The man of the year for his impact on the elections is truly one of the nation builders of the country today. A soft spoken but the public servant we want. There is no question that this lawyer is a brilliant election law practitioner with big high level clients under his wings.
His level of professionalism and dedication to his field of practice is unlike any other. When Atty. Garcia makes legal strategies, he maps out his plan from start to finish even before the beginning of a case.
George Erwin M. Garcia is a veteran election law practitioner. He is the 23rd Chairman of the Comelec. He had a short yet productive stint as Commissioner before his present appointment.
Prior to joining Comelec, he was the principal and founder of G.E. Garcia Law Office. As a private practitioner, Chairman Garcia was widely known for his superior legal mind that enriched jurisprudence of various landmark cases.
He served as Dean of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila’s College of Law and Law Center.
Chairman Garcia has under his belt an academic experience of three decades; he was also an MCLE lecturer and a resource person in election law.
He rendered pro bono services to UNTV for 10 years as anchor in its segment “Huntahang Ligal” to fulfill his mission of promoting social awareness, legal literacy, and access to justice to all.
In Comelec, he staunchly advocates for transparency, inclusivity, and progression. His decisions have always been geared towards productive engagement with all key stakeholders and innovative policy reforms in the Commission’s constant pursuit of fair, honest, orderly, and credible elections.
All his actions are, indeed, Para sa Bayan.
For his unparalleled dedication to public service, he was recognized as the Man of the Year and was awarded as one of the Top 50 emerging leaders in the Philippines.
Here are the categories and honorees at the 6th Asia Leaders Awards.
Men of the Year
1. BIR Commissioner: Romeo Lumagui Jr
2. Comelec Chair: George Erwin M. Garcia
3. DFA: Dr. Jesus “Gary” Domingo
4. LGU: Gov. Hermilando Ingco Mandanas
Company of the Year
5. Franchising: Shawarma Shack
6. Human Capital: Viventis Asia
7. Global: 24/7 AI
8. Tech: realme
9. Global IT: Atos Philippines
Woman of the Year
10. President Atty. Agnes Devanadera – Clark Development Corporation
Young Leader of the Year
11. Mary Elaine Timbol of Sakahon
12. Vice Mayor Ronin Leviste of Lian, Batangas
Influencer of the year
13. Caesar Vallejos – Media
14. Puey Quiñones- Fashion Design
Woman of Substance
15. Rayla Allertsen: IamSam
16. Merle Mendoza Balicao: Mernels
17. Alodia Gosiengfiao Quimbo
18. Mharicar Castillo-Reyes: Asticom
19. Chi Atienza Valdepeñas
Fastest Growing SME of the Year
20. Asian Consulting Group- Mon Abrea
The night is a power celebration with the attendance of the families and colleagues of these icons. The program started with the welcome remarks of The Manila Hotel President Atty. Jose David Lina, the former Senator, DILG Secretary and former Governor of Laguna then followed by a keynote of one of the youngest entrepreneur in skin care, Glenda Dela Cruz of Brilliant Skin Essentials.
Andria Terese Nicolas, The Vice President of Tag Media Group shares the snippets about Asia Leaders Awards and mentioned that these honorees are the nation builders of today and the next generation. The other speaker who inspires everyone was His Excellency Malaysia Ambassador Dato Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino who is also part of the board of advisers of the organization.
The event was attended also by US Embassy; Bret and Marisol Campbell, Embassy of Romania William Anton Korbl, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office General Manager Mel Robles, Atty. Carmela Lumagui, Dr. Elton See Tan of The E Hotels and
Philippine Korea Economic Council, Makati Tourism Foundation Inc. Tanyu III, Choy Bernardo of Jcuppacakes, Robert Laurel Yupangco of Yupangco Group, Andrew and Grace Nicolas of Tag Media Group, Darius Razon, Philippine Red Cross Governor Baby Ortiz, Manuel Negado, Ethiopia Consul David Ackerman and Atty. Salvador Panelo among others.
The objective of the event is to highlight and recognize exclusively the nominees who gets in among thousands of nominations to inspire the nation. The award is given to world-class leaders, both in the private and public sectors.