Maita Gomez

Margarita "Maita" Favis Gomez (May 23, 1947 – July 12, 2012)[1] was a Filipino scholar, activist, and beauty queen.

Margarita Favis Gomez
Born
Margarita Favis Gomez

(1947-05-23)May 23, 1947
Philippines
DiedJuly 12, 2012(2012-07-12) (aged 65)
Philippines
Resting placeManila Memorial Park
NationalityFilipino
Other namesMaita Gomez
OccupationActivist
Years active1967–2012
Known forMiss Philippines 1967
ChildrenMelissa Perez-Rubio Ugarte, Jose Luis Decena, Kris and Antares Bartolome, and Michael Phillip Beltran

In 1967 she won the Miss Philippines–World beauty pageant and went on to represent the country in the Miss World contest.[2][3][4] She later became a political, economic, and women's rights advocate, and was active in the Makabayan political movement in the 1980s.[5]

Early life

Maita was born in 1947 to Jose C. Gomez and Cecilia Favis Gomez and was one of 7 children: Cita; Patty (d. July 11, 2013); Ditas (d. May 16, 2012); Joe; Naty (d. September 11, 2017); and Migui.

Miss Philippines 1967

She was crowned as Miss Philippines in 1967 and was admired by many Filipinos. Yet, as years passed, the Filipino community was surprised at the work she brought forward regarding women’s emancipation.

Advocacy work

In addition to her title as Miss Philippines, Maita was a well known for her political advocacy work. She fought for the liberation of women in the Philippines and worked hard to fix injustices there. Her advocacy timeline began when she first became involved in an underground movement created to overthrow the dictator of the Philippines at the time, Marcos.

Co-founder of GABRIELA, a democratic alliance for women, Maita also helped establish another alliance group known as WOMB (Women for the Ouster of Marcos and Boycott) which raised awareness of and fought for freedom for women. GABRIELA and WOMB were both organized after the assassination of Ninoy Aquino. Eventually, Marcos was overthrown in 1986 and KAIBA (Kababaihan para sa Inangbayan), an all-women political party was created.

After the EDSA revolution

After Marcos’ ouster, she went back to school. She finished her BS in Sociology (through the non-traditional mode) at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila. She also worked as a manager in a private company. Later, she earned her MA in Development Economics at the UP School of Economics, at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Maita was part of the National Council of SELDA (Samahan ng mga Ex-detainee Laban sa Detensyon at pata sa Amnestiya), which fought for the freedom of political prisoners. After martial law was created Gomez decision to join an underground movement resulted in her imprisonment in 1973 in Baguio. She later escaped prison and later found a home in the Bicol mountains for three years and then moved to Central Luzon for three years as well. One day, she was discovered and forced to be under house arrest. She continued to help others in need throughout her life and her activist work continued later on. In 2012, Maita helped the growth of a foundation called Work Well Foundation, which worked to help women in the Philippines find well-paying jobs.

Death

On July 12, 2012, Maita died of a heart attack. One of her children found her dead in her home in Quezon City and realized that she had died of a heart attack in her sleep.[6][7]

Personal life

Maita is survived by her children Melissa Perez-Rubio Ugarte, Jose Luis Decena, Kris and Antares Bartolome, and Michael Phillip Beltran, as well as their children and spouses.

gollark: Is not an organism, except by very stretched definitions which admit stars and such.
gollark: Troubling.
gollark: To be fair to the UK, we *do* have the whole "much more contagious variant" thing going on.
gollark: Yes, this would also work.
gollark: You could do *internet* radio.

References
  1. "Martyrs and Heroes: GOMEZ, Margarita F." Bantayog ng mga Bayani. 2016-11-29. Archived from the original on 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  2. Kravchuk, Max. "Maita Gomez, The Beauty Queen Who Chose Not Live Like One". OneNewsPH. Archived from the original on 2020-05-26. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  3. Titular, Joyce Ann Burton (July 14, 2012). "ABQ's Shrine for Miss World Philippines 1967 Margarita "Maita" Gomez".
  4. "The Beautiful Maita Gomez". July 12, 2012.
  5. Pagaduan-Araullo, Carol (July 19, 2012). "Maita Gomez (1947-2012): Beauty transfigured". Bulatlat.com. Business World. Archived from the original on 2020-05-26.
  6. Activist and former beauty queen Maita Gomez dies PEP.ph, 12 July 2012 (Filipino)
  7. Beauty queen-turned-activist Maita Gomez dies ABC-CBnews.com,13 July 2012
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.