The country’s business elite will gather again as they vie for the top honors at the 2012 Philippine Quill Awards, the most prestigious local event in the field of business communication, that will later air on ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel (SkyCable ch 27).

All winning entries will be competing for the Top Award in Communication Management, Top Award in Communication Skills, Top Award in Communication Creative, and Top Award in Student divisions, the four highest honors in the annual awards program of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines.

Three new special awards will be introduced this year wherein winners will be competing for the Philippine Quill Awards’ “Company of the Year,” “Agency of the Year,” and “School of the Year.” The winners will be based on the total number of Excellence awards received by a company, an agency, or a school across all categories.

IABC Philippines President and IABC Regional Director for North Asia Ritzi Villarico Ronquillo said the new awards are meant to challenge organizations and companies to set higher goals every year while upholding the highest standard in business communication.

“We hope to keep the industry and education sectors motivated in producing quality programs and campaigns. But we don’t stop at rewarding great work. IABC is committed to continuous development of communicators in learning, skill and standards so that collectively, we all contribute programs and projects relevant to our growth as professionals and as a country,” Ronquillo shared.

Held annually by IABC Philippines, the Philippine Quill Awards recognizes excellent use of communication in the projects and campaigns of the land’s leading corporations and agencies.

This year, the group will also honor great work by the Filipino youth in the 1st Philippine Student Quill Awards. As in the Philippine Quill, entries for the Student Quill were evaluated based on global standards in categories such as social media, publications, writing, communication campaigns, communication creative, and audiovisual by seasoned subject matter experts sitting as judges who score based on its technical merit, creativity, innovation, and adherence to the goals.

The Excellence, Merit, and Finalist awardees in both competitions will be revealed in a grand ceremony on 12 November 2012 at a black tie event at The Crowne Plaza Galleria.

In 2011, the spotlight was on big winners Philippine Daily Inquirer, Insular Life Insurance Company Ltd., and Adobo Magazine, after bagging the Top Awards in Communication Management, Communication Skills, and Communication Creative respectively for obtaining the highest scores in the three divisions.

This year’s race to supremacy is expected to be tougher with more entries and more companies participating. IABC Philippines Vice-President Kane Errol Choa, who also heads this year’s awards committee, shared that there is a 25 percent increase in the number of entries, an indication of the growing popularity and credibility of the Quill brand among the Philippines’ premier organizations.

He said the 1st Philippine Student Quill Awards received a total of 68 entries from students of different schools nationwide from Ilocos to Davao.

“Only the best and the truly deserving can win at the Philippine Quill. We want our participants to think at the global level, because if you win a Philippine Quill, you are at par with the world’s best,” Choa explained.

The Philippine Quill is the local edition of the Gold Quill, which is given out by the global IABC group to premier business organizations all over the world.

The IABC Philippines, the first local chapter outside the US,provides learning for career and professional advancement and growth all year round with renowned and multi-awarded practitioners from the IABC roster of 15,500 member-professionals all over the world.

With the launch of new awards and the Philippine Student Quill Awards, the anticipation for the 2012 Philippine Quill Awards has soared to greater heights. This would not have been possible if not for the support of ABS-CBN Corporation, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, San Miguel Corporation, and SMART Communications, Inc. as gold sponsors.

Also making the event possible are silver sponsors Flawless Aesthetic Clinic, Manila Water Company, and Security Bank Corporation; bronze sponsors Banco De Oro, First Philippine Holdings Corporation, Lopez Holdings Corporation, Manila Electric Co., Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Pag-Ibig Fund, and Team Energy.

Reyes Tacandong & Co. is the official tabulator, while STI College, Sun Life Financial Philippines, and United Laboratories complete the list of sponsors this year.

Find out who will win big at the 2012 Philippine Quill Awards and the first Philippine Student Quill Awards on November 12. Get the latest news on the event through this year’s media partners: Adobo Magazine; ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel; Business Mirror, Business World, DZMM TeleRadyo, The Manila Bulletin, Manila Standard Today, Mediabanc, and The Philippine Star.

Talk about the awards and the winners online using the hashtag #PhilQuill2012 on Twitter. For any inquiries on the awards or the seminar, get in touch with Jaana or Norlyn of the IABC Philippines Secretariat at tel. no. 756-0441, telefax 756-0424, email philippinequill@iabc.com.ph for professionals, email studentquill@iabc.com.ph for students, visit www.iabcphilippines.com, add on Facebook via www.facebook.com/iabcphilippines, or follow IABC Phl on Twitter via @IABCPH.