ALONA partylist Rep. Anna Villaraza-Suarez (top photo) and Gov.David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez speak during the 12th induction of newly elected off...
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| ALONA partylist Rep. Anna Villaraza-Suarez (top photo) and Gov.David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez speak during the 12th induction of newly elected officers of the Quezon Judges Association at the Royal Palace in Queen Margarette Hotel, Bgy. Domoit, Lucena City. (JOHN BELLO) |
By John A. Bello
LUCENA CITY – Quezon ‘First Lady’ and ALONA partylist Rep. Anna Villaraza-Suarez shared her simple life lessons as mother and public servant and ‘what it is to be an effective woman leader’ to the 40-strong Quezon Judges Association (QJA) during its 12th induction of newly elected officers last Friday, Feb. 9, at Queen Margarette Hotel in Bgy. Domoit here.
Taking off from the theme of the event, ‘Women in the Forefront of Change’ Villaraza-Suarez, as guest of honor and speaker, told QJA members, public prosecutors and personnel from Quezon regional trial courts, municipal circuit trial courts (MCTC) and municipal trial courts in cities led by its newly elected president, MCTC Judge Nickie Tamparong-Viaje, that to be an effective woman leader and homemaker takes a lot of balancing act ‘much like the balancing act of a tightrope walker or a unicyclist in a circus’.
”I know a lot of you here are also homemakers, business women, consultants and even professors – all of which are demanding jobs in their own right. I’m sure most of you can relate that sometimes it can drive you to the brink of insanity – especially in your line of work where you are constantly bombarded with cases that can be draining,” the neophyte congresswoman said of her first lesson learned about the need to be able to find work-life balance to be effective public servant.
Also at the event with Rep. Villaraza-Suarez was her husband, Gov. David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez, who sat at the presidential table with Tamparong-Viaje, and QJA past presidents RTC executive judge Robert Marcon, Br. 61 judge Maria Chona Pulgar Navarro and RTC judge Eloida De Leon-Diaz.
Rep. Villaraza-Suarez who at the start of her speech disclosed she has always wanted to be a lawyer and has taken pre-law course in De La Salle University in Taft Manila, majoring in Philosophy and with minor in Political Science, talked about learning her second lesson as a public servant, which is about leading ‘not only with our heads but with our hearts’.
“Our hearts allow us to deeply engage in our work, relationships and community. It gives us the ability to connect, gives rise to authenticity and commitment and helps turn our dreams and aspirations to action and results.”
Lastly, she said that it takes ‘believing in your role and calling’ to be effective woman leader in public service.
She said that when her husband assumed office in 2010 she automatically assumed several roles as head of Kapisanan ng Liping Pilipina sa Quezon with 100,000 members in the entire province, provincial gender and development council, Serbisyong Suarez Scholars with 12,000 scholars, day care service program and rural improvement clubs in the province.
“All these took up so much of my time. You can call it pro bono as I received no monetary compensation for work I was expected to do as the wife of a public servant yet was not in any manual,” she said adding that she did not see it as a job but an opportunity for her to deliver public service and for her to move her province a little closer toward social justice.
In her going around the province since 2010 with Gov. Suarez on his second year as the province chief executive, they were able to visit all 39 towns and 2 cities of the province, including the farthest island town of Jomalig. Rep. Villaraza-Suarez said she saw the needs of the different grassroot sectors and their potential in their products and businesses which prompted her to create the MAeNA program or Mentorship for the Advancement of Entrepreneurial Abilities.
MAeNA is a 3-month course which trains cooperatives on entrepreneurial mind-setting and values formation, marketing, business model canvass, product development, assessment and innovation; operations management, business development and business improvement plan, among others.
On Feb. 19, a graduation of the first batch of 400 participants of the MAeNA program will be held and Rep. Villaraza-Suarez believed that the program has unleashed and harnessed the entrepreneurial spirit of her constituents with success stories like that of the San Andres Agriculture Cooperative with its ube production and processing.
Finally, she went on to tackle the causes of malnutrition and cited poor sanitation, incomplete and inaccessible healthcare services and micronutrient deficiency.
She said that the problem of malnutrition has a ripple effect as the malnourished child can’t finish school, can’t get a decent job with decent wage causing ‘intergenerational cycle of poverty’ with devastating effect.
“But perhaps the greater costs of malnutrition and stunting to our province are immeasurable. It can mean the loss of a potential Olympic calibre dragon boat team for Polillo; it can mean a painting not painted by someone from Mauban, Tayabas, Lucban or Lucena with the talent such as that of Zalameda; or it can mean the loss of judges and lawyers as great as all of you here today,” she told the audience of lawyers and judges of the province who were all ears to the neophyte politician.
Rep. Villaraza-Suarez said the malnutrition problem everywhere prompted her and the governor to implement the Quezon First 1,000 of Life program which aims to optimize the implementation of the national and provincial programs on maternal and child care, immunization, nutrition and sanitation and focuses on the pre-natal and infant care through a basic and systematic approach for pregnant women in Quezon to secure the province’ future.
“What we do is take care of the mothers while they are pregnant up until they give birth and their children turn about 2 years and 7 months old,” she said adding that they are now on the 934th day and in 2 months will have the 1st batch of graduates of the Q1K program.
On her first day as member of House of Representatives in the 17 Congress, Rep. Suarez filed House Bill 899 which aims at the institutionalization of the Q1K program in Quezon.
For his part, Gov. Suarez mentioned in his speech about how the Q1K program appears to serve as model of the national government’s F1K program being implemented by the National Nutrition Council which is about Early Childhood Care and Development Intervention package from day 1 of the mother’s pregnancy up to 2 years.
The governor said, Q1K is now being implemented province-wide with Q1K coordinators to monitor pregnant mothers enlisted in the program in every towns and the 2 cities of the province.
He then talked about the province’ upcoming big-ticket development projects such as the completion of the 3,000 capacity Gumaca Convention Center, construction of the P150 million Southern Luzon State University campus branch in Catanauan and nearby, the establishment of P110 million Coconut Research and Development Center; the start of the construction this 1st quarter of 2918 of the SLEX extension to Quezon province as was told to him by no less than DPWH Sec. Mark Villar, among others.
Earlier, the Suarez couple, accompanied by provincial government executive assistants Webster Letargo, Juanito Diaz, and other governor’s staff witnessed the orientation and distribution of financial assistance to 34 new scholars taking up post-graduate studies in various local universities and colleges as part of the expanding Suarez Scholarship program involving college students; and later in the afternoon they attended the exit conference on Development of Compendium of Action on Nutrition by the Provincial Nutrition Multisectoral Council both held also in Queen Margarette hotel.
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