ILOILO CITY – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has awarded Iloilo Vice Gov. Christine “Tingting” Serag Garin as one of the empowered lady elected officials.
ILOILO Vice Gov. Christine Garin, a Pura Villanueva Kalaw awardee, with Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia. (Vice Gov. Christine Garin Facebook)
Garin, who is serving her second term as vice governor, was awarded the Pura Villanueva Kalaw by the Comelec Gender Development Focal Point System.
“Honored to be given the Pura Villanueva Kalaw,” said Garin in a statement.
She received the award from Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia, Commissioner Socorro Inting, and Commissioner Nelson Celis on November 24 in Metro Manila.
Garin was awarded for “an empowered unopposed women candidate" during the 2022 national and local elections.
She was also recognized by Comelec for her role as the vice president for the Visayas of the League of Vice Governors of the Philippines
“(This is) much more meaningful that Pura Villanueva Kalaw is an Ilongga who fought for women’s rights and led the movement throughout the country enabling women to vote in 1937,” added Garin.
Kalaw was born in Iloilo in 1886. She was not only a feminist but also a journalist, writer, and beauty queen. A seven-foot statue was unveiled at Molo Plaza in Iloilo City this year in her honor.