UNEP International News Anchor Rico Hizon to receive Honoris Causa conferment from UNEP

On November 23, another momentous occasion is set to take place at the University of Northeastern Philippines (UNEP) Gymnasium. An internationally acclaimed individual will set foot on the university’s ground to receive the much coveted educational conferment as proof of his exemplary deeds in his chosen field of endeavor.

UNEP’s request to grant multi-awarded broadcast journalist and BBC World News Anchor Federico Jose M. Hizon the title of Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa was finally approved by the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) Commission en Banc.

The good news was formally relayed to Atty. Remelisa Alfelor-Moraleda in a letter coming from CHED Chairperson Patricia B. Licuanan, Ph.D. The message contains Hizon’s conferment pursuant to CHED Resolution No. 126-2012 during the commission’s 393rd meeting on June 11, 2012.

Hizon was at UNEP last year thru UNEP Media Relations Director Melody Ordoňez, when he was invited as Commencement Speaker and Guest of Honor.

The conferment will serve as a testimony to Hizon’s commendable achievements and accomplishments as a broadcast journalist. In his almost 25 years in the profession, he is the only South East Asian to work for two of the world’s most prestigious global news networks - CNBC Business News and BBC World News.

He rubbed elbows and personally bantered with famous personalities in the financial, political and sporting world from Microsoft´s Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, Virgin´s Sir Richard Branson, billionaire Warren Buffet, Hedge Fund managers George Soros, and Mark Mobius. He was able to interview former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad, European Union President Jose Manuel Barroso and Nobel Prize Laureate Mohammad Yunus. The list can go on and on. Name them and Hizon got them.

Hizon’s slow and humble but steadfast dedication to pursue his dreams has earned him those accolades. From being a reporter at GMA7 to being a business correspondent covering the latest news on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), CNBC Asia in April 1995 until reaching his current position as news anchor and editor in BBC World, Hizon remained mod¬est and self-effacing.

This is the character that UNEP wants other UNEPians to emulate. For someday, who knows, one or more of them can also make it in the international scene and be one of those UNEPians who is worthy to be called a Global Achiever.