21. Dolphy launches his own foundation to provide educational assistance.
After decades of being hailed as the King of Comedy in the local entertainment industry, Rodolfo "Dolphy" Quizon, together with his son, Eric, and STI gave kids a reason to smile as he launched the Dolphy Aid para sa Pinoy Foundation, which aims to provide educational assistance to the children of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
22. RockEd launches RockAid for Ondoy victims.
The socially-oriented RockEd group led by Gang Badoy became a helping hand in a time of crisis as radio station, Jam 88.3, was converted into a relief goods center. News updates, tips, and calls for donations filled the airwaves as volunteers stepped up to the plate to help out, proving that they weren't all lip-service by taking the lead when it really mattered.
23. The Bureau of Customs' Book Tax gets trashed.
With the support of Makati Representative Teddy Boy Locsin Jr., the united voices of the book-reading public convinced Pres. Arroyo to reverse the Bureau of Customs' ruling that non-educational books are subject to tax.
24. Volunteers donate their time and money to help typhoon victims.
Maybe it wasn't a case of "Filipino resilience" as Conrado de Quiros eloquently wrote; maybe it was just the fact that people were happy to offer help that made the victims smile. People could have easily been apathetic and stayed in the comfort of their own homes, but the fact that the youth, their families, and even celebrities went out of their way to help out complete strangers shows a different side of the Filipino character: that which makes us willing to help out their fellowmen, no matter the cost.
25. Netizens become the eyes and ears of the nation.
Bloggers and Twitter-folk took matters into their own hands and became vigilant modern-day field reporters. Many important news stories, updates, and scandals broke out on the 'Net in 2009, from blogger Ella's controversial impromptu warehouse exposé to live Ondoy feeds, and even Hayden Kho's "funny home movies." Sometimes, the public already knows the scoop and acts on it even before it's broadcast on the seven o'clock news.
Read the 25 Dubious Achievements of 2009.
Images courtesy of PEP (Manny Pacquiao), Mark Pimentel/PEP (Nonito Donaire), Engkwentro (Pepe Diokno), Yas Salanga/PEP (Eugene Domingo), Jocelyn Dimaculangan/PEP (Brilliante Mendoza), Monica Barretto for SPOT.ph (Cristeta Comerford), Noel Orsal/PEP (Charice Pempengco, Francis Magalona), Christian Yambing (Alexis Tioseco), Ernie Reyes (Corazon Aquino), Tik Tok Pilipinas (Lourd de Veyra)
