CLARK FREEPORT – In celebration of its Diamond (75th) Jubilee, Jocson College conferred its Gawad Felisa Jocson on the multitalented Sonia Soto “for her outstanding accomplishments as a feminist leader, activist, journalist, and public servant.”
Handing the award to Soto are Jocson College president Dr. Felecitas Borja Manalang, executive vice president Leigh Jocson and board of director Eduardo Manalang with Jocson family members. Soto joins two other distinguished Kapampangan women – Miriam College president Ambassador Laura Quiambao-Del Rosario and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Maria Teresa Dolores Estoesta who received the award Jocson College launched in 2023 in honor of its founder, Felisa Gomez Jocson.
Starting as a vocational school offering dressmaking, cosmetology, and other courses aimed at empowering Kapampangans, Jocson College over the past 75 years has evolved into a highly- respected institution of higher learning in Central Luzon offering several four-year degree courses in aviation, aircraft maintenance, avionics, and tourism and hospitality.
In her conferment speech, EVP Jocson honored Soto for “having dedicated her life advocating for women’s rights, gender equality, and social justice.”
“[Soto’s] work as an activist, media leader, and governance advocate has consistently amplified women’s voices; advanced gender-responsive policies; and inspired feminist organizing at the grassroots, national, and international levels,” said Jocson.
Soto’s advocacies finding manifest in various organizations she joined and led “and put herself on the line of fire during a tumultuous period in our country’s history”
such as the League of Filipino Students, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, the Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya, Gabriela, Women for the Ouster of Marcos and Boycott, the Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan and the Women’s Crisis Center were also cited by Jocson.
“Her commitment to feminist internationalism was further reflected in her work as international coordinator for the Tricontinental Women’s Program of the International South Group Network, where she helped build solidarity among women’s movements across different regions of the world,” enthused Jocson.
Soto’s achievements also included her organization of the Gender and Development (GAD) Program during her term as city administrator of the City of San Fernando in 2005 and her tenure as president and general manager of CLTV36.
“From the streets of nationalist and feminist protests to the halls of policymaking and the studios of advocacy media, [Soto] continues to be a formidable force in the fight for women’s rights, ensuring that the voices of women—especially those at the margins—are heard, valued, and empowered,” Jocson concluded.
Punto News Team/Leigh Jocson FB page
