Eight alumni from diverse fields were honored on August 28 in time for the 125th Founders Day of Silliman University on the theme, “125 Years of Legacy: Remembering with Gratitude, Moving Forward with Hope.”
This year’s Outstanding Sillimanian Awardees are: Merlie Alunan for regional literature; Edwin Mateo Caliolio for community and business leadership; Rev. Dr. Juancho Campañano for healthcare chaplaincy; Cris Jude Lacsican for inclusive finance; Commander Edwin Somera Mananquil, USN (Ret.) for military policy and leadership; Dr. Junice Lirza Demeterio Melgar for advancement of women’s health; Dr. Albert Mutia Salamanca for climate change adaptation and resilience; and, Cristina “Kitty” Sollesta Taniguchi for visual arts.
Alunan, who straddles between Tacloban and Dumaguete, and occasionally to her hometown in Iloilo, was meant to be nominated for a national award, but looks like it will have to take a backseat for now as she is awarded the Outstanding Sillimanian Award. A multi-awarded poet, fictionist, essayist, editor, and literary scholar, she is a recipient of numerous Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, National Book Awards, the UMPIL Award, the Sunthorn Phu Award for Poetry, and recognition from the Royal Society of Literature. She earned her Master of Arts in English (major in Creative Writing) from Silliman University in 1975, where she trained under Dr. Edilberto K. Tiempo and National Artist for Literature Dr. Edith L. Tiempo. Throughout her distinguished career, Professor Alunan has been a leading force in restoring regional literature to its rightful place within Philippine letters. As Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines Tacloban College, she has produced landmark works that have transformed the study and appreciation of Visayan literature, including Sa Atong Dila: Introduction to Visayan Literature, Susumaton: Oral Narratives of Leyte, and Tinalunay: Anthology of Waray Literature. These pioneering publications have preserved oral traditions, advanced mother tongue education, and established enduring foundations for the scholarly study of Waray and other Visayan literary traditions. More importantly, they have demonstrated that regional literatures are not peripheral to Philippine literature, but constitute its very heart and diversity.
In his acceptance speech, Caliolio, a 1985 graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in History, acknowledged his teachers in Silliman University. He particularly remembered the Bible studies he used to attend in the residence of his English professor, Judith Amistoso, who influenced his zeal to serve and strengthened his faith. As a student, he was a recipient of College Honors and the Leadership Award. “I believe that education is not only for personal success, but for service; not for profit, but for a purpose,” he said. He added that our lives become better because we lived with kindness, integrity, and service. As President of Southern City Colleges, he transformed a family-founded institution into one of Western Mindanao’s leading educational establishments. Under his stewardship, the institution expanded its academic offerings, established additional campuses, opened a School of Allied Medicine, and embarked on the construction of the Southern Medical Center, broadening its mission from education to community development.
For more than four decades, Rev. Dr. Campañano has pursued a vocation of compassionate service, integrating pastoral ministry, healthcare chaplaincy, theological education, and interfaith engagement across the Philippines and the United States. A graduate of Silliman University’s Master of Divinity (1989) and Master of Theology (1995) programs, he later earned his Doctor of Philosophy from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1999. After 40 years, he set foot again in his Alma Mater, recalling the years that he lacked financial support. “We ate rice, bulad (dried fish) and kamatis (tomatoes),” he shared in his acceptance speech. He prayed for faith to understand and to understand with faith. His education at Silliman University taught him to care for communities with his mind, heart, and soul. Through the years, he had more questions than answers, but it was his family that helped and supported him. He currently serves as Regional Spiritual Care Specialist/Manager for Prime Healthcare, overseeing spiritual care programs at Mercy Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Center, and St. Mary’s Hospital in Illinois. Campañano’s ministry has likewise bridged faith communities, academic institutions, and civic organizations, helping congregations become welcoming and reconciling communities, organizing interfaith initiatives, leading mission programs, and fostering dialogue among Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and other faith traditions.
Raised in Dumaguete City, Lacsican has built an illustrious international career at the intersection of business leadership, digital transformation, and financial inclusion, while remaining deeply rooted in the values she cultivated at Silliman University. A 1996 graduate of Silliman University High School and Bachelor of Science in Business Management (cum laude, 2002), she earned her MBA from the Asian Institute of Management in 2008. Her career spans leadership roles with ING, NN Group, FWD Insurance, and Grab, where she now serves as Country Head of Grab Financial Group Philippines and Vice President for Cities. Lacsican is a so-called true-red Sillimanian, starting out at 3 years old as a pre-schooler. In her acceptance speech, she said that where you begin your career does not define how you are able to get where you are now. In her acceptance speech, Lacsican, who was accompanied by her brother, Neil Bren and his family, vowed to uphold the tenets, values, and motto of Silliman University as she continues her corporate career.
Few officers have built a military career as distinguished as Commander Mananquil. A Dumaguete City native, he has more than three decades of service, rising through the ranks of the United States Navy to become one of the few Filipino-born officers to attain the rank of Commander. He entered Silliman University High School in 1977 and graduated in 1981 before returning to his alma mater to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, which he completed in 1997. He later undertook advanced professional studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., earning certification as a Reserve National Security Professional. His years at Silliman instilled the discipline, integrity, and spirit of service that would define an extraordinary career dedicated to safeguarding lives, strengthening institutions, and advancing national security. Mananquil is a second generation Outstanding Sillimanian Awardee as two uncles were similarly bestowed such honor earlier. He said his forebears instilled in him faith, service, integrity, and perseverance. With his immediate family attending the ceremony, he profusely thanked his wife for holding the fort, thus, allowing him to serve fully with utmost confidence that all is well in the homefront, a true support system for a military man like him.
Dr. Melgar has advanced women’s health, reproductive rights, and community-based primary healthcare in the Philippines for more than four decades. A physician, public health advocate, researcher, and community organizer, she is the co-founder and executive director of the Likhaan Center for Women’s Health, one of the country’s leading organizations providing comprehensive healthcare services to underserved women and marginalized communities. Since its establishment in 1995, Likhaan has grown from a single clinic into a network of community-based health programs serving Metro Manila, Bulacan, and Eastern Samar, delivering healthcare to approximately 46,000 women, men, and children annually while training thousands of community health workers and women leaders. Under her leadership, Likhaan received an unrestricted US$5 million grant from Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Foundation in 2025. It is the only organization in Southeast Asia to receive this distinction, affirming the global significance of its work in women’s health and community empowerment. Nominated by the Ontario, Canada alumni chapter, Dr. Melgar’s parents saw it fit to send four out of their seven children to study at Silliman University. She said it was at Silliman where her moral compass was nurtured, including being led into the Protestant faith. She was likewise exposed to the teachings of the staunch nationalist Renato Constantino, participating in student activism, which somehow influenced the way she perceives her profession today.
From his roots in Biliran, Bohol, Dr. Salamanca has emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s leading voices in climate change adaptation and resilience, ensuring that scientific research informs policies and practices that improve the lives of vulnerable communities. He entered Silliman University in 1986 and graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He later earned a Graduate Diploma and a Master’s degree in Environment Management and Development from the Australian National University before completing his Ph.D. in Geography at Durham University in the United Kingdom. Currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute–Asia Centre in Bangkok, Dr. Salamanca has helped shape climate adaptation research and policy across Asia and beyond. Early in his career, working under the mentorship of National Scientist Dr. Angel C. Alcala, he helped organize the coastal communities of Anilao and Mabini, Batangas, contributing to the establishment of the Philippines’ first non-island marine and fish sanctuaries. Nominated by the Chesapeake Bay alumni chapter, he said it takes a village to produce an Outstanding Sillimanian. As an individual, he is not self-made as resilience alone is not enough to survive. “The world needs more Silliman University and more Sillimanians,” he quipped.
Artist, curator, and cultural advocate Taniguchi, born in Manila and raised in Dumaguete City, has dedicated her career to advancing Philippine visual arts while nurturing generations of artists in the Visayas. She entered Silliman University in 1974 and earned her Bachelor of Mass Communication in 1978. She returned to her alma mater to pursue a Master of Arts in English Literature, which she completed in 1985, and later undertook doctoral studies in English Literature. A former faculty member of Silliman University’s Department of English and Literature, she found in Silliman a fertile environment where literature, visual imagination, and cultural engagement converged. This influence continues to resonate in her work as an artist, curator, mentor, and cultural advocate. Over more than four decades, Taniguchi has established herself as one of the country’s foremost visual artists, distinguished by a body of work that seamlessly bridges painting, sculpture, poetry, and cultural heritage. Her figurative works, often inspired by mythology, literature, and the strength of women, have earned recognition in the Philippines and abroad through exhibitions in China, Egypt, India, Serbia, England, the United States, and other international art centers. A three-time recipient of the Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards, she has represented the country in the Beijing International Art Biennale, the China Changchun International Sculpture Symposium, the Luxor International Painting Symposium, and numerous other prestigious exhibitions, affirming the global relevance of contemporary Filipino art. Beyond her achievements as an artist, Taniguchi’s enduring legacy lies in building spaces where art flourishes and communities thrive. In 1992, she founded Mariyah Gallery, which has since become one of the country’s most respected independent art spaces and a creative home for emerging and established artists alike.
This year’s honorees joined fellow awardees through the years as their names are immortalized in the Outstanding Sillimanian Awards (OSA) Wall, which was unveiled on August 27 together with the groundbreaking of the proposed Alumni Hall Dormitory building. Past and present awardees likewise converged in a brunch fellowship that followed on the same day. | NWI
