AFTER an almost yearlong search that gathered hundreds of thousands of entries from all over the Philippines and abroad, a financial analyst with cerebral palsy was hailed as the newest winner of a remittance company’s “Search for the Happiest Pinoy.”
During the Filipiniana-themed awards night, 28-year-old Richardson Navor of Caloocan City, bested nine other finalists and took home a cash prize worth P1 million and a trophy.
Navor is the third winner of the Search for the Happiest Pinoy which was first introduced in 2009. Launched in October of last year, the third edition came with the introduction of its own jingle, social media ambassadors and activations across the country. The campaign also rolled out several promotional activities, coordinating with different government sectors, school organizations and partners to encourage more Filipinos to submit nominations. Breaking its own record, over 280,000 nominations were received this year, the most in the campaign’s three-year history.
Navor joins the ranks of Winston Maxino and Rommel Arellano with his own inspiring story. Despite being born with cerebral palsy, Navor has gone through life inspiring and influencing people, and always looking at the positive side of circumstances. His condition did not hinder him from getting a good education as he excelled in his studies. Besides being elected as the Student Council president, he also graduated magna cum laude and was given various leadership awards and recognition including Outstanding Jose Rizal Model Student of the Philippines and 10 Outstanding Students of the Philippines.