MANILA Mayor Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan has been recognized as one of the Most Influential Filipina Women in the World.
The recognition was bestowed on Mayor Lacuna-Pangan by the Foundation for Filipina Women’s Network (FFWN) at the just-concluded six-day Filipina Leadership Global Summit held at the Dom Pedro Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Most Influential Filipina Women in the World award is given to Filipino women who have contributed to positive changes in their communities.
Lacuna-Pangan received the Policymaker and Visionary Award, besting other nominees from 10 countries.
The award recognizes Filipino women who have promoted a vision toward development and have influenced policies that aim to improve lives, careers and entrepreneurship in a particular community.
Mayor Lacuna-Pangan, who personally received the award, expressed her gratitude for the recognition.
She expressed her belief that a leader should possess a strong influence that will focus attention on the many and complex issues and problems facing the community.
She said under her leadership, the Manila city government is implementing changes with a clear vision of the future and political commitment through a group of talented and reliable bureaucrats.
Moreover, as the first woman mayor of Manila, Lacuna-Pangan said she is focusing on the needs of women who are among the “vulnerable” or weak sectors living in the city.
She added that she aims to help single parents by creating equal-opportunity jobs.
The Filipina Leadership Global Summit is a gathering of a select group of Filipino women considered global leaders, influencers, corporate and civic leaders, and elected and appointed government officials from the 34 FFWN member countries.
It seeks to create a so-called networking pipeline through the exchange of knowledge.
The FFWN is a San Francisco-based nonprofit professional organization for career women of Philippine ancestry with the passion to “help Filipino women achieve previously unimaginable levels of performance in the public and private sectors.”
