The Woman Warrior Of The Philippines

by: jun asuncion

 

It’s astonishing that Senator Loren Legarda and Jing Magsaysay still manage to write me personally in spite of their very tight schedules. These are small gestures that tell  a lot about the character and professionalism of these two super busy people. That in spite of Loren being a national and international figure, her no non-sense legislative duties, her works for her environmental and educational foundations, all the representations that she does, the many visits to her constituents across the country and the many invitations she’s receiving from them and- last but not least-  her children who also occupy a great portion of her time, she still has the time to swift scan Bulan Observer and even write her replies personally. A big honor, indeed.

This tells us that sincerity is part of her natural character, her strength manifesting  in each single action she does which ultimately has carried her up to where she is now. Sincerity is earnestness, seriousness in intent and purpose. In German it is called Aufrichtigkeit, a word which also connotes straightforwardness, singleheartedness and veracity. Aufrichtigkeit is one of the the seven virtues of Bushido- The Way Of  The Warrior- a Samurai code which also emphasizes frugality(simplicity), loyalty and honour- and martial arts mastery. 

A warrior? Little is known of the fact that Senator Loren Legarda, while working as a broadcast journalist, “obtained a master’s degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines, where she emerged as topnotcher (NDCP awarded her gold medals for Academic Excellence and Best Thesis) and where she was the youngest in the class. She is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve Corps!” A woman warrior, not in a violent sense, but in a progressive moral sense. And a high-performance senator.

I thank Loren and Jing for their support for our little efforts here in Bulan Observer and wish them more power in their daily fight for progress.

Here are some little concrete samples attesting to their professionalism, earnestness and Aufrichtigkeit of character:

-Re: Thank you for your works and visions! Wednesday, February 11, 2009 11:21 AM
From:  “Jing Magsaysay” jingmag@yahoo.com  To: junasun05@yahoo.com, loren_b_legarda@yahoo.com.ph

Greetings Jun,

Please tell us which photos you would want to use so we can send you HiRes versions of the photos.

best,

Jing Magsaysay

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On Wed, 2/11/09, Loren Legarda <loren_b_legarda@yahoo.com.ph> wrote:

From: Loren Legarda <loren_b_legarda@yahoo.com.ph>
Subject: Re: Thank you for your works and visions!
To: junasun05@yahoo.com
Cc: “jing magsaysay” <jingmag@yahoo.com>, “honeyrose mercado” <hnyrosemercado@yahoo.com>
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 2:13 PM

Dear Jun:

 I am endorsing your concerns and propositions to my staff, namely, my press relations head Jing Magsaysay, and Luntiang Pilipinas in-charge of day-to-day activities Honey Rose Mercado, whose respective emails are indicated in this letter. You may directly coordinate with them.

Thank you for your support.

 Loren

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From: Loren Legarda <loren_b_legarda@yahoo.com.ph>
Subject: Re: Thank you for your works and visions!
To: junasun05@yahoo.com
Date: Saturday, January 31, 2009, 1:04 AM

Dear Jun:

Thank you for your enlightening words of encouragement. There is really hope in the Filipino. Together, we must give our share in our moral crusade.

Best regards,

Loren

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