CLIS Search for the Happiest Pinoy Awarding

To the board of judges of the Search for the Happiest Pinoy, the seven Happiest Pinoy finalists, members of the insurance industry, members of the press, officers of the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies and to my family, good evening.

The Search for the Happiest Pinoy was conceived by our insurance arm, the Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions, as a way of giving credit to those who have chosen to be happy and be a positive member of their respective communities amidst the hardships of life. As an advocacy, this search has been our personal legacy to society and the insurance industry at large–to give premium to positivism despite the grim realities that every insurance company faces.

The Filipino’s resilience has been one of the many facets of our nation that most foreign countries find amusing if not laudable. What nationality, mired in poverty and regular calamity, can smile and wave in front of a television camera despite being knee-deep in a flood? Only a Filipino can. "Only in the Philippines ," like they say. And this search concerns itself on celebrating that amusing but marvelous trait and so much more. They may amuse us with their joviality in the face of adversity but we at Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions know for sure that they can inspire us more with their stories. And what stories do they have told through a hundred entries!

For many years as a diplomat, I have had the opportunity to see for myself this great resilience us Pinoys have been known for. The Filipino Diaspora may have kept families apart for great periods of time as fathers and mothers leave their families behind to seek greener pastures in other countries, but no pain of separation kept their spirits low. They, like the rest of us, work hard and work much for their families. And for those that I have met, I salute them for their contribution not just for our country but most importantly, for serving as inspiration to me during the times when I, too, missed my family that I’ve left at home and the country in which I was raised. After all, you can take the Pinoy out of the Philippines, but you can’t take the Philippines—in all its sunny weather, sense of family, and delicious food glory--out of the Pinoy.

As the Chairman, it is in my top priority that soon we will organize a search, this time, to find the happiest OFW as a testament to the fact that Pinoys and happiness can be found anywhere in the world. But tonight we are here to honor the happiest Pinoy found right here in our shores and the choice as to who will win this search has been a great undertaking. Our company is honored to be represented by such an individual who has chosen to go beyond his or her immediate tribulations. Like all of you, I look forward to meeting the Happiest Pinoy. I am sure that most of us here will look at our problems differently after hearing what he or she went through. After all, that individual has proven to us that no problem is too big or too hard for a heart and spirit that is bigger and harder.

More than the incentives and the title, the Search for the Happiest Pinoy is also about acknowledging not just simple happiness as the name suggests but ultimately, courage and hope. And tonight may all of us renew that sense of courage and hope that stir inside us and be encouraged to find the Happiest Pinoy that truly exists within ourselves.

Thank you for being here and may you all have a great night ahead.

Speech of Winston Maxino

Officers and employees of P.J. Lhuillier Group of Companies and Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance solutions, fellow Happiest Pinoy honorees, distinguished board of judges, guests, maayong gabii kaninyong tanan... Good evening!

I believe that we, Filipinos, are essentially happy people. Happiness is one of our most admirable traits ― we bear our trials and tribulation with grace, good humor and a deep abiding trust that tomorrow holds the promise of a better day.

It is in this light that I consider it a great honor to have been nominated as a Happiest Pinoy. Side by side with the very many happy Filipinos, how have I impressed upon others that I am exceptionally happy? Is it because I have a jolly disposition, or maybe because I am always joking and clowning around, or maybe because I have a ready smile for everyone, or maybe because I enjoy sharing my time and blessings to help people in need, or maybe because it does not take much to make me laugh out loud ... in Tagalog, "mababaw ang kaligayahan ko", or maybe because people think I have a funny face... what we call in Bisaya as "kalataw-an og nawong"?

Honestly, I have never really given the concept of happiness any serious philosophical thought before. I have never stopped to reflect, "what does happiness mean to me?" So, if there is one special prize this contest has given me, it is the gift of insight that I have gained about happiness.

St. Augustine, who is the favorite saint of my two daughters Alayne and Carlin, wrote that happiness is "a rejoicing in the truth." Buddha taught that life is suffering. If we combine the two ideas, happiness is rejoicing even if the reality of our lives is that we are suffering. What is common among the seven of us, Happiest Pinoy finalists, is that we are suffering in a major way ― in my case, because of my incurable disease; the others are also suffering from disease or physical disability. We rise above our physical pain and limitations to live full happy lives. Happiness is our daily therapy and a positive outlook gets us through the most trying times. May our stories inspire you to believe that laughter is truly the best medicine because it is free, it has no expiry, it does not require a doctor’s prescription, and it is internally generated so it never runs out of stock.

My daughter with Down Syndrome, Brina Kei, frequently declares, "I love my life and I love my future!" I realize that she is right: this is what happiness is really all about. I look forward to the day when a cure for Ankylosing Spondylitis will have been discovered, but I have graciously accepted that this is my life now. I am grateful for everything I am and everything I have. I am not less of a person because my body is broken and I do not dwell on what I do not have. Happiness is a choice. No matter what the circumstances of my life are and will be, with God’s grace, I choose and will continue to choose to be happy.

I once read that happiness is a journey, not a destination. To the kind-hearted people who have travelled with me in my bumpy but happy journey ― my loving family, my dearest friends, my patient doctors, my hardworking colleagues and subordinates ― thank you for holding my hand during the roughest roads and cheering me on. To the company that put happiness in the forefront of our consciousness ― Cebuana Lhuiller Insurance Solutions ― thank you for recognizing that although our individual journeys are difficult, they are still worth taking. In my final reflection, I have learned that the lesson of life is not about what our suffering had been, but about how our suffering transformed us into better and happier human beings. Cheers to all the happy people of the Philippines!

Closing Remarks by Jean Henri Lhuillier

Again, good evening to all of you present here tonight to help us announce the winner of the Search of the Happiest Pinoy;

First of all, I would like to congratulate Mr. Winston Maxino for being our grand winner and our runners-up, Professor Rex Bernardo, Ms. Nona David Andaya-Castillo, Mr. Gerardo Gamez, Professor Celestino Habito, Ms. Carolina Reyes and Ms. Maria Kathrina Yarza.

As the President and CEO of the Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions and in behalf of all of the people behind our company, I am very pleased to have given this privilege of meeting all of you, of hearing your stories and of giving you the opportunity to tell those stories to more people.

The conclusion of the search is not the end but a beginning of something greater and more exciting. As the Happiest Pinoy, Winston will be our representative as we roll out our campaign for a happier and brighter Philippines this 2010. Through him, our message and his message of hope and courage will be expressed.

Like what my father, Ambassador Lhuillier, said a while ago looking for the Happiest Pinoy is really quite a feat and with that I thank all of the people behind this undertaking for coming up with a successful campaign.

One of the challenges that we have met with this campaign is this: how does one qualify if not quantify happiness? And more over, who are we, an insurance agency, to even try?

Being a new father for the fourth time last year, I need not look far to be inspired to give my approval when this campaign was submitted to me. Dr. Spock, a famous pediatrician, sums up our aim pretty well: "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle…and the life of the candle will not be shortened; happiness never decreases by being shared."

This search has been our little contribution to the insurance industry as a whole, our way of lighting that single candle and with that may more Filipinos see the positive and empowering aspects of insurance. More than death, insurance really is about life. The kind that is led in peace knowing that more can be done if one is sure of the unknown and unforeseen. Most advocacies aim for something great for society, our aim is to make a difference. Standing here today before all of you and our distinguished winners, it makes me truly proud that this aim has been more than accomplished.

Expect to see more exciting campaigns and advocacies from the Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions. For the last ten years we have revolutionized in the competitive field of insurance. But more than a business, we see this company as a beacon of opportunity for more Filipinos to live well and live smart by giving them the capability to have insurance. Definitely, 2010, our 12th year is no different.

May this night serve as an inspiration to all of us to look ahead and live as the happiest Pinoys that we all are.

Thank you and good night.