UAP wins third consecutive PCAAE`S Ang Susi Award

THE entry of United Architects of the Philippines’ (UAP) named as “Bayanihan: Covid 19 Labanan” was honored in the recently concluded Ang Susi Awards 2020 by the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE), dubbed as an “association of associations” during the 8th PCAAE’s Association Summit held last Nov. 25, 2020 via virtual platform.

This is the third time the UAP has been recognized with this prestigious Ang Susi Award, and the only accredited professional organization to have won in three consecutive years.
Ang Susi Awards or “Associations nurture National Growth through Social Unity and Sustainability Innovations” is the first and only search for the best associations and executives in the Philippines, which recognizes the association sector’s contributions to national sustainable development.

The institutional “Outstanding Project Awards” are given to associations in recognition of their achievements that have made an impact to national sustainable development and in helping the environment, empowering people, serving communities, enhancing trade and industry, developing technology solutions, and for being agent of change.

Bayanihan: Covid 19 Labanan, which was launched last April 2020 under the leadership of then UAP National President, Arch. Benjamin K. Panganiban Jr., underscores the commitment of the UAP to develop progressive ideas in architecture and environmental concerns, as well as their practical application for the welfare of the community. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has connected many dots linking conditions in buildings to human health, designing the built environment for health and well-being has never been more important than it is today. This pandemic has created opportunities for the UAP to implement both infection prevention measures and strategies to improve the overall health of its community and at the same time, to define and implement the new normal dictated by Covid-19.

I truly appreciate the hard work and ingenuity shown by our national officers and members in recent months. They have worked tirelessly to develop and implement ways to support our community and the vulnerable sectors. As we continue to navigate the disruptions and challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude for how our community has been responding, and to reflect on what guides our decision-making during this challenging time. And throughout these trying times, we have looked to our values — values of community, of inclusion, of social responsibility and accountability to each other — to guide our decision-making.

In the midst of the pandemic, Filipino architects are putting their creativity to work by helping to quickly identify and adapt buildings and spaces into temporary health care facilities for an influx of patients. Bayanihan Covid-19 Labanan helps inform government officials, healthcare facility stakeholders, and architects on adapting buildings into temporary healthcare facilities.

For example, the UAP collaborated with stakeholders to convert alternative shelter systems into the public facilities for temporary community quarantine and isolation as the need to have safe facilities for patients rose due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country. The UAP has extended design assistance to the Accord-Care-initiated project to convert a 940-square meter multi-purpose covered court provided by the local government of Malabon into a quarantine space. The facility is intended to accommodate Covid-19 operations and relieve the city’s primary level hospital to focus on regular patients that need medical attention. If prevailing conditions worsen, this facility can be converted into a functional treatment facility on top of its immediate purpose of being a localized staging area for immediate transfer to secondary and tertiary level hospitals.

Also, one of the major drives the UAP has conducted during the lockdown was the turnover of hundreds of hygiene kits for the patients of the quarantine facility at the San Andres Sports Complex. The drive was led by yours truly, who personally turned over the donation to the management of the facility. The donation would not be possible if not for the UAP officers, members, and contributors who supported the UAP Bayanihan: Covid Labanan Call for Donation Program.

The UAP believes that while the world faces a pandemic, it is not the time to be divided.

The UAP shall remain helpful and compassionate to our countrymen, just like what it has always been before this pandemic started.

With only months of implementation, Bayanihan: Covid 19 Labanan gives us hope that our combined inner strength, compassion, and abilities will see us through, as individuals, as professionals, and ultimately as a global society.

It may be recalled that in year 2018, UAP bagged the Ang Susi Awards under the same category for its Bayanihang Arkitektura program, the first association to receive such recognition. Last year, UAP’s “#GetAnArchitect” advocacy campaign was honored in the Ang Susi Awards 2019.

 
The PCAAE has over 1,000 members and supporters. It was launched on Nov. 20, 2013 to further advance association governance and management in member-serving organizations in the country. UAP is an institutional member of the PCAAE and received its certificate of membership in June 2018.

To our dear members and readers of this column, as we head into the Christmas season, I find my thoughts turning most often to gratitude ? gratitude for what each and every one of you contributes to the architecture profession and gratitude for the many ways our institution is blessed with great officers, volunteers, members, and partners.

Mapayapa at Maligayang Pasko po sa inyong lahat!

Photo Credits

Uap Cavite Chapter