and dedication are helping advance the region’s development.
Beyond its breathtaking landscapes, Eastern Visayas is also home to exemplary individuals whose expertise helps create solutions, open opportunities, and move the region forward. To recognize those whose work has made a lasting impact, the Department of Tourism Region VIII, in partnership with Tingog Partylist, held the inaugural Outstanding Eastern Visayan Awards last July 31.
This second feature spotlights five Outstanding Eastern Visayans in Education and Research; Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Health and Medicine; Media, Journalism and Communications; and Science, Technology and Engineering.
Delivering Healthcare Where It’s Needed Most
Dr. Aileen T. Riel-Espina, recipient of the Outstanding Eastern Visayan for Health and Medicine, has dedicated her career to building systems and solutions to make healthcare more accessible for communities in need.
When Typhoon Yolanda struck the region in 2013, only one hospital in Tacloban was left standing. She helped keep it running by leading disaster response, coordinating triage, managing scarce resources, and facilitating international medical teams. For her efforts, she received the Unsung Hero of Yolanda Award from the Secretary of Health.
Her commitment to healthcare began long before the storm. In 2004, she established the region’s first accredited Family and Community Medicine residency program at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC), training doctors to work in rural and underserved areas. She also helped pass the legislation that doubled EVRMC’s bed capacity from 250 to 500.
In 2017, she brought the same approach to Northern Samar, where every graduate passed their board exams and chose to stay and serve in the province. The program was later replicated in Sorsogon and featured in Frontiers in Medicine, a leading open-access medical journal, as a model for other low- and middle-income countries.
Her work gained global recognition in 2018 when she was appointed as chair of the WONCA Working Party on Women in Family Medicine and elected as Executive Member at Large of the WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Council. In 2023, she was elected as Honorary Secretary of the same council, and in March this year she was elected by unanimous vote as President-Elect of the WONCA Asia Pacific Region. She will assume the Regional Presidency in 2027 at the closing ceremony of the WONCA World Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.
Throughout her career, Dr. Riel-Espina has shown that improving healthcare is not only about treating patients; it is also about building the people and systems that allow communities to receive care when they need it most.
A Mentor Making a Mark on the World
The true impact of Outstanding Eastern Visayan for Education and Research Dr. Janet Alexis A. De los Santos’ work can be seen in the lives she has shaped, the communities she has served, and the global pride she has brought to the entire region.
A recipient of the 2025 Civil Service Commission National Semi-Finalist Dangal ng Bayan Award: Gawad Lingkod Bayani, the 2024 CSC Regional Pagasa Award, the Vicente Teves Locsin, Jr. Research and Scholarship in Nursing Award of the International Association of Human Caring, and the Southeast Asia Bioethics Network (SEABION) Research Fellowship Grant, Dr. De los Santos built a career devoted to service as a nurse educator, researcher, and public health advocate.
She holds national positions in scientific groups such as the National Research Council of the Philippines, Section Chair of Public Health under the Medical Science Division, Executive Secretary of the Philippine One Health University Network, and an esteemed member of the House of Delegates of the Philippine Nurses Association, apart from her voluntary work as Chair of the Nurse Researcher Experts Pool of PNA VIII.
She earned global recognition as the only scientist from an Eastern Visayan state university or higher education institution to be among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Elsevier-Stanford from 2023 to 2025. With 54 publications and 6,000+ Google Scholar citations, her research on HIV stigma, mental health, nursing education, and public health has reached far beyond the region.
Her most enduring impact lives on in the people she has guided and served. In 2023 she was awarded the National Winner for Best Mentor in Health Research by DOST-PCHRD. Her research has also found its way back to the communities that inspire it. She worked with the Department of Health Regional Office VIII and municipalities across Leyte to strengthen the skills of Barangay Health Workers in providing stigma-free HIV care. Her continuing research work on diseases reflects a commitment to making science research useful where it matters most.
Advancing Science in the Region
Dr. Ea Kristine Clarisse B. Tulin-Escueta, an Outstanding Eastern Visayan in Science, Technology, and Engineering, is advancing science and opening doors for the next generation of scientists.
After earning her Chemistry degree from Visayas State University (VSU), she received a Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship for her master’s and doctorate in Japan, then became the first VSU researcher to complete a postdoctoral research fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center–Harvard Medical School.
There, she conducted research in glycobiology and biomedical science, exploring areas such as antibodies, cancer biomarkers, and diagnostics. Her work has been published and presented at scientific conferences locally and abroad, including in Japan and the United States. Despite opportunities abroad, she chose to return home to teach and lead research at VSU, where she now serves as Assistant Professor IV. She mentors young scientists and builds collaborations that expand opportunities for researchers in the region.
For her, science should not stay in the lab. In 2020, she founded Experiments in Art, turning scientific images into visual art to make research more engaging and accessible. She also advocates for a “Science Island” in Leyte, aiming to bring academe, government, industry, and communities together to address regional challenges through innovation.
By bringing her experience home, Dr. Tulin-Escueta is helping strengthen scientific research in the region while creating new opportunities for the next generation.
Bringing Innovation Home
The path to innovation has taken certified public accountant and Outstanding Eastern Visayan for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Gilbert T. Trinchera, far beyond Eastern Visayas. Yet, wherever his work takes him, he remains dedicated to using what he has learned to help move his home region forward.
Trinchera’s work in technology, digital transformation, cybersecurity, and governance has placed him at the forefront of initiatives shaping modern organizations. He has led over 50 advisory engagements across the Philippines and Asia-Pacific, working with institutions such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippine Statistics Authority, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In 2026, he joined global leaders and experts at the ADB Annual Meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to discuss how technology and innovation can support sustainable development.
Trinchera turned his global exposure into local impact. He spoke at over 30 national and international forums, engaging an estimated 5,000 professionals, executives, and students. He has mentored over 100 emerging leaders and taught more than 500 accountancy and business students in Eastern Visayas.
Perhaps his most meaningful contribution is the bridge he continues to build between global knowledge and local opportunity. By bringing innovation, expertise, and new possibilities closer to home, he is helping build a more connected, capable, and future-ready Eastern Visayas.
A Voice to Inspire a Generation of Storytellers
For years, Outstanding Eastern Visayan for Media, Journalism, and Communications Dr. Michael Jude T. Casaljay has empowered young voices from Sta. Margarita, Samar to become credible storytellers reaching audiences across the nation.
A recipient of the 2018 Ulirang Guro and Pambansang Ulirang Guro for Eastern Visayas, the 2018 Avant-Garde School Paper Adviser of the Philippines, and the 2013 Outstanding School Paper Adviser of the Philippines. His record shows his commitment as an educator, campus journalism mentor, and school leader. Under his mentorship, through the SuratAram: School-Based Campus Journalism and Broadcast Excellence Development Program, which he started in 2006, three students were named Outstanding Campus Journalists of the Philippines. His coaching helped the Clarencio Calagos Memorial School of Fisheries (CCMSF) teams win 11 consecutive titles in Radio Broadcasting and 4 in TV Broadcasting at the National Schools Press Conference.
As the school principal, Dr. Casaljay’s leadership helped CCMSF Senior High School be recognized as the Most Effective Senior High School Implementer in Region VIII for three consecutive school years. Beyond medals and citations, his greatest legacy lies in the students who carried his lessons into their professional lives. One of his former mentees went on to become a DZMM Teleradyo news anchor, and another a coach of Region VIII’s champion Radio Broadcasting Filipino Team at the 2026 National Schools Press Conference.
Dubbed the “Living Legend in Radio Scriptwriting and Broadcasting in the Region,” Dr. Casaljay has helped generations of young Eastern Visayans find their voices and use them to uphold the truth with integrity and purpose.
Expertise Shaping the Future of the Region
These five Outstanding Eastern Visayans may have carved different paths, but they are united by a shared purpose: turning their knowledge, skills, and experience into meaningful contributions. Their work shows how people can become changemakers by creating solutions, opening opportunities, and inspiring local communities for generations to come.
Their stories remind us that the strength of a region is also built by people who share what they know and use it to create possibilities for others. Through their work, they are helping strengthen the people, communities, and institutions that will shape the future of Eastern Visayas.
