ON the occasion of International Working Women’s Day, we salute former UP faculty regent Lourdes E. Abadingo (author, Disciplines and Ideas in the Applied Social Sciences for senior high school): “Women can definitely do what men can do, perhaps even better, with more creativity and with more enthusiasm. Contrary to what others are saying, that ‘pabago bago ng isip,’ women can be firm in making decisions. We are assured that when they decide, all aspects of the issues at hand have been thoroughly covered. Complete staff work has been done. Even repercussions of decisions have been anticipated and studied.” [https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=858169486324033&set=a.484699603671025]
We salute Carmen Guerrero Nakpil: “No one ever has to remind a woman to Be a Woman. For what every woman knows is better left unsuspected by all men, and even the least of us is always woman enough.” [Woman enough and other essays, 1963]
We salute Letizia Roxas Constantino and her assessment of the Filipina experience under Japanese rule. “I told my mother-in-law that in a way, despite all of the difficulties that we had experienced, I was glad that it happened to me because I learned what my capacity was. That I was not afraid of life. I was always very conscious that my life would be full of ups and downs. This challenge was a given. It was like passing a test. I thought that I did pretty well.” [Interview/Conversations), Quezon City, July 16, 2005]
We salute Nelia Sancho (National Coordinator and Founding Member, Lolas Kampanyera Survivors Organization), Filipina sprinter Lydia de Vega-Mercado (dubbed the fastest woman in Asia), and movie icon Gloria Anne Galla (aka Gloria Romero, the “First Lady of Philippine Cinema”).
We salute Denice Zamboanga, a highly skilled and determined Filipina mixed martial artist, who achieved a remarkable victory — the prestigious title of One Interim Atomweight Champion. [P.S. Res. No.1284 introduced by Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito] Watch her in action: Denice Zamboanga vs. Julie Mezabarba Full Fight Replay, ONE Championship, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd7nl0v74fg.
1. Rubilen “Bingkay” Amit made history as the first Filipina to win the gold at the Masse World Pool-Billiard Association Women’s World 9-Ball Championship held in Hamilton, New Zealand, on September 8, 2024. She is a three-time World Champion and a ten-time Southeast Asian Games Gold medalist. [P.S. Res. No. 1198 introduced by Senator Manuel “Lito” M. Lapid] Watch her in action: Rubilen Amit vs Bai Ge | WPA 9 Ball China Open 2023 (Women) Full Match, PH Pool Master, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsPgtz0gzwE]
2. Islay Erika Bomogao, the top-ranked female -45 kg elite class fighter in the International Federation of Muaythai Associations: One Championship, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUYl1dPICW0
3. Filipina Police Staff Sergeant Maria Caress Cenabre Arnejo won three medals in the World Police and Fire Games 2022 — Gold Medal in Karate Committee 30+ Kyu Belt Category, Silver Medal in 30+ 10,000 meters run category, and Bronze Medal in Karate Kata Kyu Belt Category. [House Resolution No. 211 introduced by Edgar M. Chatto, First District, Bohol]
4. Olivia “Bong” Coo (four-time bowling World Champion, featured in the Guinness Book of World Records). [https://malaya.com.ph/sports/coo-intends-to-hit-the-ground-running/]
5. Filipina golfer Bianca Isabel Pagdanganan: Paris 2024 Highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW2ME23qGxA
6. Hangzhou Asian Games jiu-jitsu gold medal winner Meggie Ochoa is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. [https://malaya.com.ph/sports/petecio-villegas-banner-psc-all-women-sports-rites/]
7. Philippine women’s softball team (the RP Blu Girls) are all homegrown talents with players coming from Bacolod City, Makati City and the provinces of Bukidnon and Batanes, reached the World Cup, and have been ranked No. 4 in Asia. [https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1199193]
8. Filipina boxer Aira Villegas won the bronze medal for the Philippines in the women’s 50kg boxing matches at the 2024 Paris Olympics. [https://malaya.com.ph/lifestyle/living/ever-bilena-awards-olympic-bronze-medalist-aira-villegas/]
We salute Dr. Minda Luz Quesada (Founding President of the Alliance of Health Workers, and Commissioner in the 1986 Constitutional Commission): “We fight not only for ourselves, but for all health workers, and for all the people especially the poor patients. They have nowhere to go but the public hospitals. We fight for them.” [https://bantayogngmgabayani.org/bayani/minda-luz-quesada/]
We salute Trinidad Tarrosa-Subido: “I have more power than the sea; You less than sky.” [Lines To My Love, 1936; courtesy of Mayita Subido]
We salute Ledivina Vidallon Cariño for her “outstanding works and accomplishments in the fields of Public Administration, Political Science and Sociology which spanned a range of issues and approaches in development studies from rural to urban development, from local autonomy to national governance, from bureaucratic corruption to the imperatives of the civil service, and from participatory development models and approaches to a focus on the elite.” [https://www.members.nast.ph/index.php/list-of-nast-members/details/1/21]
We propose to name the UP Manila Graduate Program in Management office the “Lourdes E. Abadingo Room” after the executive director of the UP Manila Development Foundation and an issue editor of the Philippine Management Review (Vol. 25, 2018 and Vol. 26, 2019]
