How the 1998 Philippine Web Awards honored Dino Ignacio, the first Filipino to win a Webby Award, and paved way for more Filipino wins in the Webby Awards

In 1998 the first Philippine Webby Awards (later on renamed to Philippine Web Awards due to name licensing restrictions from the US Webby Awards) was celebrated on December 9, 1998 at Hard Rock Cafe in Makati, Philippines. It was the first of such event in the country, but even being the first, the organizers claimed that they received over 1,100 entries! In that event, a special part was allocated to honor Dino Ignacio, the first Filipino to win a Webby Award, for his work “Bert is Evil” (mirror site).

At one point in the event 1998 Philippine Web Awards event, the host has introduced the first win of a Filipino in the US Webby Awards, Bert is Evil by Dino Ignacio (Dino is Filipino by ethnicity & studied Fine Arts in the University of the Philippines from 1994-1997) via the large screen onstage showing a screenshot of the Bert is Evil website. The audience has cheered on — it was just a let down that Dino cannot be there physically to accept the special honor from the Philippine Web Awards committee.

Bert is Evil screenshot (c) Dino Ignacio

Dino’s win as the first Filipino to have won a Webby Award has inspired Filipinos in the web community. Many Filipinos followed suit and won/got nominated in the prestigious Webby Awards:

Dino Ignacio is the first Filipino to win in the Webby Awards, followed by Melvin Mangada (2013), Joey Tiempo (2013), Cheryl Fuerte (2020), Joey Sendaydiego (2020), and Abi Marquez (2024).