HELENA
Z. BENITEZ (1914 -)
A PAGE in any edition of the Who’s Who in the Philippines would not do justice to Helena Z. Benitez, Cavite’s Ione woman representative to the Batasang Pambansa. A list of her achievements as an educator, civic leader, and a lawmaker fills up nine single spaced pages of her mimeographed biodata. She has been honored with appointments to important positions in the government by no less than seven presidents of the Philippines, from Quezon to Marcos.
Coming from a distinguished
family of educators, she herself has become more distinguished than her
forebears by being the only woman president emeritus of a full-fledge
university, the Philippine Women’s University, which her mother, Francisca
Tirona Benitez, founded and headed for nearly half a century, 1920- 1966. Her
father, Dean Conrado Benitez, educator, economist, historian, editor, and civic
leader, became famous for being one of the “Seven Wise Men” who drafted the!
935 Constitution of the Philippines.
It is quite common that may
men and women are honored by the positions they occupy. In the case of Benitez
she honors the position in the Batasang Pambansa because of her outstanding
record as a career woman. In fact, she had occupied a higher position as
lawmaker before, that of senator –at – large, 1968-1972.
Benitez was born in manila
on June 27, 1914, a fact, which some Caviteños cited against her when she ran
for the Batasang Pambansa. Her mother was of course, a native Caviteña, being
born to a distinguished couple of educators of Imus, Cavite. It was because of
her deep attachment to her mother that Helen considers herself a Caviteña in
spirit. At any rate, her representing Cavite in Batasang Pambansa does honor to
the province.
She obtained her bachelor
of arts and bachelor of Science in Education degrees, magna cum laude,
from the Philippine Women’s University; her M.A degree from Georgetown
University in Washington, D.C. In addition, she took up graduate studies at the
University of Chicago and Iowa State College in U.S.A. In recognition of her
outstanding success in the field of education she was awarded three doctorates,
honoris causa two being doctor of humane letters from the Philippine
Normal College (1978) and Mindanao State University (1981), and one as doctor
of political science from Kyung Hee University, Seoul South Korea (1976). She
has also been the recipient of numerous awards from different institutions and
organizations here and abroad.
As a member of the defunct
Philippine Senate and now of Batasang Pambansa, Benitez has been at one time or
another chairman of the committees on natural resources; on provincial and
municipal governments and cities; on housing, urban development and
resettlement; on education; and on culture; and vice chairman of the committees
on agriculture; on bank and on currencies; and on scientific advancement.
She was the Senate
representative to the national Economic Council for several years. She was the
author of many laws, the most important of which was perhaps Republic Act 5462
establishing the National Manpower and Youth Council. She was also the co-
author of the Medicare Law and the Student Loan Fund Law.
[Sources: (1) Isidro L.
Retizos and D.H. Soriano, Philippines’
Who’s Who. Quezon City, Capitol Publishing House, 1959; (2) Batasang
Pambansa Official Directory, Manila, Lyceum Press, Inc., 1979; (3) Women
of Distinction. Copyright 1967 by Bukang Liwayway; and (4) Biodata
furnished by Governor Remulla’s office.]