Manay Gina in Congress / Rose, painter and writer

During the three terms that her husband was Speaker of the House, Gina de Venecia was head of the congressional spouses foundation. But she was no mere complementary appendage to Joe de Venecia, for she founded and moved massive projects that took care of the needs of widows, unmarried women and battered children. Now Gina is not just a spouse, but the representative of the 4th district of Pangasinan (the district of husband Joe), having won the seat by a landslide in the May 10 election.

She is vice-chair of the committees on foreign affairs and social services, and, as a member on the committee on rules, she is assistant majority floor leader. She is a member of various other committees.

Gina told our media group about continuing her advocacy which she terms “Love,” meaning livelihood, over-all health care, values formation, and education and environment.

She wants to implement a livelihood program similar to Thaksin Sinawatra’s “One Town, One Product.” This, she said, saved Thailand from the 1997 Asian financial crisis. She is also studying the implementation of a micro-financing program that will create business activities in the 140 barangays of the 4th district. Within the year, she hopes to finish the construction of two public markets, one in Mangaldan and another in Manaoag, as these are the hubs of trade in the two municipalities.

On health care, she hopes to distribute PhilHealth cards to 100 percent of her constituents. She has just finished the anti-Hepa B vaccination program in her district. At present, she has three mobile clinics that provide free medical mission weekly, to different barangays.

On education, she and Joe have agreed that education “is the great equalizer.” Since the 70s, they’ve sent 15,000 students to school under the De Venecia Scholarship program, and last year, they started sponsoring scholars in short-term vocational courses to meet the increasing demand for technical workers here and abroad.

“In the area of environment, I will implement the One Billion Trees Act, authored by Joe. I hope that my district will lead in the propagation of trees, starting with the planting of fire trees along the roads, and bamboos along the river banks to help prevent soil erosion.”

Gina is obviously enjoying her stint in Congress, which has 271 members, 119 of whom are neophyte representatives, including Gina; 59 are women; 20 “returning” congressmen, and 45 party-list representatives. She’s like a “mother hen” to the younger ones, and they tend to flock to her for advice on good manners and right conduct. Now she’s no longer called “Manay Gina,” but “Nanay.”

At her home in Forbes Park last week, three of the neophytes came — all fired up with visions of a corruption-free Congress and programs for their constituents. They were Benjo Benaldo of the first district of Cagayan de Oro City, who worked for the lowering of electric rates and would like to do the same nationally; Bagong Henerasyon Party List rep Bernadette Herrera-Dy, who is seeking for the abolition of the state-run MWSS regulatory office for its failure to protect the public, and Nancy Catamco of the second district of North Cotabato, one of the co-authors of the modernization of PAGASA, and wants to work to uplift the indigenous people.

So popular is Gina that even Congressman Pacquiao sits beside her during session breaks, or waves to her from across the room, smiling, and calling out to her, “Nanay.”

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In another front, one of the names in my list of fascinating women is Rose Lamb Sobrepena, whose talents continue to impress me. At age 83, she paints and writes, her sense of history and literature is unfailing, and her conversation most engaging.

Rose paints — not on canvas, but on plates, jars and bottles, mugs, cups and saucers — anything breakable, from ceramic to clay and plastic surfaces. She never took painting lessons. Her style is what one may call primitive, following no formal design or measured steps. She draws mostly flowers, and the colors are those of Cezanne — bright and lustrous.

“When I start painting, I have no idea what to paint. It depends on where my brush goes,” says Rose. She draws a line, and in 15 minutes, she has drawn a bunch of flowers and fruits, or tables with checkered tablecloth, clowns and traces of houses, vintage windows and doors.

She gives away her paintings to friends. This month she is finishing painting empty wine bottles which she is donating to La Hermanidad Zamboanga, which is selling them during the club’s 50th anniversary, and using the proceeds to support college scholars in Zamboanga, where Rose comes from. The club has sent 100 bright but needy students to school.

Rose’s giving nature has manifested itself in her involvement with socio-civic organizations engaged in feeding and medical programs for poor families. 

Rose told us about her being one of Concerned Women of the Philippines who tried hard to convince Cory Aquino to run for president. “I remember the times we went to see her. She would cross her arms and say, ‘What now?’ We had to convince her to run as an alternative to the Marcos dictatorship.”

When the EDSA revolution broke, Rose had her staff prepare 200 sandwiches everyday and take them to Camp Crame so the soldiers and marchers would not starve.

This month, Rose is painting jars and plates as Christmas presents. Her secretary of 21 years, Leah, has started wrapping gifts to around 600 people.

Famous for her generosity, there is something she can’t give away, though. That’s a whole shelf of wine bottles she painted which her husband, lawyer Ike Sobrepena, claims as his own, and can’t be given away. That’s how much he appreciates what his wife creates.

Another avocation is writing. She has written six books on life in Zamboanga, people, and a book of verse — with the intention of just giving them away, and friends who recognize themselves in the essays are happy about their depiction by Rose. The one that winded up being on the National Book Store stands is ”The Bridal Primer,” which talks about things brides should know before getting married. “I’m so surprised that brides don’t know a lot of things, like what to expect on their wedding night, how to manage their temper, how to be a good and pleasing wife,” says Rose.

Rose is finishing another book, this time a romantic novel. Her bedroom shelves are lined with novels, among them by the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen, historical and detective novels.

At 83, Rose, who is called “Babes” by her friends, has retained her good looks, never mind the natural aging wrinkles, and a bad knee. She uses a wheelchair to go around the house, and is taken down the stairs in an elevator which Ike had personally ordered made for her. How lucky to be loved by her husband, she is told. Rose smiles, her eyes grey now, blue then, depending on the color of clothes or things in the room.

And so, she is asked, what makes for a lasting, happy marriage? Again, she smiles, her brown hair with streaks of grey, held back with a headband. “ Ike insists that I have my hair dyed, as he has his dyed too. Well, in a good marriage, there must be love, if there’s no love, there’s no marriage. Then there must be respect.”

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