Sisterhood for VP Leni

“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” is a novel for the juvenile market that tells of three friends who go to separate destinations for summer vacation and keep in touch by sending each other, by turns, a pair of denim pants that mysteriously fit every recipient perfectly.

The novel was later made into a movie that had, among its stars, America Ferrera of “Betty la Fea (Ugly Betty)” fame.

The pants made for much more than just a welcome addition to their summer wardrobes. For the stories told about the summer adventures of all three girls are stories of self-discovery, self-realization and lessons in love and life.

Well, call this story “the sisterhood of the gift of clothes,” for that is what Vice President Leni Robredo remarked upon in her response to a lunch in her honor hosted by the Association of Women Legislators Foundation Inc., the grouping of women representatives to which Robredo once belonged.

“I would not be here without you,” the VP acknowledged, recalling how her “sisters” in the House all rallied round her despite their differences in political parties or the presidential candidates they supported.

And to symbolize that sisterhood they established through three years’ bonding (Robredo was a first-termer in the House), the VP acknowledged how her “sisters” responded to her wardrobe needs once news of her victory was confirmed. The dress she was wearing that afternoon, she pointed out, was a gift from a former colleague whom she did not name. But so many others likewise came forward and offered her outfits to wear to official functions.

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Among the most generous, the VP acknowledged, was the host for that afternoon’s affair held at the Sampaguita Gardens, former Pangasinan Rep. Gina de Venecia, who relinquished her seat in favor of her and former speaker Joe de Venecia’s son Christopher or Toff.

“I beat all of you,” Robredo told the predominantly female attendees, most of them her former colleagues in the House. “If you received one or two items from Manay Gina’s trip to the United States, I received an entire suitcase!”

Among the items in that suitcase, she said, were suits and blouses, bags, and “so many pairs of shoes.”

But even when she was but one of many women members of the House, Robredo recalled, she received so much care from the other female legislators, who would frequently pull her into the ladies’ room for a much-needed touch-up or hair do-over.

So even as she carries out her new role as “housing czar(ina)” and the second-highest ranking official of the land, Robredo will literally be carrying on her back the gifts and well wishes, as well as the hopes and prayers, of women all over the land.

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After all, she could yet be the compassionate face of the new administration, with President Duterte presenting before the nation, especially in his recent State of the Nation Address, a rather harsh and draconian plan to rid the country of the drug menace.

That plan has come under withering criticism for targeting mostly poor users and pushers who are gunned down with impunity, their bodies left abandoned on roadsides often with cardboard signs warning the public not to follow the deceased’s “bad example.” And while before the dead used to be identified as drug users or pushers, these days the killings seem to have been extended even to “akyat bahay” or housebreakers, and thieves.

Already, the VP has spoken out against the summary killings and even the imposition of a curfew on minors, who are herded by police into police stations, with their parents jailed along with them when they come looking for their children.

This is a woman’s and a mother’s instinct at work, which knows that killing and violence

cannot ever be the rightful response to personal, familial and social problems. May the “sisterhood” draw close around Vice President Leni as she embarks on this new risky venture.

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And speaking of sisterhood, the search for a new batch of awardees of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) is ongoing, with the deadline for the submission of nomination forms extended to Aug. 30.

First given out in 1974, the TOWNS awards were conceived “to honor Filipino women who contributed positively to strengthening national capability and shaping the nation’s future, [serving] as catalysts for economic, social and cultural development, national security and national unity by providing their time, talent and resources.” The criteria used to select the awardees include: achievement, personality, commitment and pioneering zeal. A board of judges, headed by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, herself a TOWNS awardee for law in 1998, will determine the final awardees.

Now managed by the TOWNS Foundation, composed of all previous awardees, with Elsa Payumo, TOWNS awardee for tourism in 1977, now sitting as president, the recognition is given every three years during the last week of October. Nominees must be at least 21 years old and born not earlier than Oct. 31, 1970.

Those who know of any woman worthy of a TOWNS recognition may e-mail [email protected] for inquiries and for a copy of the nomination form.  Completed forms may be submitted to any of the following offices: TOWNS Secretariat c/o Azy Salire, 11th floor MDI Corporate Center, 39th St. corner 10th Ave., Bonifacio Global City (tel. no. (02) 8122124, loc. 1103); Nina Lim Yuson, Museo Pambata Foundation Inc., Roxas Blvd. cor Kalaw Parkway, Manila (0917-8902446, e-mail [email protected]); and Amihan Bonifacio Ramolete, Dean’s Office, College of Arts and Letters, Room 1108, Pavilion 1, Palma Hall, University of the Philippines, Quezon City (9818500 loc. 2101).