Award-giving body puts premium on inclusion
For a Filipino-founded award-giving body, Asia's Pinnacle Awards may be considered unique. It has one Filipino Muslim on its board and its founder (who is not Muslim) is seeing to it that there is inclusivity among the awardees.
The APA honors individuals in legitimate businesses or in legitimate professions (including performing, talent management, and events hosting).
APA founder and president, real estate broker-urban planner Ronnel Ybañez, is also behind Asia's Golden Icons Awards, which recently held its first edition last June.
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Darna lead stars Jane de Leon and Joshua Garcia.
The Muslim board member is Dr. Alim Fatani Abdul Malik, national president of Ulama and Imam of the Philippines Association. He is a dynamic senior citizen involved in socio-cultural and political
-economic reforms that benefit Muslim Filipinos.
He is based in Cavite where there are several Muslim communities. APA founder Ybañez also lives in Cavite.
Other members of the APA board are Asstistant Secretary Vidal Villanueva of the Cooperatives Development Authority, TV
-concert director Nico Faustino, PTV 4 newscaster Charms Espina, and business franchise specialist Eravev "Anne" Bacho.
Filmmaker-talent manager Percy Escaño heads the sub-jury board tasked to select the honorees in entertainment.
Pinnacle Awards founder Ronnel Ybañez.
More than 20 showbiz personalities are expected to turn up at the Okada Manila grand ballroom on 8 October for the APA night.
Darna lead stars Jane de Leon and Joshua Garcia top the list of showbiz awardees. De Leon's manager, Tyrone Escalante, is an awardee, too, and so is his other rising talent Alexa Miro, who has just landed the female lead role in a new weekly sitcom on Net 25 starring Empoy Marquez.
Maja Salvador, James Reid, Matteo Guidecelli, JC de Vera, Karylle Padilla, Marvin Agustin, Enchong Dee, and Daiana Meneses are also awardees.
Ybañez has yet to announce APA's Muslim honorees at press time.
