Biñan City Mayor Len Alonte-Naguiat: Through the lens of Women Empowerment

MANILA, Philippines - Like the bright sun in March, women who are naturally soft and warm can be radiant and fiery. They are an enviable provenance of beauty, grace and affectation that exude strength, making men succumb to them.

The Women’s Month allows us to celebrate the women’s simply being “the other half of the sky.” But more importantly, it allows us to honor those who brave the paths commonly trodden by men. Not only do these powerful women radiate beauty that disarms men, they carry intellect and leadership that may completely lead to gender equality.

Biñan City Mayor Marlyn “Len” B. Alonte-Naguiat is a perfect example of a woman, which the world needs today in order to bring about genuine change. More than her vulnerable pretty face and natural comical attribute, she’s got what it takes to be a strong leader.

Born to Fe Erlinda Belizario, daughter of wealthy philanthropist Dr. Ildefonso Belizario and former Biñan Municipal Mayor Arthur Alonte, Mayor Len grew up seeing what community service is. With a father whose life has been dedicated to service to others and a mother whose religiosity and piety in God conquers life’s extreme circumstances, young Len found it so easy to capture the hearts of the people particularly the poor and oppressed.

Hers is an ideal childhood — catching dragonflies, playing patintero and spending time cooking and baking with her father and mother during weekends.

At an early age, it was a toss up for Len between being a nun and a doctor as influenced by the nuns who run the school where she spent her elementary days, and her admiration for her grandfather. However, her older brother’s plea that she joins him in a course that would lead them to managing their own business in the future, made her take up Tourism at the University of Santo Tomas. To her utmost dismay, her brother died after finishing the course.

In 1998 — she was 23 then — her path to politics of Biñan was unequivocal. After serving as Municipal Councilor for two consecutive terms, she was elected Vice Mayor in 2004. In 2007, she became the youngest and first female Mayor of Biñan. In 2010, she ran for re-election unopposed.

Everybody’s sister

“Children should be heard and women should not only be the second best,” Mayor Len says. “We have the right to become real part of the community, the right to help and contribute to the nation.”

This battle cry was too loud to ignore. Together with her staunch supporters, Mayor Len organized a group of women and coined its name from her father’s Samahan Unlad Biñan project, calling it Unlad Biñan Foundation. From less than a hundred members in 1998, nearly 12,000 women members now comprise the organization with its new name, Kababaihan Unlad Biñan.

Headed by 128 barangay leaders, these independent groups of women meet at least once or twice a month to plan livelihood projects, medical missions and other development programs beneficent to the community in its entirety. Every March, Mayor Len gathers together her Kababaihan Unlad Biñan members for the worldwide-acknowledged Women’s Month to hold activities that would amp up their capacities as one of the keepers of humanity.

Also occupying a major component of Mayor Len’s roadmap to development is education. “It breaks my heart when I hear little children say that they dream no more because their parents tell them that their poverty stops them from dreaming,” said Mayor Len.

Her highest regard for education becomes her backbone to pursue and continually enhance her “Iskolar ng Biñan” program, making it as comprehensive as possible. From 50 scholars in 2002, the program is now funding nearly 2,000 poor but deserving young Biñanenses who want to make it big in their chosen fields. This undertaking was not left unnoticed. Last September 2012, the Department of Education headed by Secretary Armin Luistro, FSC, conferred on Mayor Len the National Award for upholding public education, far exceeding what was required of a local chief executive.

“Quality education is every child’s basic right,” adds Mayor Len. This is the very reason why the lady mayor purposely set forth the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in the grounds of Biñan and the Special Education School in Biñan Elementary School.

The cityhood of Biñan, branded as Mayor Len’s greatest achievement, helps a lot in subsidizing education and the different social services programs. “Biñan saved as much as P400 million when it became a city,” she said. During the first cityhood anniversary celebration where President Benigno S. Aquino III was the guest of honor, Mayor Len promised the president that “the City of Biñan will never be an encumbrance to the national government.” Seeing the genuine manifestations of Mayor Len’s governance, the national government recently awarded the city P100 million worth of river control projects.

A wife and a mother

“Malambot ang puso n’yan, pero siga rin ‘yan! (She has a soft heart, but she’s also a tough woman),” laughs businessman Steve Naguiat, Mayor Len’s affable husband. The couple’s cheerful exchanges of jokes, smiles and glances indicate the undying spark between them. Their casual blind date at Century Park Hotel blossomed into a faithful matrimony in January 2003. Since then, Steve has chosen to stay in Biñan.

One of the toughest tasks of being a lady mayor is juggling the task of nurturing a city and raising a family at the same time. Mayor Len admits that her kids — Nico, 8 and Isabel, 3 — are getting jealous with the other people that surround their mother. “They would at times ask, ‘Mom, why do you attend a lot of weddings?  Why do you always go to funerals? Why do many people die?’,” she mimics them.

The loving mother that she is, Mayor Len makes it up to her kids by not missing out on their school activities and events like PTA meetings, family days, graduations and others. Recently, she and her husband brought their children  island-hopping in Cebu. It was their best vacation ever because, for the first time, it was just the four of them.

Asked if she would like to run for Congress in 2016, Mayor Len quickly answers, “I am looking forward to that year!” To our surprise, it’s not because she will indeed run for Congress but she wants to fulfill her dream of being a typical wife and a homemaker — cooking for her family, bringing the kids to school and simply having ample time for them.

To her loyal supporters who want her to run in 2016, Mayor Len has formed an agreement with them that “she would only run if Biñan becomes a lone district,” explaining that a legislative post wouldn’t be as rigid as her present job. “24/7 is not enough for an executive post,” she smilingly discloses.

A woman

The National Women’s Month celebration has been made official by the virtue of Presidential Proclamation Nos. 224 and 227, and Republic Act No. 6949. With this year’s theme Kababaihan: Gabay sa Pagtahak sa Tuwid na Daan, Mayor Len sees an opportunity to revolutionize her Kababaihan Unlad Biñan towards true empowerment.

An art enthusiast and an active advocate for gender equality and women empowerment, Mayor Alonte formally set off a busy week of celebration last March 8 by gracing a painting exhibit jointly held by SM and the Zonta Club of Laguna at SM City Santa Rosa. Appearing with Alonte in the event was City Administrator Cherry Marie Jocelyn B. Alonte-Nuñez. Both Alonte and Nuñez are distinguished members of Zonta Club, with the former serving as one of the organization’s directors.

She also effectively communicated the valuable contributions of women in bringing positive changes and development in the society during a well-attended symposium entitled Women Inspiring Innovation last March 13.

Highlighting the observance of Women’s Month in the City of Biñan was the “Kababaihan General Assembly” graced by no less than presidential sister and acknowledged “Queen of All Media,” Kris Aquino.

“Our city recognizes and values the precious role being played by women in nation-building and their influence in various fronts, so we held activities that sought to celebrate such attributes,” Mayor Alonte said.

In partnership with Toyota Boshoku, the city government held “Kislap ng Ngiti,” a program that provided free dentures and other orthodontic services to underprivileged women residents of the city last March 16.

More than the week-long celebration of Women’s Month, Mayor Len honored outstanding Biñanense women, who have enormous contributions in different areas of specialization such as education, healthcare, business, government service and entertainment, thereby advancing the status of women through service and advocacy.

Fitted and acknowledged for the Ulirang Kababaihang Biñanense Award, which honors women who have worked to improve the lives of women through their professional and/or volunteer work, are the following: Bataan Rep. Herminia Batista Roman, who authored and sponsored 15 House measures and co-authored 88 House measures; Josefina Guevara Salonga, Most Outstanding Fiscal for Region IV by the CIS and Justice Felicisimo Feria  for Judicial Excellence awardee; Naida Elaya Casas, who started her career in the government as Legal Government Officer III under the Department of the Interior and Local Government-CALABARZON and assumed the challenges of the position left by her husband as city councilor of Biñan; Dr. Leonora Vasquez de Jesus, the daughter of one of the city’s illustrious sons, Ombudsman Conrado Vasquez, Sr., once named the Philippines’ Dragon Lady, serving as the Chief of the Presidential Management Staff during the term of former president Joseph Ejercito Estrada, currently the Senior Consultant for Housing, Urban and Social Development in the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines; and Lily Chua-Uy, former President of the Biñan Volunteer Fire Brigade, Inc. and Association of Philippine Volunteer Fire Brigades, Inc., and the Treasurer of Crusades Against Violence.

The person in Mayor Len

Like every wife and mother, having her own family is the culmination of Mayor Len’s life. On equal footing is her being a public servant and a woman fighting in a man’s arena. She says: “When I became a public servant and saw how the less fortunate live their lives, I realized how blessed I am to be given a chance to lead and touch other people’s lives, and all the more  did I appreciate the life I have.”

Another turning point in her life was the untimely death of her brother, which made her realize how short life is. It taught her to seize every single day because nobody knows if tomorrow will ever come.

In times when exhaustion or disappointment crawls upon her, she looks up to Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, her role model. “She inspires me to be selfless, to forget my self-esteem,” she says.

“By doing that, I won’t be hurt if my deeds become unappreciated. At the end of the day, I will be happy because I was able to do what my heart told me, not because I want something in return,” she caps.