DFALF Celebrates 27th Year with Year-End General Assembly
(DFALF Chairperson Pamela Louise Manalo giving her remarks)
PASAY 22 December 2023 – The DFA Ladies Foundation, Inc. (DFALF) held its annual General Assembly and celebration of the Foundation’s 27th anniversary on 18 December 2023 at the Carlos P. Romulo (FSI) library. The event was graced by the 2023 DFALF Board of Trustees, incoming Trustees, and DFALF members in the main office and streamed live via Zoom for members in consular offices and Foreign Service Posts.
In her opening remarks, the DFALF Chairperson, Pamela Louise Manalo, thanked the 2023 DFALF Board of Trustees, under the leadership of President Mary Jennifer Dingal, for their dedication and commitment to the Foundation. “On behalf of all DFALF members, I commend and express gratitude to each Trustee for their unwavering dedication and service. Your hard work in fulfilling the mission and objectives of the Foundation serves as an inspiration to incoming Trustees and our entire membership”, Chairperson Manalo said in her remarks. She also thanked all partners, corporate and individual donors who contributed to the success of DFALF this 2023.
The outgoing DFALF President, Mary Jennifer D. Dingal also delivered her year-end report. The President took everyone on a trip down memory lane, highlighting the projects and activities of DFALF in the past year. The 2023 Board of Trustees, under her leadership, implemented projects aligned with the Foundation’s mission: fostering unity, promoting camaraderies, instilling esprit de corps among its members, and contributing to their physical, intellectual, and social development, including the pioneering DFALF Painting Class and art exhibit, the “DFA is SAFE” lecture series, the DFALF Filipiniana Doll Making competition, the DFALF Beauty Unleashed: Inside and Out, and the DFALF Film Viewing in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
The DFALF Treasurer, and member of the 2023 Scholarship Committee, Lourdes Francis M. Morallos, updated the members on the cash collection/receipts and disbursements since the assumption of the 2023 Board of Trustees. She also noted the Foundation’s good financial standing despite the economic challenges.
The results of the 2024 DFALF Board of Trustees online election, which was held from 04-07 December 2023 were also announced. The DFALF Corporate Secretary and Legal Committee Chairperson, April R. Casquejo, presented to the members the winning candidates, namely:
Ms. Eleanor Balanquit from Protocol
Ms. Stephanie Alexis Cruz from OAA
Ms. Amor De Asis-Del Mundo from OTLA
Ms. Celia Anna Feria from OSEC
Ms. Anna Marie Mae Guerra from HRMO
Ms. Johairah Lomondot from OFMS
Ms. Lorleejane Mandi from OFMS
Ms. Tanya Faye Ramiro from OSEC
and Ms. Sheila Solas from MOAO
A raffle draw was also held with prizes donated from the following DFALF partners and donors: Ditta Sandico, Allena, SM Hotels and Conventions Corp., Lanson Place Manila, McDonalds, National Book Store, Tabora Manila, and cash donations from the International Bazaar Foundation, Inc., Philippine Ambassadors Ladies Association, DFA Multi-Purpose Cooperative, and the Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo.
Closing the event was DFALF First Vice Candy S. Cypres-Bauzon who thanked the officers and members of DFALF for another productive year. As the Chairperson for the Scholarship Committee, she also gave a message to the scholars and their parents, “To all our DFALF scholars, I pray that you will continue to study harder and serve as an inspiration to future aspiring scholars, as determining the recipients of the DFALF Scholarship Grant has always been a difficult process for us and is based on the guidelines of the program. To the parents, our DFALF members, I encourage you to continue to guide and support your children and hopefully, one day, it will be your time to help another child to continue his/her education”, she said in her closing remarks.
The General Assembly was facilitated by the DFALF Corporate Secretary, April R. Casquejo.
The DFALF anniversary and general assembly was made possible with the support of the OSEC Special Projects Unit, the Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy, the Foreign Service Institute, and the Office of Asset Management and Support Services. END
(DFALF President Mary Jennifer D. Dingal delivering the President’s Report)
(DFALF Treasurer Lourdes Francis M. Morallos presenting the status of funds for 2023)
(Presentation of the 2024 DFALF Board of Trustees)
(DFALF First Vice President Candy S. Cypres-Bauzon giving her closing remarks)