Reuter, Herrera, Juco, others receive centennial awards

To mark the 100th year of the Sisters’ Formation of St. Paul of Chartres, Paulinians Ameurfina M. Herrera, the late Estelita G. Juco, the late Dr. Felicidad M. Mendoza, Benita Marasigan Santos — and James B. Reuter, SJ, received the Caritas Christi Centennial Awards.

The awardee is “a person who has been enshrined in the heart of the school; whose life has been an inspiration and role model for generations of Paulinians, and whose influence has gone beyond the school and made a positive impact on society.”

Ameurfina M. Herrera, retired SC Associate Justice, is the grand-daughter of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. After retirement in 1992, she became Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy which she helped establish, and is its Chancellor Emeritus. She is a consultant of the WILOCI and St. Paul U. She has delivered speeches and presented papers in the US, Canada, Austria, Thailand, India and Israel, and received awards from the SC, UP, UNESCO, Manila and San Beda College (Doctor of Laws, honoris causa).

Estelita G. Juco suffered the horrors of Liberation: she lost an eye, part of an arm and fragments of her knee cap. Undaunted, she graduated from St. Paul with a BS in Education, summa cum laude, meanwhile singing in the glee club, playing the piano, writing for the school paper while typing with her remaining hand.

After school, she taught literature, history, music and the arts, founded the PR Unit whose members became frontliners for the school.

Esty was to retire because her eyesight was failing, her knee hurting, her energy waning. But she joined the government pushing three landmark bills — requiring ramps for the disabled, a Braille Section in the National Library, and day care facilities for children of working mothers.

She wrote poems; her columns for We Forum and Malaya defying the dictator led to her house being burned. She was heroic to the end.

Dr. Felicidad Mendoza served SPC for nearly 50 years as dentist; wrote and directed plays while molding Celeste Legaspi, Maritess Revilla and others into fine actresses.

She wrote and directed plays for outreach programs. Saving the comedia from oblivion — using the term comedia instead of moro-moro — she presented comedias particularly in Parañaque.

She wrote a book on the comedia, co-authored “The Brief History of the Philippine Theater”, wrote 60 plays, was founder-director of Kudyapi Philippines Community Theater, and directed the first NPC “Gridiron Show”. She wrote and directed the street drama Kalbaryo ni Hesus, presented traditional dramas in the CCP, as also the first Comedia Festival at FAT. She directed plays and shows also in the US.

A direct descendant of Marcelo del Pilar, lawyer Benita Marasigan-Santos obtained her Bachelor of Laws, summa cum laude, from UST. She worked on the war damage claims of Paulinian schools with Sr. Gabriel McGrath, obtaining the claims to rebuild the schools. She was a professor and legal counsel of St. Paul.

She is involved in civic and religious organizations.

Fr. Reuter received a special award from Pope (now Blessed) John Paul II for his outstanding service to mass media, courageously upholding truth, justice and integrity; also the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, the highest Papal award, the RM and Chino Roces awards, and was voted by Congress an honorary Filipino citizen.

The plays he has been directing since the 50s and 60s earned for St. Paul College the sobriquet “Broadway on Herran”; he wrote for it three plays which will be re-staged. He has been chaplain, retreat master and spiritual director to generations of Paulinians.