MANILA, Philippines ? Just when we needed it most, CNN recently announced that Filipino finalist Efren Peñaflorida had won the channel?s Hero of the Year top plum. Peñaflorida, a pioneering ?street teacher,? won a cool $100,000, which he said will all be used to fund and expand his team?s most laudable efforts to teach the children of the poorest of the poor, to give them a much-needed boost in life. ?Spoken like a true hero, indeed.

Of course, Peñaflorida owes his victory in part to Filipinos? enthusiastic penchant for texting, which must have worked greatly in his favor in the online competition. Still, his victory is every bit as bracing as Manny Pacquiao?s more pugilistic triumph, so let?s celebrate and feel good about ourselves and our more upbeat propensities?for a change!

Let?s also take this occasion to praise the other heroes in our midst, many of whom spend their entire lives doing good without expecting to be honored for it. Awards and people?s gratitude are great, but the best and most enduring reward is the certitude that you have shared something important with others, some of whom you may not even know, and you are all the better for it.

My personal heroes include: Haydee Yorac, much-admired and fearless legal luminary and sweetly caring friend. Despite being famous and much-admired, Haydee wore her achievements lightly on her shoulders, and never allowed her golden reputation to get in the way of her personal relationships. Our only regret is that she left us much too soon?and that she didn?t succeed in her bid to become a senator. We do have a propensity for shooting ourselves in the foot?and the loss is entirely ours.

Elvira Manahan. The fabulous TV host and style icon was more than just a dear friend and colleague, she literally taught me how to live. Before I got to know her, I preferred to play it safe, but Elvira loved life so much that she pulled me along, breathless in her undertow, as she proceeded to make each and every ?ordinary? day truly special.

Unknown to many, ELM also had a deeply caring heart for others?not just her friends and loved ones but strangers as well, many of whom were grateful recipients of her quiet philanthropy.

Eddie Romero. Our celebrated National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts is my mentor?not because he taught me to write and direct, but because, in our many conversations, he enriched and deepened my appreciation for the cinema and its amazing power and beauty. Already in his 80s, Eddie continues to inspire many younger filmmakers by continuing to come up with new cinematic gems, filling them with a love for film that, hopefully, like his, will endure.

Marilou Diaz-Abaya. She would be the first to protest and insist that she?s no hero, just a TV-film artist doing the best she can with the talent that God has given her. In the light of her medical battle, however, Marilou?s fortitude and determined productiveness is heroic. Not only does she continue to write and direct, but she has also put up her own film institute, which has already produced a number of young prizewinners. I daresay that, to them, she?s a special role model and hero, too!