Rene P. Sellado wins the GOLDEN SIFI STORY with his entry “Mamumugon.” He shared how his SIFI scholarship “played a pivotal role in my childhood dream to free myself and my family from dire poverty conditions.” His journey from a sugar farm laborer to being a Boeing executive who supports other scholars now is an inspiration and an articulation of how much of an equalizer education can become when the opportunity is provided.
The story writing competition organized by the Sugar Industry Foundation Inc. (SIFI) aims to mark it’s 50th year of service to the sugar industry come 2021. The P20,000 prize was awarded to a personal story by a writer whose family were laborers in the sugar industry and whose life has been significantly touched by his SIFI scholarship.
The criteria for judging included the use of the theme, “triumph over adversity” which must be at the heart of the story, employs a plot that is plausible and compelling as it tells an original story that is logical and shares a struggle, a life-changing circumstance or perhaps the details of a hard life that was positively changed because of assistance facilitated or provided by SIFI; effective use of language; and emotional appeal that has the potential to bring inspiration when translated into video as the winning entry will be adapted into a screenplay and produced into a short film to be shown as highlight of the golden anniversary celebration in 2021.
Judging was held January 24, 2020 with 23 entries from all over the Philippines and paneled by judges: director-filmmaker Domingo ‘Barney’ Molina, filmmaker-faculty Julius dela Pena and writer-faculty Jade Snow Dionzon.
Sellado, who at age 20, served as father and mother to three younger siblings when both parents passed away in 1984 now has an impressive portfolio spanning 33 years of combined work experience in Saudi Arabia and with various private and government organizations in the Philippines and in the field of business operations. He was recently promoted as Business Operations Specialist at Boeing, an aerospace company and manufacturer of commercial jetliners.
