three national heroes, Rizal of Calamba, Laguna, Mabini of Tanauan, Batangas, and Malvar of Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

The Heritage Day will commence with wreath laying ceremonies at the Rizal National Monument in Luneta, Manila. TOSP finalists and alumni will proceed at the monument of the young Rizal in Rizal Shrine Calamba, the tomb of Mabini in Mabini Shrine Tanauan, and monument of Malvar in Malvar Historical Landmark to offer flowers and visit the museums there.

They will proceed in the afternoon to the Philippine High School for the Arts at the National Arts Center, Mt. Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna for the unveiling of the plaque marking the hosting of the school of the the 1NYFH. Members of the NYFH Secretariat will grace the occassion.

The theme of the 1NYFH “Entering the Future Remembering the Past” is inspired by Rizal’s epigraph to his 1880 award-winning play El Consejo de los Dioses: “Con el recuerdo del pasado entro en el porvenir” (“I enter the future remembering the past”).

TOSP finalists and alumni will be having interactions with the students of the lone arts school of the country.

The TOSP National Week will commence on 24 July 2015. It will culminate on 30 July 2015, in the awarding ceremonies at the Malacañan Palace.

The TOSP search program was established on 19 June 1961, during Rizal's birth centenary, by the RFM Foundation. TOSP has produced a number of awardees who have contributed in the nation’s progress and sense of nation: CHED Chair Dr. Patricia Licuanan, former NCCA Chair Cecile Guidote-Alvarez; former NHI Executive Director and Chairman Pablo S. Trillana III; husband and wife Raul and Sonia Roco; former Senator Rene Saguisag; Philippine literature scholar Dr. Edna Zapanta Manlapaz; Atty. Dong Puno; and PHINMA President/Chief Executive Officer and National Museum of the Philippines Board Chair Ramon del Rosario to name a few.

In 2001, the TOSP AC was established. It later expanded to the regions, with Outstanding Students of Cordillera Administrative Region (OSCAR) as the first regional chapter.

Through OSCAR and the TOSP Region 3 Alumni Community of Heroes (R3ACH), RFM Foundation and TOSP AC have tied up and initiated various activities in cultural heritage promotion, and integrated history and culture in various programs.

The Heritage Day was formally integrated to the TOSP National Week in 2012.

Initiated by R3ACH in 2011, RFM Foundation supported the NYFH, designed to serve as platform both for the Filipino youth who advocate for heritage and the stakeholders of Filipino heritage. NYFH’s thrusts are mainly focused on youth participation in nation-building through safeguarding cultural heritage, and on heritage education for the youth anchored in awareness and capacity-building. It is scheduled on 11-14 November 2015.