Guam senator a Batangueña
SENATOR SAM Mabini of Balayan, Batangas, is the first Filipino senator in Guam.
But growing up in Guam, she could not but toy with that possibility. There are streets in Guam named after Apolinario Mabini, who also hails from Balayan. He was exiled along with many other Filipino revolutionaries at the start of the American occupation in 1901.
Jogging in Guam’s Asan Park almost daily, she quickly made her favorite place the spot where a monument to the famous hero now stands. (In fact, there are two Mabini monuments there.)
“I never dug into it, but I’m proud of my last name,” said Mabini, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer at the passengers’ waiting area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Clad in denim pants and a shirt which read “I am a proud Filipina,” she came without any security aide to catch a flight for Cebu to attend a relative’s wedding.
It was her first visit to the Philippines since she was elected the first Filipina senator in Guam in November.
Service to community
The elections also made history as two Filipinos won in the 15-seat legislature.
About half of the population in Guam claims Filipino descent.
From Cebu, Mabini will head to the United States to spend the holidays before she formally takes her oath of office on January 3.
If there is one thing that links Mabini to the Filipino hero, it is her urge to serve her community—composed not only of Filipinos but native Guameños as well.
“Service is in my blood,” she said.
As a young girl, Mabini remembered staying after school to volunteer teaching English to the refugees of the Vietnam War, many of whom migrated to Guam during the ’70s.
She collected boxes of old magazines and romance novels which she would then donate to poor communities. She also used to volunteer for animal clinics.
Humble beginnings
In 2007, Mabini, with friends Roy Adonay and lawyer Elizabeth Cena, started the only Filipino language talk show on FM radio, “Damdaming Pinoy.”
She said the program discussed Filipino sentiments, from education to business, and served as a “life connection” to the thousands of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in Hawaii and the United States.
Mabini said she came from a poor family. Her mother, Antonia, 74, a seamstress, lived by “kuskos-bote” or washing used bottles to earn a living. Her father, Larry, worked as a carpenter in Batangas, until he found a job at a construction site in Tamuning, Guam.
“They never finished elementary school, so education was one gift they wanted me to have. The importance of education was drilled into my head,” Mabini said.
In Tamuning, Antonia used to plant vegetables in their backyard, while the children frequented the beach to collect “sukid” (sea shells) and crabs so the family would have something to eat.
“It was not an easy life. They worked hard to earn the money they paid for my high school education,” Mabini said.
She said she did not want to be a burden so she worked hard and earned two full scholarships in the University of Guam and in the University of San Francisco.
Mabini finished her Master’s Degree and Doctorate in Work, Community and Family Education at the University of Minnesota.
A piano for her mom
“My mom’s biggest dream was to walk into a big house with a piano. She said maybe one day, my daughter could buy me one. And I did! I became a pianist and had my own baby grand piano,” she said.
Mabini said she owed her passion for education and public service to her mother. It was also her mother who introduced her to Philippine culture and values by taking her back to Batangas from time to time to visit relatives.
Mabini said she misses the warm Christmas celebration in the Philippines and the Parada ng Lechon (roasted pig parade) in Balayan. She said she misses being in the small town, where everybody knows everybody.
“I wouldn’t have gotten all these if I were not taught Filipino values,” she said.
Not a career politician
Mabini worked as a professor of education and business. She was also appointed acting director of the public library system and served as the general manager of television network PBS Guam.
“But I realized that no matter how big your dreams and good your ideas were, sometimes they’re just not enough,” she said in a mix of English and slang Filipino.
Being a rookie politician of the Republican Party, Mabini said her win would allow her to help a larger number of incoming new residents with the planned transfer of the US military base from Okinawa, Japan to Guam.
She said an influx of more than 20,000 people, among them Filipino teachers and OFWs, is expected.
Mabini eyes legislation that will improve the educational system by focusing on career and technical education.
She believes graduates should be guided on the appropriate skills training and the career path they should take.
When she ran for office, Mabini said she was never after the prestige and never considered politics as a career, but as “access to the right people who could make a difference.”
“Now that I am a senator-elect, I am seated with the top people in the prefecture who make the biggest decisions that have the biggest impact,” she said.
The Filipina-Guamanian senator is hopeful she can make now make an even bigger difference to improve education and public service in Guam.
Jogging in Guam’s Asan Park almost daily, she quickly made her favorite place the spot where a monument to the famous hero now stands. (In fact, there are two Mabini monuments there.)
“I never dug into it, but I’m proud of my last name,” said Mabini, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer at the passengers’ waiting area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Clad in denim pants and a shirt which read “I am a proud Filipina,” she came without any security aide to catch a flight for Cebu to attend a relative’s wedding.
It was her first visit to the Philippines since she was elected the first Filipina senator in Guam in November.
Service to community
The elections also made history as two Filipinos won in the 15-seat legislature.
About half of the population in Guam claims Filipino descent.
From Cebu, Mabini will head to the United States to spend the holidays before she formally takes her oath of office on January 3.
If there is one thing that links Mabini to the Filipino hero, it is her urge to serve her community—composed not only of Filipinos but native Guameños as well.
“Service is in my blood,” she said.
As a young girl, Mabini remembered staying after school to volunteer teaching English to the refugees of the Vietnam War, many of whom migrated to Guam during the ’70s.
She collected boxes of old magazines and romance novels which she would then donate to poor communities. She also used to volunteer for animal clinics.
Humble beginnings
In 2007, Mabini, with friends Roy Adonay and lawyer Elizabeth Cena, started the only Filipino language talk show on FM radio, “Damdaming Pinoy.”
She said the program discussed Filipino sentiments, from education to business, and served as a “life connection” to the thousands of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in Hawaii and the United States.
Mabini said she came from a poor family. Her mother, Antonia, 74, a seamstress, lived by “kuskos-bote” or washing used bottles to earn a living. Her father, Larry, worked as a carpenter in Batangas, until he found a job at a construction site in Tamuning, Guam.
“They never finished elementary school, so education was one gift they wanted me to have. The importance of education was drilled into my head,” Mabini said.
In Tamuning, Antonia used to plant vegetables in their backyard, while the children frequented the beach to collect “sukid” (sea shells) and crabs so the family would have something to eat.
“It was not an easy life. They worked hard to earn the money they paid for my high school education,” Mabini said.
She said she did not want to be a burden so she worked hard and earned two full scholarships in the University of Guam and in the University of San Francisco.
Mabini finished her Master’s Degree and Doctorate in Work, Community and Family Education at the University of Minnesota.
A piano for her mom
“My mom’s biggest dream was to walk into a big house with a piano. She said maybe one day, my daughter could buy me one. And I did! I became a pianist and had my own baby grand piano,” she said.
Mabini said she owed her passion for education and public service to her mother. It was also her mother who introduced her to Philippine culture and values by taking her back to Batangas from time to time to visit relatives.
Mabini said she misses the warm Christmas celebration in the Philippines and the Parada ng Lechon (roasted pig parade) in Balayan. She said she misses being in the small town, where everybody knows everybody.
“I wouldn’t have gotten all these if I were not taught Filipino values,” she said.
Not a career politician
Mabini worked as a professor of education and business. She was also appointed acting director of the public library system and served as the general manager of television network PBS Guam.
“But I realized that no matter how big your dreams and good your ideas were, sometimes they’re just not enough,” she said in a mix of English and slang Filipino.
Being a rookie politician of the Republican Party, Mabini said her win would allow her to help a larger number of incoming new residents with the planned transfer of the US military base from Okinawa, Japan to Guam.
She said an influx of more than 20,000 people, among them Filipino teachers and OFWs, is expected.
Mabini eyes legislation that will improve the educational system by focusing on career and technical education.
She believes graduates should be guided on the appropriate skills training and the career path they should take.
When she ran for office, Mabini said she was never after the prestige and never considered politics as a career, but as “access to the right people who could make a difference.”
“Now that I am a senator-elect, I am seated with the top people in the prefecture who make the biggest decisions that have the biggest impact,” she said.
The Filipina-Guamanian senator is hopeful she can make now make an even bigger difference to improve education and public service in Guam.
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