BAGUIO CITY – Five women leaders were recognized as 2018 Outstanding Women Leaders of Baguio for their contributions to the development of various sectors in the city.
As the highlight of the celebration of the National Women’s Month with the theme “Making Change Work For Women,” the Baguio City Government and the Outstanding Women Leaders of Baguio awarded Ms. Philian Louise Weygan Allan for Spiritual and Socio-cultural Leadership, Ms. Flora Dolor Balaba for Highlighting the Rights of Senior Citizens, Ms. Elizabeth NattongMamanglo for the Upliftment of Women and Family through Cooperativism, Ms. Jocelyn Lardizabal Mariano for Cooperativism, and Ms. Sonia Gonzales Mina for Organizational Management.
Former Baguio Councilor Weygan -Allan is currently the president of Baguio School of Business Technology College, Secretary of the Baguio-Benguet Ecumenical Group, and the Chairperson of the Committee on Christian Education and Evangelism of the Cathedral of the Resurrection. She was also the past Director of the Soroptomist International North-Central Luzon District. As a city Councilor from 2010 to 2013, Allan was part of the rehabilitation of the Dominican Hill Project which has now been recognized as a national historical site by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
Balaba was a model civilian employee of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for 36 years. She continued serving the community after retirement as member of various civil society organizations. She a also served as City Mayor for the Day and pushed for stricter implementation of Resolution 54 Series 2008 designating blue pedestrian lanes for senior citizens, PWDs, and pregnant women. She pushed for geriatric care services in the city’s District Health Centers and designated parking lots for senior citizens.
Empowering IP women since 1985, Mamanglo co-founded the Mothers and Family Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MOFACO) which now has 6,000 members with more than Php.400 million assets. The cooperative with its 80% indigenous women membership started to help IP mothers who were then illegal ambulant vendors supplementing the incomes of their husbands who mostly worked in mines and construction. Aside from being an entrepreneur, Mamanglo also advances local literature through her books like Hot and Cold Treats from the Mountains and Ifugao Tales.
Mariano runs the Baguio-based Printing and Publishing Multi-Purpose Cooperative which is the only printing and publishing cooperative in Luzon. She has encouraged women to be involved in the publishing and printing business which was previously dominated by men. As a cooperative advocate, she is involved in various Baguio-Benguet based cooperatives like the Botanical Garden Small Vendors’ Livelihood Association.
Starting off as a civilian officer in the Human Resources Management of the military, Gonzales Mina’s leadership and management won her the Model Civilian Supervisor of the Year Award of the Philippine Military Academy and the Outstanding Human Resource Management Officer of the Civil Service Commission. She continues to empower people around her by serving as a Human Rights Action Officer and a Kagawad of SLU-SVP. Her advocacy for adequate waiting areas for senior citizens, PWDs, and pregnant women in city drugstores earned her the Outstanding Senior Citizen Achiever Award.
The search for the Outstanding Women Leaders of Baguio involves various screening processes including nomination, validation, and a personal interview with the search committee. /(PIA CAR)
