The 59^th Anvil Awards Gabi ng Parangal, the awards night presented annually by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), was recently held at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Newport City, Pasay. The awards are presented to outstanding PR programmes, tools and professionals.

This year, the board of jurors presented two Grand Anvil winners, with the highest Anvil Award for public relations programmes awarded to Quezon City Gender and Development Council with MullenLowe MARC, and Megaworld. The Platinum Anvil, the highest Anvil Award given to public relations tools, was awarded to Ayala Corporation.

A total of 179 entries received Anvil Awards, 28 of which were Gold Anvil Award recipients and 151 were Silver Anvil Award winners.

Two PR professionals, Switzerland-based Jaffri Amin Osman, who is Asia-Pacific Chair at Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, and Prita Kemal Gani, President of the ASEAN PR Network, were awarded Global Communication Excellence Awards for their achievements in international public relations.

DDB Group Philippines clinched Agency of the Year, while Company of the Year was shared by PLDT and SMART.

“Two Grand Anvil winners provide highly exemplary models for emulation by organisations aspiring for excellence in the spheres of private enterprise and public governance. Their purposive determination to propagate the common good deserves commendation,” said Herminio (Sonny) Coloma, Jr., Manila Bulletin's Publisher and former Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office, who chaired the board of jurors.

PRSP President Harold Geronimo, congratulated the winners: ”Your outstanding PR programmes and tools prove that the local PR practice thrives and continually makes itself relevant and responsive to the evolving needs of the times.”

“It was a proud evening as we celebrated the diverse body of public relations work representative of PR’s ongoing evolution," said 59th Anvil Chair, Leah Huang, who is the Managing Director for PR and Influence at Ogilvy Philippines. "Now, more than ever before, the value that PR brings to the table is clear. Building trust and credibility, PR campaigns and tools catalyze resharing among influencers and audiences, creating a ripple effect that can influence opinions, shift perceptions, move audiences to action, encourage support for change, and generally make life better for individuals, corporations and communities.”