Josefa Madamba Llanes Escoda (20 September 1898 – 6 January 1945) was a Filipino civic leader, social worker,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

heroine, and

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to member ...

. She is most known for campaigning for women's suffrage and as a founder of the

Girl Scouts of the Philippines The Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) is the national Girl Scouting association for girls and young women in the Philippines. Its mission is "to help girls and young women realize the ideals of womanhood and prepare themselves for their res ...

. Together with

José Abad Santos José Abad Santos y Basco (, ; February 19, 1886 – May 1, 1942) was the fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He briefly served as the acting president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and acting commander-in-chie ...

and

Vicente Lim Vicente Podico Lim (February 24, 1888 – December 31, 1944) was a Filipino brigadier general and World War II hero. Lim was the first Filipino graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point (Class of 1914). Prior to the establi ...

, she is memorialized on the Philippines' 1,000-Peso banknote depicting Filipinos who fought and died resisting the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of t ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

at the

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University ( Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Malayong Silanganan''), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a private non-sectarian liberal arts university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Insti ...

in Manila.

Early life

Llanes-Escoda was born in

Dingras Dingras, officially the Municipality of Dingras ( ilo, Ili ti Dingras; fil, Bayan ng Dingras), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 40,127 people. Etymology ...

Ilocos Norte Ilocos Norte, officially the Province of Ilocos Norte ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Norte; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Norte), is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. Its capital is Laoag City, located in the northwest corner ...

as Josefa Llanes y Madamba. She was the eldest of the seven children of Mercedes Madamba and Gabriel Llanes. Josefa's siblings were Florencio, Luisa, Elvira, Rosario, Purita, and Eufrocina. Josefa's nickname was Pepa as a child. She grew up as a Christian. Llanes-Escoda graduated as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

in grade school and

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tr ...

in high school from Dingras Elementary School (Dingras, Ilocos Norte). She went to

Philippine Normal School The Philippine Normal University (PNU; fil, Pamantasang Normal ng Pilipinas) is a public coeducational teacher education and research university in the Philippines. It was established in 1901 through Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission '' ...

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 populated ...

to earn her teaching degree, and graduated with honors in 1919. While working as a teacher, she earned a high school teacher's certificate from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

in 1922. After obtaining her teacher's certificate, she became a social worker for the Philippine Chapter of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the des ...

. The Red Cross granted her a scholarship to the United States, where she earned a master's degree in

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

from Columbia University in 1925. She also held a position in the National Federation of Women's Clubs (NFWC), serving as executive secretary in 1923, and later serving as president from 1941 to 1944. While in the United States, Josefa joined a group of foreign students who supported an International House project in New York. During her free time in the International House, she accepted speaking engagements. It was also her practice to wear a

Filipiniana Filipiniana, or originally Filipiñana, based on the definition by Isagani Medina from "Collection Building: Filipiniana", in his ''In Developing Special Library Collections, Filipiniana: Proceedings'' (November 1992), are Philippine-related bo ...

dress during her lecture tours to promote foreigners' interest in Philippines. During her first trip to the United States, while she was at the Women's International League for Peace (1925), she met Antonio Escoda Sr., a businessman from Gandara, Samar whom she later married. They had two children: Maria Theresa (who later became the President of the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines ( fil, Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, or CCP) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines.Presidential Decree No. ...

during the 1980s) and Antonio Jr.

Girl Scouts of the Philippines

Llanes-Escoda returned to the Philippines again in the 1940s after undergoing intensified training in Girl Scouting in USA sponsored by the

Boy Scouts of the Philippines The Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) is the national scouting organization of the Philippines in the World Organization of the Scout Movement. The Scout movement was first introduced in the Philippines on 1910 during the American Occup ...

. After, she began to train young women to become girl scout leaders, then proceeded to organize the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. On 26 May 1940,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Manuel L. Quezon signed the charter of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. Josefa became the group's first National Executive.

World War II

During

, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines. By 1944, news of the underground activities of Josefa Llanes Escoda and her husband Antonio had spread. As the

Japanese Army The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

pushed deeper in the country, the couple had intensified their activities of supplying medicine, food, clothes and messages to both Filipino war prisoners and American internees in concentration camps. Lt. José L. Llanes, Commander of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, said he saw Josefa Llanes Escoda on 14 January 1944 in the presence of her husband, Antonio Escoda. Josefa Llanes Escoda left this final message to Lt. José L. Llanes: Antonio was first arrested in June 1944, and Josefa Llanes Escoda was also arrested two months later on 27 August. She was imprisoned in Fort Santiago, the same prison as her husband, who was executed in 1944 along with General

, who was imprisoned with him. On 6 January 1945, Josefa Llanes Escoda was then taken and held in one of the buildings of

occupied by the Japanese. She was last seen alive on 6 January 1945, severely beaten and weak, and was transferred into a Japanese transport truck. It is presumed that she was executed and buried in an unmarked grave, either in the

La Loma Cemetery The La Loma Catholic Cemetery (Spanish: ''Campo Santo de La Loma'') was opened in 1884 and is largely located in Caloocan, Metro Manila. A portion of the southern part of the cemetery is located in Manila. The La Loma Cemetery is the oldest ceme ...

Manila Chinese Cemetery The Manila Chinese Cemetery (; es, Cementerío para chinos) is the second oldest cemetery in Manila after La Loma Cemetery. The cemetery includes Christian, Buddhist and Taoist burials. The present-day cemetery is a vaguely trapezoidal area of ...

, which Japanese forces used as execution and burial grounds for thousands of Filipinos who resisted the Japanese occupation.

Legacy

A street and a building have been named after her and a monument has been dedicated to her memory. The

Apayao Apayao, officially the Province of Apayao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Apayao; fil, Lalawigan ng Apayao), is a landlocked province in the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Kabugao serves as its capital. The provincial ca ...

–

Road is also named after her, and was depicted on the current 1000-

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named " doll ...

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...

as one of three Filipinos martyred by the Japanese Armed Forces. The

pay homage to Josefa Llanes Escoda every 20 September by celebrating her birth anniversary with activities that create further awareness of her martyrdom and contribution to youth development. On 20 September 2018, a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

was created to commemorate her 120th birthday.

In popular culture

* Portrayed by

Timmy Cruz Fatima Angelica Lontoc Cruz, also known by her screen name Timmy Cruz, is a Filipina singer and movie actress. Career Cruz became popular in the 1980s for her songs "Boy", "Joke Lang" and "Tingin". She also starred in films produced by Viva F ...

in 1997 TV series of

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...

's '' Bayani'', in episodes "Josefa Llanes Escoda".

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20091027123219/http://geocities.com/sinupan/EscodaJ.htm * http://msc.edu.ph/gsp/josefa.html
108th Birth Anniversary of Josefa Llanes-Escoda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llanes Madamba Vda. De Escoda, Josefa 1898 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Filipino educators Scouting in the Philippines People from Ilocos Norte Filipino suffragists Enforced disappearances in the Philippines People executed by Japanese occupation forces University of the Philippines alumni Executed Filipino women Ilocano people Burials at La Loma Cemetery Philippine Normal University alumni Filipino schoolteachers Civilians killed in World War II