Yesterday was a big day for me. It was the Global Women Who Rule Summit 2023. I was one of the Filipino women chosen to be part of this year’s profiles.

I was quite tense and stressed because we didn’t have a successful technical run the day before. My internet connection was problematic. My voice was breaking in the test broadcast. I wasn’t sure where to best set up, whether on the first floor or second floor of our house. I could not decide yet which would be the best background for my speech. The only thing I got to decide on was what to wear during my speech.

I spent most of the day stressing and thinking of ways to solve my challenges that I hardly had time to prepare for the most important, my speech! Thus, I had to stay up late the night before to rehearse what I will say.

All these concerns and anxieties caused me to have insomnia again. I hardly had any sleep the night before Global Women Who Rule 2023.

Anyway, I mustered whatever strength I had in me to still push through with the preparations hoping against all odds that things would fall into place, eventually.

In the end, I decided to set up on the second floor of our house where we do our homeschool lessons and near my home office. We placed a table near our sliding doors that lead to our balcony. This way, more natural light would enter the room while I’m speaking.

We used my husband’s laptop and connected it to the LAN. We also used 2 ring lights on top of the ceiling light in the room.

One of my main concerns was the program schedule. I need to speak before it gets dark. We tested our lighting the day before the event and we discovered that our room lights and 2 ring lights still were not enough to make good lighting for my speech. So, imagine my stress when I discovered the speeches were delayed.

There were 22 women speakers including me. I was supposed to speak at 3:55 PM. We were all given only 10 minutes to deliver our keynote. Then, at one point, I realized that the event was behind our target schedule. First, it was just around 30 minutes. Then, it became almost an hour. I was starting to get really concerned when it was already past 4 PM and I was not yet called to speak. I sent a message to the organizers right away and communicated my challenge regarding lighting. I’m so glad and grateful that the organizers, especially Ms. Apple Esplana-Manansala, President of The New Channel, made a decision to let me speak while the sun is still up. She spoke to one of the speakers before me and explained my situation. I’m also thankful that the speaker before me has been gracious enough to let me speak first. It was almost 5 PM when I spoke. Finally! After several make-up retouches, I was given the wonderful opportunity to deliver my message.

The sun was still out and it was not yet the evening twilight.

Let me share the text of my speech. This was mainly what I said with some ad-libs here and there.

Happy International Women’s Month!

I’m deeply honored to be part of the 2023 Global Women Who Rule. Thank you to the jury for including me in this year’s profiles.

Many people think that once you become a wife and mother, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish something significant outside of family life and motherhood. Mothers are expected to prioritize their families and take care of their children even if they are also working outside the home or from home. This kind of expectation may not be fair, but that is the prevailing culture, especially in Asian countries like the Philippines.

When I got married, I also thought that way. I thought that because I chose to prioritize building a family and raising my kids, I would not have the time and energy anymore for other pursuits like when I was still single. It’s motherhood OR leaving a significant legacy that you’ll be proud you’ve achieved. 

I’m so glad that I discovered and learned over time that what many people and I thought was wrong. It doesn’t have to be motherhood OR leaving a legacy. Sometimes, it can also be motherhood AND leaving a legacy that you’ll be proud of. 

Before I got married, I have already published 2 books that made a difference in the lives of people. (Show books) But after I got married and had children, to my surprise, I was able to write and publish more books! I received more inspiration!

Aside from being a hands-on parent while earning from home, I was able to achieve significant milestones in my career that I didn’t even dream of before.

When I was a little girl, I thought that my dream of writing and publishing a book that will make a difference in the lives of people was already ambitious. But that dream has been fulfilled many times over. It has been fulfilled at least 10 times in my lifetime. But on top of that, the books that I have written even became Number 1 Amazon bestsellers when we launched them. Then, I won an award one after the other for the books that I wrote in the 3 consecutive years that I joined the Cardinal Sin Catholic Book Awards. It was so amazing!

So, you see, my life is a testament that it doesn’t have to be motherhood OR leaving a significant legacy that you’ll be proud you’ve achieved. It can be motherhood AND leaving a significant legacy. It can be both!

Even if we are burdened with more responsibilities compared to our spouses and we have lesser time to pursue our interests and passions, we can still achieve great things!

It may not happen right away, but if you are willing to work hard on excelling in your passion, with the favor of God, it’s possible.

I’m grateful that in my life, I was able to experience both. It wasn’t easy to achieve both. But it was worth all the hard work and sacrifices.

Despite all these achievements, I still think that they are not yet my biggest legacies. I believe that my children are my greatest legacies. That is why it is still my priority to become the best mother that I need to be to raise my children to be the persons that God created and purposed them to be.

Andy Stanley said: Your greatest contribution… may not be something you do but someone you raise. I believe that this is true.

This photo shows my eldest child. He has been serving as a pianist in the Masses in our parish from the time that he was 7 years old until now that he is already a teenager. He has been serving God and His Church for half of his life! And that was his choice. It was he who decided he wanted to do this. I only give him the support and guidance that he needs. This is actually one of the biggest surprises I have experienced in my life! I hope and prayed that my children would one day use their talent and time to serve God and make a difference in society. I didn’t expect that my eldest child would start that young and make such an impact on the lives of many people. My eldest child has inspired many already, both young and old, because of his service and how he lives his life.

Right now, we may not know yet what the future holds for him and my other children, or your children. But, who knows? One of our children could become someone who will make a significant contribution to the lives of the people he’ll encounter. Whether they become presidents, scientists, doctors, musicians, teachers, priests or pastors, athletes, authors, teachers, business owners, whatever they choose to be, we, their mothers, have a powerful influence in their lives. It was also said that the hand that rocks the cradle is the most powerful hand in the world.

So, whether you choose to focus on motherhood and family life OR choose to work on making a legacy on top of motherhood, I hope that you’ll realize and recognize that you are making an important contribution to the world and God’s kingdom.

Your efforts, our efforts, although not always visible, appreciated, and recognized, have big and lasting impacts for generations.

Do not belittle yourself. Do not limit yourself. You are not just a mother! You are a mother!!! You are a woman! You are capable! You are strong! You are powerful! You were created to achieve great things both at home and outside the home!  

Thank you for watching! Thank you, Apple and the whole Global Women Who Rule Team, for organizing this event.

You may watch the replay of the event through the following: Glocal Women Who Rule website, Facebook live, GWWR Facebook group live, LinkedIn live, YouTube (best to watch via your smart TV), and The New Channel website. My speech is at the 3:39 to 3:53 timestamp including the introduction to me and the comment of one of the hosts. I’m happy that I was able to stick to the 10-minute allotted time for my keynote.

Despite the delays, I feel so blessed and thankful that things fell into place. After the event, my family and I still got to attend the 6 PM anticipated Mass yesterday where my eldest served as pianist. I joined the event after-party virtually briefly after dinner. Then, to relax and rest a bit, my family and I watched a movie titled The Magician’s Elephant on Netflix. You can watch the trailer here.

I’m thankful for the beautiful experience and the wonderful opportunity of being recognized as one of the current Filipina movers and leaders. It was an honor to speak alongside my GWWR sisters yesterday.

I’m also thankful to everyone who prayed for me and the success of our event.

This experience will surely be one of those that I will never forget in my lifetime and every Women’s Month!