Honoring ‘Manang’ Letty

It seems to be awards-giving season for some of my favorite women.

Foremost of them is former Sen. Leticia Ramos Shahani, who was honored yesterday by the Senate in a resolution filed by Sen. Loren Legarda for her “continued service to the nation and the Filipino people with utmost dedication” and her “remarkable contribution as legislator, diplomat, educator, women’s rights advocate and civil society leader.”

Before this, Shahani was similarly honored by the House of Representatives through a resolution passed by the House committee on women in a session attended by a good number of members of Congress.

Indeed, it was in her work for the crafting and passage of laws promoting the rights of women, specifically the Reproductive Health Law and the amended Anti-Rape Law, that Shahani showed her true and full mettle not just as a legislator but also as a champion of women and children. As Legarda observes: “Up to this day, she continues to passionately advocate and campaign for the advancement and protection of women’s rights even after retiring from government service.”

Shahani actually began her career as a diplomat and public servant in the United Nations, where she served in numerous positions until she reached the body’s highest levels. Indeed, she is considered, along with retired ambassador Rosario Manalo, one of the “mothers” of the international feminist movement, pushing along the UN’s unprecedented series of international conferences that culminated in the 1995 International Women’s Conference in Beijing.

Nina Lim Yuson, a sister in The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) which counts Shahani among its pioneering batch of awardees, noted that given the swift passage of resolutions honoring her, “Manang” Letty “passed both houses faster than the BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law)!”

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Still on the women of TOWNS, two of our sisters, Dr. Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza and Dr. Virginia “Gie” Cuevas, were recently honored by the University of the Philippines Los Baños authorities for their achievements in the field of plant sciences and technology.

Tecson-Mendoza was honored in simple rites last June 6, when a type of hybrid gumamela, the hibiscus rosa sinensis, was named after her as a “woman of science.” The hibiscus bloom is certainly attractive, with bright red petals sprinkled with white markings.

Recently, too, Cuevas was named “professor emeritus” at UPLB. The honor was in recognition of her more than 30 years of service to the Institute of Biological Sciences, specializing in plant and fungal ecology.

In quite another field, my friend of many, many years, Sandra Castro Puno, who recently retired from her post at Nestlé Philippines, capped her stint by receiving the “Chief Marketing Communications Officer of the Year” honor at the Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards.

“Thanks for years of friendship and hand-holding through life’s ups and downs,” Sandra posted to us her friends who sent her online greetings. Sandra, many thanks, too, for making all of us proud to be your friend! Time for a Chinese lauriat of lumpiang Shanghai and sweet-and-sour pork (inside joke)!

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If earthquakes seem to be the “disaster of the month” topic in all media these days, it’s because the circle seems to be closing in on the Philippines. Our islands, after all, lie along the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” areas vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Indeed, the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal that resulted in 8,800 people dead serves as a warning. However, an earthquake last May 30 off the Ogasawara Islands in Japan, about the same magnitude as that which hit Nepal, killed no one. With proper preparation and quick response, tragedy and destruction can be minimized in a disaster.

Encouraged by the experience in Japan, Rep. Gina de Venecia of the fourth district of Pangasinan, president of the Association of Women Legislators, led some 300 participants in a briefing on disaster preparedness and on what to do in case of an earthquake. The briefing was given by Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum.

De Venecia said she specifically requested officials of the Batasang Pambansa to attend the briefing because a study by the Earthquake and Megacities Initiative identified Batasan Hills, where the Batasan complex is located, as among the five earthquake “hot spots” in Quezon City most at risk in case of a major tremor.

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Solidum supported such a concern, saying that the Batasan building itself lies only 800 meters from the Valley Fault. The Batasan building, it was revealed, was built in 1978, three years before the passage of the National Structural Code, which means many of the features guarding against structural damage in the wake of an earthquake may not be present.

“We cannot underestimate the importance of emergency preparedness because earthquakes can strike any time,” says De Venecia, who isn’t a stranger to disaster, manmade or otherwise, having survived a fire in 2004 that killed her youngest daughter and burned her home; the 1990 earthquake that decimated her home city of Dagupan; and the 2009 flash flood that sank 80 percent of her congressional district in Pangasinan.

De Venecia has also authored House Bill No. 2075 which provides for youth suicide intervention and prevention, since trauma and damage caused by disaster can trigger depression that may lead to suicide.

Meanwhile, the organization Inang Naulila sa Anak Foundation for “orphaned” mothers, which she heads, has formulated a counseling plan specific to family members going through depression. It presented last week its psychosocial syllabus to Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, who agreed to integrate its method in her office’s grief counseling service.