Parangal San Mateo
A few days ago, last June 25 at the Manila Hotel, PICPA honored me with the Parangal San Mateo award, along with three other recipients. The Parangal San Mateo is PICPA’s highest award to a CPA in recognition of one’s noteworthy and distinctive personal and professional achievements. Awardees are selected every three years, and the list of past recipients is a virtual who’s who in the Philippine accounting profession. I feel honored to be in such elite company.
Instead of basking in the pomp and pageantry of the night, I kept reminding myself that I am not special nor did I do special things. All I did was to do my duty as God gave me the light to see that duty. My response on receiving the award was simply of gratitude for the events that shaped me, for the people who helped and inspired me, for the challenges that strengthened me, for the opportunities that were presented to me, and to God who never abandoned me. I pray you will have the same blessings that came my way.
I wish you were all there too. Here is what I told everybody that night and I want to share it with you
Thank you very much Mr. Jing Ireneo, for the very generous introduction. I hope the audience believed that I was the right person you introduced and described.Thank you very much.
Hon. Atty. Zeny Alcantara, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PICPA Foundation Inc., Hon. Sonia Golez, National President of PICPA, Hon. Noe Quiñanola, BOA Chair, Hon. Thelma Ciudadano, BOA member, members of the Board of Trustees of PICPA Foundation, Inc., members of the Board of Trustees of PICPA Foundation, Inc., members of the Board of Directors and officers of PICPA, my fellow PICPA members, my dear partners and colleagues of REYES TACANDONG & Co., my beloved and only wife Fe Baradi Tacandong, my loving children: Auda Cynthia, Farrah Mae, Anthony Bryan, son-in-law Vincent and my angels and granddaughters Lauren Isabelle and Sofia Angela, my sister Nancy Tacandong former FDA Director, friends, ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant good evening!
I almost miss to acknowledge Past PICPA National Presidents, Violy Josef, Josie Chua and Ador Barrion and incoming PICPA president Evelyn Corpuz.
Let me congratulate first PICPA, led by our PICPA President Sonia Golez, for being chosen as the Outstanding Accredited Professional Organization by PRC last week. This was made possible by the formidable force of its BOD and officers, with the hardworking Executive Director Lita Aguirre. My heartfelt congratulations to you all! Cheers! A big round of applause, please!
I am very happy, honored and humbled to be here tonight in this Parangal San Mateo recognition event. I am sure you are all very happy and excited as well, as this is done once every 3 years only. So far of the 10 awardees since 2001, four (4) had already joined St. Matthew in Heaven. Of course they were already in their 80’s and 90’s when they were called upon by St Matthew. So, my co-awardees, we still have more than 30 years to practice Accountancy. Thank you St. Matthew, PICPA´s patron saint for being our role model of the profession.
I am very proud and happy to congratulate my co-awardees, Hon. Antonietta Fortuna Ibe, Dean Ester Ledesma, and SGV Chairman Carlitos Cruz. Congratulations to you for this well- earned and well-deserved award. Another big round of applause, please!
With due respect to my co-awardees, I would say that after all our our struggles and hardwork since day one after we took our oath as CPA some few years ago and a few pounds less, it is indeed a great pride to be a recipient of this Parangal San Mateo, the highest honor conferred upon a Certified Public Accountant who has greatly contributed to the practice and development of the accountancy profession and is a model of integrity, character, leadership, and professionalism.
Thank you very much Chair Atty. Zeny Alcantara and the Board of Trustees of PICPA Foundation, Inc. and President Sonia Golez and PICPA Board of Directors, their officers, my colleagues in PICPA and the accountancy profession for this prestigious award.
I would like to humbly acknowledge and thank SGV & Co, the institution where I started my career in the Accountancy profession, to my mentors the late Mr Enrique Ramos who is now in heaven and Mr. Rogelio Guadalquiver while I was in SGV Davao and Iligan, Mr. Ben Punongbayan, Mr. Alfredo Non, Mr. Tommy Alvarez, and Ms. Antonietta Ibe during my SGV Baguio and Makati years, respectively. I thank also the late Mr. Washington SyCip, God bless his soul, who had a big influence in my career and in my personal life for the many encounters I had in Baguio and Makati. I learned and experienced so many things from them all, not only in Accounting, Auditing, Tax and Advisory services but beyond and above! It’s up to you to imagine what were those. My thanks and appreciation also to Cesar Purisima for giving me the opportunity to be Chief Finance & Administrative officer & Head of SGV branches when he was the SGV managing partner, positions previously occupied by five Partners and as independent director in PDIC when he was Secretary of Finance. Thank you very much my mentors and most of the times tormentors, for you have greatly influenced and contributed a lot to where I am now. May I request Ms. Ibe, who is the only one present, to please rise to be recognized. Thank you very much.
I owe this award and thank you very much to my dear Partners and colleagues of Reyes Tacandong & Co. for their wholehearted support and hardwork in making the Firm“the hottest and fastest growing professional services firm of the country.” Reyes Tacandong & Co., the truly Filipino professional services firm was born out love of the Accountancy profession, anchored on. firm principles and guided by wise solutions. May I request my partners to please rise. A big round of applause, please.
Actually, this prestigious Parangal San Mateo Award rightfully belongs to somebody else, but my beloved wife Fe, for without her undying love, unwavering support, never ending patience and kind understanding, I will not be able to do what I had to do and have to do till now. She has been and will always be the strong and steady wind beneath my wings. She is the woman behind the man! I always love you for that Mom. This award is for you!
May I request my wife, Mrs. Fe Tacandong to please stand to be recognized. A big round of applause, please. Thank you. You know, I have to be specific with the name of my wife, to avoid any mistake.
I also thank my children: Auda Cynthia, Farrah Mae, and Anthony Bryan who are here with me for their love, full support and kind understanding for my tours of duty in so many branches of SGV, and in those times that I was not around with them in their growing up years, where I was dubbed as the Phantom Dad; now you see him, now you don’t. They thought that when I left SGV in 2009, I would spend more time with them in retirement in Davao, only to find out that the Phantom Dad before becomes always till now. Of course, I am trying to make up for the lost times with my granddaughters Lauren Isabelle and Sofia Angela by doing apostolic work when times permit. My angels are now my inspiration who wipe my stress away and keep me going strong. They are the joys of our life. I hope and pray that the lost times and shortcomings I had with my children can be made up with them and the grandchildren to come. Thank you Auda and Vincent , my son-in-law, for giving us these angels.
I thank my late parents Blas and Rosario who are now in heaven for their great love and sacrifices and for providing us all 13 children the education and financial support despite all the difficulties in life. I can never repay them; but only in prayers and good deeds to my siblings and others. My thanks and gratitude also to my siblings both living and in heaven for looking after me when our parents were gone.
Lastly and above all, I thank the Almighty Father and our Lord Jesus or all these blessings and achievements that have been given to me all these years. I offer them back to Him for His honor and glory, for without Him I can do nothing. With Him I survived and flourished despite all the challenges and trials of my life.
My dear colleagues and friends, thank you very much for celebrating with us tonight. Cheers to PICPA Foundation! Cheers to PICPA! Cheers to us all! May God bless us all always! Mabuhay tayong lahat! Thank you, thank you very much!
