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Consunji Honored as 2024 Most Distinguished UP Alumnus; Gotianun Recognized for Excellence in Corporate Management

August 19, 2024

Alumni Regent and UPAA President Robert Lester Aranton (left) and UP President Angelo Jimenez (right) present the awards to DMCI Holdings Chairman Isidro A. Consunji (center) and SMPC President, COO and CSO Maria Cristina C. Gotianun (center)



DMCI Holdings and Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) Chairman Isidro A. Consunji (BS Civil Engineering ’71) was recognized as the sole recipient of this year’s University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) Most Distinguished Alumnus Award. This honor reflects his strategic and outstanding leadership of a business conglomerate that has generated countless job opportunities both within and beyond Metro Manila, addressed critical needs in housing, water services and power, and his enduring role as a pillar of the UP College of Engineering, embodying the university’s core values of Honor and Excellence.


The UPAA Most Distinguished Alumnus Award is reserved for individuals who not only excel in their respective fields but also stand out significantly among the year’s Distinguished Alumni Awardees. Additionally, the recipient must have attained national, and potentially international, prestige, bringing honor and distinction to both the University and the country.


SMPC President, COO and Chief Sustainability Officer Maria Cristina C. Gotianun (BS Business Economics ’75) received the 2024 Distinguished Alumna Award for Corporate Management Excellence. The award highlights her commitment to gender fairness, social equity and environmental restoration in the industry of mining and power generation.


The UPAA Distinguished Alumni Awards are conferred on alumni who have demonstrated, in their chosen field of endeavor, exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions that bring about substantial benefits to society and distinct honor to the University. Recognition is given to achievements and contributions that impact the community in which the alumni are or have been active at the local, national or international level.


In 2016, David M. Consunji, the patriarch of the Consunji family, was conferred the Most Distinguished Alumnus by the UPAA. Widely regarded as the father of modern construction in the Philippines, he is the founding chairman and president of D.M. Consunji, Inc., a premier construction firm recognized for its landmark projects, iconic structures, and large-scale infrastructure developments across the country.