Mariang Maya Award

SINCE Sigma Delta Phi Sorority (ΣΔΦ) turned 50 years old in 1983, the Mariang Maya Award has been a way to celebrate and honor outstanding members. Editha “Nenet” Lazo-Arambulo Batch ’53 and Betty Go Belmonte ’52 were president and vice president respectively of the grand event, made possible by the work of many dedicated sisters. Every five years since then, sisters have been nominating sisters as a mark of peer recognition. The Award was conceived to inspire integrity, credibility, and holistic personal development. 

The Sorority is committed to ensure intellectual growth and social responsibility for family, community, and society. This is reflected in the Award whose winners all represent Sigma Delta Phi’s capacity for transformation, respect for institutional history, and empowerment of Filipino womanhood. The list of awardees

The Award is named after the original musicale-zarzuela produced by the sorority in 1953 and revived in 1962. “Mariang Maya” was written by the acclaimed poet and playwright Virginia R. Moreno (1923-2021). 

Sigma Delta Phi, which is a Greek acronym for “Society of Dramatics and Fine Arts,” continues to be an incubator for excellence beyond the arts and humanities,  such as in advocacy advertising, broadcast communication, information technology, the sciences, economics, government service, law, social justice, home economics, restaurant and hotel management, community development, entrepreneurship, hospice care, biotechnology, environmental conservation, natural sciences, poverty alleviation, and urban development.

The original Mariang Maya trophy which was given to awardees was designed and executed by Napoleon Abueva (1930-2018), the “Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture” and recognized as National Artist for Sculpture in 1975. 

The trophy, given from 1983 to 2008 and again in 2018, depicts a Filipino woman with flowing tresses and a wind-blown skirt. In her cupped hands, she holds a maya, the common Eurasian tree sparrow. The first statuettes were carved from Philippine narra, but as the wood became rarer and more costly, Abueva agreed to prepare the mold for a resin variation. 

Awardees of 2013 were gifted a singular statuette designed by multi-disciplinary artist Maria Pureza Escano. The statuette was made of high-grade fiber-glass and inspired by her eight-foot sculpture “The Rose of Marya: A Sculptural Icon Celebrating 100 Years of Service through Excellence by the Women of the University of the Philippines.” The piece was unveiled in March 2012 at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños. 

For recipients of the Award in 2023, Mulawin Abueva supervised the recreation of his father’s original work at the Abueva Studio. 

ALUMNI AWARDEES

The Sorority is committed to ensure intellectual growth and social responsibility for family, community, and society. This is reflected in the Award whose winners all represent Sigma Delta Phi’s capacity for transformation, respect for institutional history, and empowerment of Filipino womanhood. The list of awardees

Marlene Catalina Paje-Rodriguez

1966

Mariang Maya Award

Outstanding Achiever in Public Administration

Upon receiving Region 5’s portfolio, Marlene became the rare female Regional Director at National Economic Development Agency (NEDA). After a successful decade in Bicol, she spent six years as Regional Director for Central Visayas. Having worked her way up the ranks, she was recognized as an international expert for organizational development and institutional management. Unknown to the 1.7 million enrollments of Government Service Insurance System in 2010, Marlene learned the GSIS board of directors had passed a resolution abolishing survivorship benefits once a member dies. She mobilized adherents of the threatened compensation package re-gaining its restoration from the new management.


Emelyn Lynett Advincula-Villariba

1968

Mariang Maya Award

Outstanding Achiever in Visual Journalism

With a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Editorial Design from University of the Philippines, Lynett graduated in 1972 when martial law was declared in the Philippines compromising careers in mass media. Finding herself in the opposition, she was nurtured by women journalism icons like Eugenia Duran Apostol, founder of Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), originally a guerilla broadsheet announcing “Balanced News, Fearless Views” that impassioned People Power in 1986. Lynett designed PDI’s masthead, nameplate and uncountable pages of incendiary news, pioneering in infographics. She discovered her writing voice, aiding media people defending press freedom during martial law as well as today.


Virginia Honrado-Benavidez

1968

Mariang Maya Award

Outstanding Achiever in Diplomacy and International Relations

As the first woman Philippine ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Amba Gee, as she is fondly known, paved the way for the Brunei Sultan’s donation of the Grand Mosque in Cotabato City and activation of agreements protecting the Filipino community that saved hundreds from human trafficking and others from the death penalty. During her term, the first environmentally compliant Philippine Embassy Chancery was constructed. While ambassador to New Zealand, direct air connectivity between the Philippines and New Zealand began. A stalwart career diplomat, she has gained trust and friendship wherever posted, especially among overseas Filipinos whom she sincerely pledged to serve.


ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS

The Sorority is committed to ensure intellectual growth and social responsibility for family, community, and society. This is reflected in the Award whose winners all represent Sigma Delta Phi’s capacity for transformation, respect for institutional history, and empowerment of Filipino womanhood. The list of awardees

Marlene Catalina Paje-Rodriguez

Batch 1966

Outstanding Achiever in Public Administration

Upon receiving Region 5’s portfolio, Marlene became the rare female Regional Director at National Economic Development Agency (NEDA). After a successful decade in Bicol, she spent six years as Regional Director for Central Visayas. Having worked her way up the ranks, she was recognized as an international expert for organizational development and institutional management. Unknown to the 1.7 million enrollments of Government Service Insurance System in 2010, Marlene learned the GSIS board of directors had passed a resolution abolishing survivorship benefits once a member dies. She mobilized adherents of the threatened compensation package re-gaining its restoration from the new management.

Emelyn Lynett Advincula-Villariba

Batch 1968

Outstanding Achiever in Visual Journalism

With a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in Editorial Design from University of the Philippines, Lynett graduated in 1972 when martial law was declared in the Philippines compromising careers in mass media. Finding herself in the opposition, she was nurtured by women journalism icons like Eugenia Duran Apostol, founder of Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), originally a guerilla broadsheet announcing “Balanced News, Fearless Views” that impassioned People Power in 1986. Lynett designed PDI’s masthead, nameplate and uncountable pages of incendiary news, pioneering in infographics. She discovered her writing voice, aiding media people defending press freedom during martial law as well as today.

Virginia Honrado-Benavidez

Batch 1968

Outstanding Achiever in Diplomacy and International Relations

As the first woman Philippine ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Amba Gee, as she is fondly known, paved the way for the Brunei Sultan’s donation of the Grand Mosque in Cotabato City and activation of agreements protecting the Filipino community that saved hundreds from human trafficking and others from the death penalty. During her term, the first environmentally compliant Philippine Embassy Chancery was constructed. While ambassador to New Zealand, direct air connectivity between the Philippines and New Zealand began. A stalwart career diplomat, she has gained trust and friendship wherever posted, especially among overseas Filipinos whom she sincerely pledged to serve.

Maria Lourdes Santos

Batch 1972

Outstanding Achiever in Food Research and Development

If you find joy in eating “Chicken Joy,” or can’t have enough of “Peach Mango Pie,” you have Lourdes to thank for making these delights so irresistible to millions of Filipinos who love eating at Jollibee. As one of the pioneering product innovators for the giant food chain, Lourdes applies her vast knowledge of food science in the service of good taste. She has done R&D for major food companies across Southeast Asia, producing commercial-grade food and beverage items that have garnered international recognition, including a Best Foods Presidential Award and the World Beverage Innovation Awards in Germany.