Helena Zoila Tirona Benitez
(June 27, 1914 – July 14, 2016) was a Filipina academic and administrator of the
Philippine Women's University
The Philippine Women's University (PWU) is a tertiary education school which has its main campus in Manila, Philippines. An institution exclusive for girls from its inception until the 1970s, the PWU admits both women and men as its students.
...
.
Biography
Benitez was born in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
to
Conrado Benitez
Conrado Benitez (November 26, 1889 – January 4, 1971) is a Filipino statesman, writer, and educator. He founded the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement and was one of the drafters of the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. Flavier, Juan M ...
, a ''pensionado'' to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and a member of the
1935 Constitutional Convention, and
Francisca Tirona who was an educator and co-founder of
Philippine Women's College in 1919.
She was highly educated. She graduated from Philippine Women's University and was a student at George Washington University (where she was Chair of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 1969 and the first woman to serve as President of the UN Environment Program in 1975). She also had post graduate training from the University of Chicago and Iowa State University.
She served in the
Senate of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives ...
from 1967 until
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
was closed when
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
was declared in 1972, and at the
Batasang Pambansa
The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City.
The complex was initially the home of the Batasang ...
from 1978 until it was abolished in 1986. Benitez wrote several bills involving the promotion of Filipino national culture, including Republic Act 5871, which established commissions devoted to preserving cultural artifacts. These commissions tried to revive indigenous arts and crafts through training, facilitation workshops, and funding institutions.
Benitez also founded the
Bayanihan Dance Company.
Benitez was also the executive producer of the Bayanihan. Benitez was proud of the fact that the Bayanihan had highly authentic costumes and instruments from Filipino "tribal" peoples. She emphasized authenticity in the troupe's performance. She founded the troupe to be evidence of Philippine culture to the world. She negotiated a contract with Sol Hurok for the Bayanihan to perform on Broadway in New York City and got an exclusive endorsement from Philippine Presiden Carlos P. Garcia, designating the Bayanihan as the official representation of Filipino traditional dance to the Americas and Europe. This led to the Bayanihan's historic performance on October 13, 1959, at the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway, which paved the way for the Bayanian becoming the most prominent Filipino dance troupe of that time.
Benitez died on July 14, 2016, aged 102.
See also
*
List of centenarians (politicians and civil servants)
The following is a list of centenarians – specifically, people who became famous as politicians and government servants – known for reasons other than their longevity. For more lists, see lists of centenarians
The following is a list of lis ...
References
1914 births
2016 deaths
Senators of the 7th Congress of the Philippines
Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cavite
Filipino centenarians
Members of the Batasang Pambansa
Philippine Women's University alumni
George Washington University alumni
University of Chicago alumni
Iowa State University alumni
Women members of the Senate of the Philippines
Women members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Women centenarians
Senators of the 6th Congress of the Philippines
Philippine Women's University faculty
{{Philippines-congressman-stub