Top Bicol entreps honored in Halyao Awards

By Armie Gunay NAGA CITY ---Five Outstanding Bicolano Businesspersons of the Year and one Outstanding Young Bicolano Entrepreneur were honored during the 2018 Halyao Awards held July 28 at the Avenue Convention Plaza here. Coming from the different provinces in Bicol, the following received their golden Halyao statutettee as Outstanding Bicolano Businesspersons of the Year: Emma M. Imperial (Albay), Mario M. Espeso (Camarines Norte), Maryselle Uy Olivan (Camarines Sur), Franklin C. Bonales (Catanduanes), and Jorge T. Dioneda (Sorsogon). They were honored not just for their exemplary performance in the field of business and entrepreneurship but more so on their involvement in the community, care for the environment and contribution in Bicol’s socio-economic development and nation-building, as well as the religious practice of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Imperial, president and CEO of the Imperial Homes Corporation (IHC) and a real estate developer, has been supporting the development of solar power in the country and the building of sustainable, resilient and environment-friendly homes. Olivan is the owner-CEO of the Bicol Bestrade Sales Center, Inc. and is involved in various industries such as shipping, real estate development and hotel operations, providing more jobs to fellow Bicolanos. Espeso, the current manager of the Labo Progressive Multipurpose Cooperative (LPMC), has been excelling in the coconut and pineapple industry and is helping the community in their various needs in business, health, education, security, insurance and housing, among others. Bonales, on the one hand, is the owner of a one-stop shop and one of the biggest supermarts in Catanduanes and is largely involved in community outreach programs such as gift- giving, feeding program, clean-up drives, and the like. The fifth awardee is Dioneda from Sorsogon who invests in agricultural and poultry industry and has now been the biggest supplier of poultry products in the region. A benevolent businessman, Dioneda has been supportive of various civic activities such as tree planting and is helping his fellow poult Magno Edilberto R. Conag III, from Naga City, bagged the Outstanding Young Bicolano Entrepreneur Award. The young Conag is the founder of one of the few most successful software companies in the Bicol Region. His works focus on the various projects in the area of weather disturbance, law enforcement, education, health care, fashion, lifestyle, and real state. The Halyao Awards presented annually by the Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) serves as culminating activity of the Bicol Business Month, a trade show being jointly spearheaded by MNCCI and the City Government of Naga, along with various stakeholders, public and private.