Butterflies for the Birthday Girl

 How does one celebrate one’s birthday with one very important part of one’s life missing in the celebration? For civic leader Gina de Venecia, wife of Speaker Joe de Venecia, the answer was simple. She made the one thing missing in her life ever present in her birthday – and all her days.

Many are familiar with Gina’s great loss, the death of her youngest daughter KC from a fire that gutted their home two Christmases ago. After a lot of prayer and counseling, Gina has accepted her loss and "set KC free." To her, KC was just like a butterfly – beautiful, free-spirited, fleeting. To appreciate a butterfly was to set it free. And so she has.

Last Feb. 15, during her 57th birthday celebration at the Haven for Abused Women at the Marillac Hills in Alabang, there were butterflies all over Gina – literally. Her blouse had butterfly prints and her bag was adorned with colorful butterflies. Gina, who has been taking up painting lately, painted the butterflies on the bag herself. Even her candy-colored fondant birthday cake was a confection of butterfly prints. Her birthday giveaways were butterfly cookies.

How can one mourn when one’s dearest is all over the place, making her presence felt?

After months when she has had to struggle to smile amidst the tears, Gina was genuinely smiling last Feb. 15. How was she able to embrace life again? "By the grace of God," she explained, adding, "and through family and friends who give of themselves to others, because divine love means giving, thus helping me heal."

 "Gina is much more than I had expected her to be when I married her," said JDV. He knew she was beautiful and kind, but he did not expect that one day she would be responsible for so many concrete achievements – like the sprawling Haven for Women and the nearby Haven for Children (both of which have satellite centers nationwide), the INA center for bereaved mothers in Quezon City and much more. The movie mogul’s daughter lives a life as dramatic as her late father’s (Doc Perez’s) movies.

 President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who reminds Gina of the feisty character of KC, led the impressive guest list of friends and supporters that attended Gina’s party, held under white tents at the Haven’s garden. Guests included the members of the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc. and INA Foundation, DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral and friends as numerous as a riot of butterflies in a flower field. Also seen were Ali Sotto, Lucy Torres-Gomez, former child star Tessie Agana Jr. and Cory Quirino.

The President gave Manay Gina a gift, a P10-million check for her socio-civic projects. "It means a lot to me that you have joined me on this personal milestone," said Mrs. de Venecia to the President. "I also thank you for your support and encouragement in all my projects for the Filipino people."

Gina also paid tribute to her husband Speaker Joe de Venecia as "the wind beneath my wings. Without my husband’s trust and support, many of my dreams would have just remained dreams," she said.

Her faithful friends from the government, the private sector and the international community also came, like Health Secretary Francisco Duque, Immigration Commissioner Al Fernandez, Ambassador Albert del Rosario, Justice Bernardo Pardo, former Sen. Loren Legarda, Baby Arenas, Ben Chan, Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun and Thai Ambassador Asha Dviti Yananda.

 Gina’s birthday coincided with the groundbreaking rites for the Multi-purpose Gym for the clients of The Haven for Women and Marillac Hills. "Today, with the construction of the Multi-purpose Gym, this dream project (The Haven for Women) is complete," she said. 

The Haven for Women holds the distinction as the only facility of its kind in the Asia- Pacific region. It was established by Mrs. de Venecia and the Congressional spouses, 10 years ago, to help in the rehabilitation of abused women in the country. Today, it has helped more than 10,000 women and children.

From its original nine cottages when it opened on Sept. 30, 1995, the Haven now boasts of a total of 15 buildings. At present, the facility has five Residential Cottages, a Livelihood and Skills Training Center, a Medical and Dental Clinic, a Multi-purpose Social Hall, an Administration Office, an Inter-faith Chapel, an Activity Cottage that houses the library and audio-visual room, a Day-Care Cottage that serves as a playroom, feeding room and class room, a Transition Cottage for clients who are on their way to full recovery, a Family Cottage for clients with children and a Productivity Cottage. Comedian Bayani Agbayani even serenaded one of the Haven’s clients.

During the celebration, the PCSO, represented by Director Tess Gonzales, also handed over two ambulances for the use of The Haven for Women and The Haven for Children. Both projects are operated and maintained by the DSWD. 

A few days before her birthday, Mrs. de Venecia received the good news that she is now the "first lady of radio drama." Her daily soap series, Nagmamahal, Manay Gina, aired on GMA’s DZBB, is now the number one drama series on Philippine radio, according to the latest survey conducted by Nielsen Media Research. 

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