Ambassador Kazihide Ishikawa, on behalf of the Foreign Ministry of Japan, gave posthumous award of commendation to the late Dr. Sylvano Mahiwo and Professional Regulation Commission Commissioner Gerard Sanvictores.
Ishikawa praised Professor Mahiwo, a researcher and educator, who led many studies and classes on Asian Studies and International Affairs, with particular focus on East Asia and the Asean community.
Mahiwo, a professor at the University of the Philippines, holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology and Philosophy from the Sofia University in Tokyo. He studied the Japanese language and culture at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Mahiwo is the first Filipino to obtain a PhD in the Social Sciences field from the University of Tokyo.
“Outside of academe, Mahiwo-sensei actively took part in various initiatives that foster and strengthened Japan-Philippine relations,” Ishikawa said.
The ambassador cited Mahiwo for his involvement in the Philippine Association of Japanese Ministry of Education Scholars where he served as president and in the Asean Council of Japan Alumni where he was a former secretary-general.
Ishikawa said Mahiwo, who hails from Ifugao, was an ideal Japanese scholar.
Lawyer Maria Teresa Arao-Mahiwo, who received the award on behalf of her husband, said Mahiwo was so enamored of the Japanese culture that family members usually tell him that he speaks fluent Niponggo better than Filipino.
“Professor Mahiwo saw that there were, so to speak, higher mountains to climb, longer roads to travel, and wider seas to sail as far as knowledge and education is concerned,” Arao-Mahiwo said.
She said that, as fate would have it, her husband’s life transformed from being a village boy to a global person of interest.
The transformation started at age 20 when Dr. Mahiwo received a scholarship grant from the Japanese government, for his undergraduate and graduate level education in Japan.
From then on, she said Mahiwo became a Japanologist, with Japan becoming his second country.
“In his own unique way, Professor Mahiwo has interwoven the best of Japanese values into the fabric of his own cultural upbringing as an Ifugao and as a Filipino,” Arao-Mahiwo added.
Meanwhile, Sanvictores, the other awardee spent a substantial amount of his time with SGV & Co. Philippines, a leading audit firm in the country, where he provided audit and business advisory service to Japanese companies.
He received the “SyCip Award,” the highest form of distinction given to SGV members for his personal commitment to client service, especially among SGV’s Japanese clients.
Sanvictores also heads other organizations, such as the Philippine-Japan Economic Cooperation Committee, where he currently serves as secretary-general and the Philippine-Japan Society, where he is the vice president.
Sanvictores said he belongs to the third generation of his family with deep ties to Japan, starting with his grandfather, Jose, who was a Cabinet member during President Manuel Luis Quezon’s administration.
“My grandfather was left behind in the Philippines when Quezon went to the United States. He served under the Laurel Cabinet during World War II,” Sanvictores added.
He added that his father, Benjamin, then a student, went to study in Japan, along with other Filipinos.
The Sanvictores family have been partners with some of Japan’s biggest companies, distributing their products in the Philippines.