Echauz-Angara, who serves as the SSFI secretary, explains that the present board has expanded the group’s reach beyond the capital; for instance, SSFI’s annual gift-giving was done in multiple locations last year, benefitting Davao, Dumaguete and Caloocan orphanages. It has also continued disaster relief operations in calamity-stricken areas across different provinces. “Under the current leadership, we also went regional. It used to be that efforts were mostly in Metro Manila and Luzon,” she says. “As they say, you don’t feel someone’s pain or someone’s joy until you feel it yourself. It’s different when you go out there where they are and see their conditions first-hand.” 

This year, SSFI will hold a surgical mission for about 150 indigent patients in Baler in May and a back-to-school programme in June that includes donating tablet computers to less fortunate students. Last year,it collaborated with the World Surgeon Foundation Philippines for a surgical and medical mission in Maramag, Bukidnon, which benefited 1,000 patients.

As part of their yearly gift-giving initiative, in February this year, the group visited the women at Tahanang Mapagpala—a care home for disadvantaged elderly people in Malolos, Bulacan. “One of the things on their wish list is for us to fix and give them a new roof so they can expand [the facility] and take on more abandoned residents; puro lola sila doon [they are all grandmothers there]. So we’ll proceed with the expansion, with a target turnover of 2025,” Zubiri tells Tatler. 

Another gift-giving project the Foundation had last October was the Adopt-a-Barangay programme. “The theme was ‘Nanay on the Move’. We had 1,200 mothers as our beneficiaries, and Neil Llamanzares [Senator Grace Poe Llamanzares’s husband] was also with us. It’s nice to hear him talk to the mothers from a man’s point of view as he shared a bit of Senator Grace’s experiences as a working mum.  The mothers appreciated it.” 

The four women shared their dreams for the SSFI. Zubiri says: “I hope it can continue to bring public service and assistance to the country. I’d like to see the foundation evolve and meet the demands of current and future challenges that the country will have. We’re just passing through with the foundation. We hope before we go, we will make the foundation better.” 

Villar agrees, saying, “My dream for the foundation is to spread its legacy projects in different corners of the Philippines. I hope that moving forward, we can also build more legacy projects outside of Metro Manila and specifically for the poorest municipalities. It’s really for those who are the most in need.” 

Similarly, Pimentel says, “I hope even if we are not in the Foundation anymore, the next batch will continue [these programmes to help the needy] and will continue to be united because the success of the Foundation depends on the unity of its members.” 

As for Echauz-Angara, one of her dreams is for the foundation to have a legacy project for children with special needs. “It is rising in cases, and there’s a lot of ‘lack’, meaning lack of therapists and centres. Since the fast pace of education is something that we’re still catching up on in the Philippines, those with special needs are lagging. If we could build a centre that would last forever for all the children with special needs, especially in areas without access, that would be my biggest dream.”

While the four Tatler cover stars are hugely committed to the SSFI (“We support each other, and the group has no division. We want our projects to be very successful, so we put much effort into everything we do,” says Pimentel, the group’s treasurer) that’s not all they do in support of the betterment of the country.

Besides her involvement in their family business with her mother, Dette Tan, Audrey Tan Zubiri writes a weekly parenting column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Her motherly love goes beyond her three children—Adriana, Juanmi and Santi—and extends to all young people in the Philippines. “I would love nothing more than for all our children to access high-quality education and graduate with a degree that will allow them to pursue dignified work, preferably here in our own country, so that families need not be torn apart. Education is the best weapon against poverty and the best way to fight other issues such as insurgency, drugs and other societal ills that plague us today,” she says. 

This dream extends to Filipino women of all ages, as she believes that education and livelihood go hand in hand with women’s empowerment. “I am a great believer in the ability of women to earn money and use it wisely, whether for their families or to carve out a bright future for themselves,” she says. Through a partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment and the local government units, Zubiri has launched a successful women’s livelihood programme in the south of Bukidnon, in Mindinao, funding women-helmed businesses such as sari-sari stores, rice stores, school supplies stores, chicken livestock production and home-based catering services. To date, 400 women from various women’s federations have benefited. She is in talks with the local government units in Bukidnon and the Department of Education to launch a targeted educational programme to increase high school and university graduation rates.

Zubiri anchors everything she does on faith. “My faith is central to my identity; everything I do as a woman, wife and mother is strongly influenced by it. I find direction, peace, strength and inspiration from it.” During the pandemic, she formed lasting friendships with like-minded women of the apostolic movement, Regnum Christi Philippines. And she has a separate faith that her fellow women will continue to make the world a better place. “My prayer is that every woman in the world be able to overcome and emerge victorious over whatever challenge she may be facing through the love and support of fellow women because when women come together, we can make anything happen.”

The phrase “feed and food” has been at the core of Kathryna Yu Pimentel’s life ever since she can remember. But little did she imagine that this mantra would unlock her entrepreneurial spirit, leading her to several successful food business ventures and Koko Pimentel, the love of her life. “I was entrusted to cater food for his office, and he always requested coffee from me—only to find out much later that he is not a coffee drinker. To cut a long story short, the coffee interaction moved up to a higher plane, into the sacred,” she says. “I started cooking and baking at a very young age, and my deep love for this creativity never stopped evolving. The significant events in this journey are Koko finding me, or me finding Koko; establishing our family, and giving birth to [their daughter] Leyna at the most crucible and dramatic times,” she says. It is also through food that she continues to be a force for good, especially for marginalised women. One of her projects involves providing them with training scholarships. 

Besides her initiatives that revolve around food, Pimentel also supports causes for maternal health for both expecting and new mothers. She is the president of the PDP Cares Foundation, an organisation focused on activities related to natural disasters, the environment and other societal concerns. One of her most memorable initiatives through PDP Cares–and one that broke her heart—was in the summer of 2017 when she went to Mindanao after the 2017 Marawi siege. “The sight tore me apart. By its looks, there was no way to reverse the situation. [But] the horrific view did not deter me from doing our little part,” she says. The foundation, fortunately, was able to devise and execute a plan that enabled the transportation of essential relief goods to help alleviate the dire condition of the people in the war-torn area. This experience exemplifies how Pimentel looks at the other side of power, which is responsibility. “The little help and support they got from us was sufficient encouragement for them to get back on their feet,” she says.

When asked about a memorable experience as a woman that she thinks could inspire other women, she cites giving birth to her daughter Leyna at the height of the pandemic chaos.

“I was forced to fight my battle alone. On all fronts, I had no husband to comfort me by my side and no hospital open to admit me. I saw and experienced the ugly face and cruelty of rejection,” she says. But even in the ugliest circumstances, her mother’s instinct reminded her that she needed to win this battle. “I had to save my baby. I had to come out of this situation with me and my baby alive.” With this experience, Pimentel would like to remind other women, especially mothers, always to stay strong and fight for their children no matter the circumstances. 

Public servant and lawyer Emmeline “Em” Aglipay Villar is a staunch advocate of children’s and women’s rights. The former Representative in Congress—she served from 2010 to 2018—co-authored the Kasambahay Act, the Reproductive Health Act, the First 1000 Days Act, and the 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law. “I also helped draft and saw through the passage of Republic Act 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children [OSAEC] and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials [CSAEM] Act, which defines the crime of OSAEC and provides for penalties,” says the former lawmaker and current Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) undersecretary. In that role, she helms various agencies concerned with women, children, those with disabilities, poverty-stricken populations and indigenous peoples. 

The former senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines College of Law also advocates for disability inclusion—a cause particularly close to her heart because she has a sister with autism, which led her to become the chairperson of Project Inclusion Network in 2020. This non-profit organisation, which was the beneficiary at last year’s Tatler Ball, aims to build a nation where the potential of persons with disability is realised. “The work that I am doing now does not seem like work to me at all, but it is something that I do out of love … a passion,” she says.

Of her many hats, she is most proud of her support of those with lupus. As a lupus patient herself, she understands the ordeals and pain caused by the condition. With the help of some close friends and doctors, she formed the Hope for Lupus Foundation in 2016. “I consider establishing this foundation part of my legacy, and knowing that I have helped others with lupus makes my heart happy. We have had several projects to aid people with lupus—from providing financial and medical assistance, having wellness activities, livelihood training seminars, educational activities, and our regular meet-ups to the two books about lupus that I co-authored and which the foundation has published,” Villar says. 

Despite having achieved so much academically—she finished her Masters of Laws with merit from the London School of Economics and Political Science—in government service and philanthropy, Villar sees her foremost roles as a woman and mother. As such, she aims to teach her daughter how to be empowered “through empowering other women”. “We will face prejudices because of being a woman—whether in employment or promotion, in the opportunities that will be available to us, or opportunities that will or will not be granted to us. We may be judged because of how we look or dress; doors may close because we are mothers or wives. But we work twice as hard, we find different ways to accomplish our tasks or achieve our goals when previous ways have not worked, we never give up, we pick ourselves up from the rubble, we learn from our mistakes and failures, and we keep on moving forward,” she says. “We should always take the opportunity to help them because in helping them, we are helping all women rise.” 

“Power is fleeting; it comes and goes. But what you do with that power, the people you helped and how you helped them can leave a lasting legacy,” says Elvira “Tootsy” Echauz-Angara when asked what power means to her. “I don’t want to use the word ‘power’, and would much rather call it service and having more responsibility and influence to help improve the lives of Filipinos. I believe that kindness, respect, curiosity and love in our hearts is a more powerful force for good than the hard power we see around us.” This perspective keeps Echauz-Angara, who is also cluster sales head for ABS-CBN, where she has worked for almost three decades, focused on her advocacies through the SSFI and other endeavours. 

She is particularly proud of being a proponent of the Anti-Bullying Act in the Philippines. “I turned my pain as a mother into an advocacy,” she says, referring to when her eldest son Manolo experienced bullying. “The only time I lobbied for a bill was when my husband was still in Congress, and I lobbied for this act.  “Manolo was bullied by three boys and had to be brought to the hospital. The school refused to give us any information about it,” she says, adding that the school blamed them as parents for “sending their son to school too early”.  “We replied and said, ‘For as long as our child enters the gates of your school, you are accountable.’” Unfortunately, the school was not accountable, with no policies and laws in place. “That’s when I got to work and did research myself. Bullying is one of the earliest forms of violence our children encounter, and we must protect them from it,” she says. 

Echauz-Angara put together best practices and laws on bullying from various countries and proposed them to her husband. “Sonny authored it in Congress, and it was approved by the House in 2011. In 2013, the late President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino signed the Republic Act 10627 or the Anti-Bullying Act [that we know today]. The bill mandated all schools to draw up anti-bullying policies that would be implemented on their campuses. The bill compelled schools to address bullying and provide a safe environment for all students,” she says. 

Echauz-Angara also champions sustainability and local craftsmanship through the homegrown fashion label Kaayo—a cause she dedicates to honour her late mother, Baboo Mondoñedo. “I knew that every time I used to wear handwoven tribal textiles made in the Cordillera [region] during formal events, it made her proud,” she says. “I thought of the weaving tradition that didn’t have much business in the north due to lack of demand, and I wished I could help them in my little way; [we wanted them] not only to survive, but thrive,” she says. So when her friend Marga Nograles, the COO of the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board, spoke to her about creating a Cordillera line for Kaayo, it was an easy yes. 

Many of the dreams of this daughter of a feminist and wife of one of the Magna Carta for Women authors, which protects against all forms of violence, are around Filipinas. “I wish for women to be economically empowered. I also hope to eradicate all forms of gender-based violence [from sexual to emotional], boost women’s participation in economic policymaking, and support them and their communities with practical skills for sustainable livelihoods.”  

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