Cebu: Archbishop Palma receives the coveted Rajah Humabon Award for community service

The authorities have awarded the archbishop the highest civil honour. Among the reasons given were his exemplary contribution to the city and for having made gestures with a high social impact on its inhabitants. In his speech, the prelate urged everyone to continue to ‘serve one another in hope, faith and humility’.

Cebu (AsiaNews) - A Filipino prelate has received the highest civil honour from the leaders of the city of Cebu, a metropolis in the Central Visayas region, for his tireless service to society in all its spheres.

The Order of Rajah Humabon was awarded yesterday, 26 June, by the city government, which wanted to reward the work of Monsignor Jose Serofia Palma, metropolitan archbishop since 2010 and former president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Established in 1994, the Order of Rajah Humabon is the most coveted award that the city government of Cebu confers on an individual, regardless of nationality. Among the reasons for the award are exemplary contributions to the city itself or significant acts or gestures that have had a major impact on its inhabitants in general.

In addition, the honour is reserved for people whose service to the community is considered remarkable and selfless.

The award takes its name from Rajah Humabon, a 16th-century king of Cebu (or Sugbu) at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese-born Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines in 1521. The monarch subsequently chose to be baptised with the name Don Carlos Valderrama, going down in history as the first conversion of a native of the Philippine archipelago.

The award ceremony began with a mass presided over by the archbishop himself and the priests in attendance. This was followed by the award ceremony, including the reading of City Council Resolution No. 16-3826-2025 by lawyer Charise Paramide and Cultural Heritage and Arts Council Resolution No. 27 Series 2025 by Catherine Yap. Finally, the medal was presented to the prelate by city officials.

The San Carlos Major Seminary in Cebu hosted the award ceremony yesterday. Commenting on the award, Monsignor Palma said he was “grateful” for the recognition received from the Cebu government. The archbishop went on to say that he did not feel worthy of the honour but would accept it out of a sense of gratitude. ‘Let us all continue,’ he added, ‘to serve one another in hope, faith and humility.’

Finally, the prelate thanked the city authorities for their fruitful collaboration with the local Church, a work aimed at the common good. After all, Monsignor Palma has always distinguished himself over the years for his role and active commitment to promoting education, faith and peace throughout the community and its inhabitants.

The archbishop is the third religious figure to be awarded the Order of Rajah Humabon. The first to receive it were Monsignor Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal, former archbishop of Cebu, and Monsignor Rudy Villanueva, musician and liturgical composer. Cebu was the cradle and birthplace of Christianity in the Philippines. The most important religious image of the Child Jesus in the Philippines is the Santo Niño de Cebu. It was Ferdinand Magellan himself who gave it to the kings of Cebu in 1521, making it the oldest Christian artefact in the nation. In Cebu, the image is honoured during the Sinulog festival, an important religious and cultural occasion.