Name Jonathan Navea | ||
Jonathan Jesus N. Navea, also known as Dr. Jake Navea (born June 11, 1955, in Quezon City, Philippines), is a Filipino civic leader and public relations consultant. He founded Mother's Day and Father's Day in the Philippines in 1980 through the annual Huwarang Ina at Ama (formerly Gintong Ina at Ama Awards or Outstanding Mothers and Fathers) Awards. He was also responsible for lobbying Presidential Proclamation No. 266 signed by late Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino proclaiming both Mother's Day every second Sunday of May and Father's Day every third Sunday of June as official national events in the Philippines.
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Family and education
Dr. Navea is the son of the late civic leader and educator Dean Nieves Nazareno-Navea and the late Bureau of Customs collector Enrique O. Navea.
He attended San Sebastian College in Manila, where he was a Dean Lister Honor Awardee and was the associate editor of the school newspaper, The Sebastinian. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, with a major in marketing and a minor in journalism and advertising. He was a Salutatorian and Top Ten Alumni when he graduated at the University of the East (UE) High School, Manila.
He received a special honorary doctorate in humanities and entrepreneurship from the University of Oklahoma, U.S.A. and International Academy for Leadership.
Mother's and Father's Days
Dr. Jake Navea is the founding chairman of the Philippines' Mother's Day & Father's Day Council. He lobbied for Presidential Proclamation No. 266, issued by President Corazon Aquino, which established the second Sunday of May as Mother's Day and the third Sunday of June as Father's Day, superseding a previous proclamation by President Ferdinand Marcos. He also promoted parental tributes in other parts of Asia through the Gintong Ina at Ama (Golden Mothers and Fathers) Awards, later renamed the Huwarang Ina at Ama (Outstanding Mothers and Fathers) Awards. Later, he spearheaded the campaign for Grandparents & Senior Citizens Day (the second Sunday of September) and the Family Week Celebration (the last week of September), which President Fidel Ramos proclaimed as national celebrations through Presidential Proclamation No. 60.
Among the recipients of the Huwarang Ina at Ama Awards are former Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago of the Supreme Court of the Philippines; former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo; former President Joseph Estrada's mother, Mary Ejercito, who was honored posthumously in 2009; and, in 2012, Caridad Tulfo, the mother of the broadcasters Mon Tulfo and Erwin Tulfo.
Consumer rights
Dr, Navea helped establish Consumer Welfare Month in the Philippines in 1981, and eventually created the Consumers Choice Awards, the Consumers Quality Awards, the Seal of Excellence Awards, and the Global Brand Awards to honor outstanding consumer products and companies. Consumer ceremonies led by Navea have been held in the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.
He also created several awards to honor achievements in business, arts and entertainment, sports, public service, education, humanitarian service, and other fields, including the Asian Achievers Awards, the Dangal ng Bayan Awards (formerly the Parangal ng Bayan Awards, or People's Choice Awards), the Global Achievers Awards, Who's Who in the Philippines, and the Gawad Musika Awards.
Dr. Navea is the founder and president of the Plus Up Youth & Family Opportunities Program, a collaboration with the National Consumer Affairs Foundation that promotes entrepreneurship among young Filipinos. He is also the editor and publisher of Variety Newsmagazine; the editor of Pacific Chronicle, a weekly newspaper based in Saipan and Guam, and Consumers Journal, a quarterly magazine; president of MediaPower PR & Advertising, and president of the Asia-Pacific Awards Council. He is an officer in Lions Clubs International's Quezon City and Saipan branches.
Other work
Dr. Navea is the founding chairman of the Kabisig Consumers & Workers Alliance and the Ang Ating Damayan Consumers & Family Alliance, advocacy groups for Filipino consumers, workers, and families. He founded the Mr. & Miss Global Youth Ambassador pageant (formerly Mr. & Miss Teen Globe), acknowledged as the world's only youth advocacy pageant, which aso advocates an anti-illegal drugs, world peace and nation-building, environmental protection, and tourism. He promotes ecotourism and awareness of global warming through the Miss and Mrs. EcoTourism Globe Pageant, a pageant for empowering women through environmental protection and tourism.
In May 2010, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in Congress under the Damayan party list due to lack of logistical support.
Awards
Dr. Navea received Special Presidential Achievement Citations from Presidents Aquino and Ramos at Malacañang Palace for his work to promote parental respect and consumer protection. He has also been honored by the Saipan Unity Lions Club, Rotary International, Caloocan Jaycees, and the Asian Excellence Awards. In 2016, he received a grand tribute as "Asia's Award-Giving Icon," as pioneer and prominent award-giving achiever conferred by World-Class Excellence Japan Awards (WCEJA) held in Fukuoka, Japan.