"We are immensely happy that our struggle for political rights extending for over a score of years has come to successful end without the trials and tribulation that our sisters in England and the States had to suffer"
– Pilar Hidalgo-Lim (Philippine Women Acquire the Vote)
May isang kalye sa Malate na ipinangalan sa dakilang Marindukenyang ito.
Mrs. Lim expressing gratitude to US governor
Pilar Hidalgo-Lim
(24 Mayo 1893 - 8 Disyembre 1973)
Mahusay na lider sibiko, edukador, at tagapagsulong ng karapatan ng kababaihan, si Pilár Hidálgo ay isinilang noong 24 mayo 1893 sa Boac, Marinduque at pang-anim sa siyam na anak nina Luis Hidalgo at Eulalia Lardizabal. Sa Maynila siyá nag-aral ng elementarya at segundarya. Nakilála agad ang kaniyang talino nang magtapos ng bachelor of arts, cum laude sa University of the Philippines, ang unang babae na gumradweyt nang may mataas na karangalan sa UP.
(24 Mayo 1893 - 8 Disyembre 1973)
Mahusay na lider sibiko, edukador, at tagapagsulong ng karapatan ng kababaihan, si Pilár Hidálgo ay isinilang noong 24 mayo 1893 sa Boac, Marinduque at pang-anim sa siyam na anak nina Luis Hidalgo at Eulalia Lardizabal. Sa Maynila siyá nag-aral ng elementarya at segundarya. Nakilála agad ang kaniyang talino nang magtapos ng bachelor of arts, cum laude sa University of the Philippines, ang unang babae na gumradweyt nang may mataas na karangalan sa UP.
Pagkagradweyt, nagturo siyá ng matematika sa UP. Noong 1911, lumipat siyáng instruktor sa Centro Escolar University, naging sekretarya ng unibersidad, at noong 1962 ay naging pangulo ng CEU pagkamatay ni Carmen de Luna. Bago ito, noong 1917, ikinasal siyá kay Vicente Lim, ang unang Filipino na nagtapos sa West Point at magiging heneral na namatay sa pagtatanggol ng Bataan noong Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig.
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| Vicente Podico Lim, Pilar's husband was a Filipino Brigadier General and hero during World War II. Lim was the first Filipino graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Prior to the establishment of the Philippine Army, he served as an officer in the Philippine Scouts. During the Battle of Bataan, Lim was the Commanding General of the 41st Infantry Division, Philippine Army (USAFFE). After the fall of the Philippines he contributed to the Filipino resistance movement until he was captured and subsequently executed. |
Marami siyáng hinawakang puwesto sa mga samahang sibiko. Naging pangulo siyá ng Girl Scout of the Philippines, pangulo ng Philippine Association of University Women, pangulo ng Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, miyembro ng kalupunan ng mga gobernador ng PNRC. Hinirang siyá ni Pangulong Osmeña na miyembro ng Relief and Rehabilitation Commission pagkatapos ng digmaan.
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| Historical marker honoring Pilar Hidalgo-Lim installed by the National Historical Institute in Marinduque, 1982 |
Si Pilar ay naging aktibong tagapamansag din ng mga karapatan ng kababaihan. Isa siyá sa mga tagapagtatag ng Council of Filipino Women na nanguna sa pakikipaglaban para sa karapatan ng kababaihan. Namatay siyá sa kanser noong 8 Disyembre 1973. (GVS), NCCA Official.
Dr. Fe del Mundo ( Fé Primitiva del Mundo y Villanueva )
( 1911 - 2011 )
Dr, Fe Del Mundo was the woman to be named as the country’s
first National Scientist in 1980. The Filipina doctor was also credited for the
breakthrough that led to the invention of the first incubator and
jaundice-relieving device.
Del Mundo was born at 120 Cabildo Street in the district of
Intramuros, Manila, on November 27, 1911. She was one of eight children of
Bernardo del Mundo and Paz (née Villanueva; d. 1925). Her family home was
opposite the Manila Cathedral. Bernardo was a prominent lawyer from Marinduque
who served one term in the Philippine Assembly representing the province of
Tayabas. Three of her eight siblings died in infancy,[3] while an older sister
died from appendicitis at age 11.[4] The death of her older sister, who had
made known her desire to become a doctor for the poor, spurred young del Mundo
toward the medical profession.
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| Del Mundo was honored last year, 2018 with a Google Doodle on her birth anniversary |
In 1926, del Mundo enrolled at the UP College of Medicine,
at the original campus of the University of the Philippines in Manila. She
earned her medical degree in 1933, graduating as class valedictorian. She
passed the medical board exam that same year, placing third among the
examinees. Her exposure while in medical school to various health conditions
afflicting children in the provinces, particularly in Marinduque, led her to
choose pediatrics as her specialization
She graduated as a valedictorian from the University of the
Philippines’ medical school in 1933.
She later went to Harvard University Medical School, the
first woman at that, in 1936 through a scholarship.
Early in 1941, Del Mundo returned home in Manila where she
set up a hospice during World War II. She persuaded the Japanese to open up a
children’s home on Jan. 10, 1942. Three weeks since the opening, the facility
was housing 130 children and a staff of 25.
Her frustrations with bureaucracy led her to sell her house
and belongings to finance the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines, the
Children's Medical Center, which is now known as the Fe Del Mundo Medical
Center, in 1964.
She continued making early morning rounds in the hospital until she was 99 years old, even in a wheelchair.
Throughout her life, Del Mundo received numerous citations,
which include the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, a recognition named after the
first woman in America to receive a medical degree and the 1977 Ramon Magsaysay
Award for Public Service.
She passed away in 2011 at the age of 99, and was buried at
the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
Rita Gomez
(May 22, 1935 - May 9, 1990)
Rita Gomez lovingly remembered
by Nestor Torre, Inquirer
Great Marinduquena actress from Aturan, Sta. Cruz, Marinduque is MS. RITA GOMEZ (the first Filipino actress to be billed with a title 'Ms.' or 'Miss' before her name).
Nestor Torre, Inquirer:
Nestor Torre, Inquirer:
"We were especially impressed with Rita, because she was ahead of her time, which favored “sweet” actresses—while she was more the “liberated” sort, playing edgier characters who knew what they wanted, and didn’t stop until they got it!
"From the very start, Rita came on strong—in “Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo,” in which she played a hot-to-trot vixen inspired by Jane Russell’s bare-shouldered character in an iconic US western.
"Rita quickly became a favorite actress of top directors who wanted to dramatize modern relationships, as opposed to traditional stories that kept their female characters meek and subservient.
"But, Rita came into her own even more strongly in maturity, when avant-garde directors like Ishmael Bernal gave her challenging roles that she could really “bite” her thespic teeth into, like the TH sexy star in “Pagdating sa Dulo.”..."
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| Pagdating sa Dulo, topbills Rita Gomez, Ishmael Bernal's first feature named best film of the decade by Gawad Urian Awards |
Rita Gomez before Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo
Danny Dolor, Philstar:
Although formally introduced in the Gerry de Leon film Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo (1952), Rita Gomez actually started in showbiz a few years earlier. She started as extra and through bit roles in movies produced and directed by Fernando Poe Sr. under Royal Productions, the first being the Carmen Rosales starrer Nanay Ko, shot in 1950 and shown early 1951.
Rita (much later called 'Mother' and billed 'Miss') joined the Paquito Bolero Stage Revue which traveled all over the Philippines, topbilling its drama acts, sharing the limelight with the likes of Victor Sevilla, Ely Roque, Dory Palacio, Pugak and Tugak, Teroy de Guzman, Elvira Reyes, Flor Bien and the 'Bolero Birthstones Girls'. Bolero was also a movie director.
Rita (much later called 'Mother' and billed 'Miss') joined the Paquito Bolero Stage Revue which traveled all over the Philippines, topbilling its drama acts, sharing the limelight with the likes of Victor Sevilla, Ely Roque, Dory Palacio, Pugak and Tugak, Teroy de Guzman, Elvira Reyes, Flor Bien and the 'Bolero Birthstones Girls'. Bolero was also a movie director.
She was actually earlier introduced in the Leila Morena starrer Salome. But then Rita is best remembered in Sawa, produced by Premiere Productions, where she played a contravida, earning a FAMAS nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Rita was born in Marinduque on May 22, 1935 to Angel Gomez and Luciana Arce. She finished elementary in Marinduque and high school in Araullo High School in Manila. She took up journalism at the University of Sto. Tomas.
In an article titled 3 Dagok sa Buhay ni Rita Gomez, written by Mario Luis and published in Literary Song Movie (October 1952), the actress bared the three misfortunes in her life.
First, the death of her father, a meat vendor. Second, the untimely passing away of Poe Sr., who would have launched her to stardom. Third, the strike at Premiere, where she was the most promising newcomer. A character actress, Leonora Ruiz, introduced Rita to Premiere producer Dona Adela Santiago.
In 1953, Dr. Jose R. Perez of Sampaguita Pictures signed up Rita to an exclusive contract, where she and Lolita Rodriguez reigned as drama queens, starring in, among others, Maldita, Society Girl, Reyna Bandida, Talipandas, where she won the FAMAS Best Actress award (1958).
Rita freelanced in the late '60s, starring in acclaimed movies like Bakit Ako Pa? (FAMAS Best Actress in 1970) and Pagdating sa Dulo, directed by Ishmael Bernal.
She also appeared on television and theater, the most memorable of which were drama anthologies Sagandaan and Balintataw, and the Nick Joaquin stage classic Larawan.
A voracious reader, prolific writer, and fluent speaker in English, Rita was a much sought-after guest in civic and professional clubs, schools, radio-TV.
A woman ahead of her time, Rita defied society's convention, getting her share of admirers and detractors. Rita Gomez died on May 9, 1990 in New York.
