In a room filled with global Filipina leaders, philanthropist and community champion Dame Mariquita Salimbangon Yeung was named the newest ambassadress of the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) — a title that honors both her legacy in healthcare advocacy and her deep commitment to uplifting lives through service.
“No one is ever too small or ever too poor not to be able to give something,” shared Yeung in her speech at Radisson Blu Cebu on June 10, 2025. “Those words shaped my journey — reminding me that service knows no boundaries and that the true measure of our lives is found in the lives that we touch.”
Yeung, who founded the Mariquita Salimbangon Yeung Foundation in 1991 to provide free surgeries for children with cleft and facial deformities, described herself as a “global beggar” — always reaching out for help, support or simply attention to causes that matter. “I always try to ask for funding from people who care and love — even just to let them know what’s going on with us,” she said.
Despite her title and reach, Yeung stays rooted in humility. “We weren’t rich at all. My father was a teacher, but when people came to our home, we never turned our backs without giving.”
What is FWN?
Established in 2001 in San Francisco by founder Marily Mondejar, the FWN began as a citywide platform for professional Filipina women. Over the years, it has grown into a global sisterhood spanning 33 countries.
“It became a national platform in the US and a lot of Filipina women heard about us and wanted to join. But then we realized that with the internet, we could actually expand — and now we’re in 33 countries,” Mondejar said. Mondejar shared that the foundation is all about empowering Filipina women and making sure the right stories get told.
In the early 2000s, the word “Filipina” online was burdened by derogatory definitions — “mail-order bride,” “exotic women” and other reductive labels. In response, FWN set out with a credo to disrupt the status quo, amplify Filipina voices and foster sisterhood.
Its mission: To be the number one resource for leadership, personal and professional development for Filipinas worldwide. Its vision: To see a Filipina woman leader in every sector of the economy.
“Since then, with the tireless efforts of FWN, Filipina women are embracing their intrinsic values as FWN promotes alternative narratives of Filipina leadership and contribution to public service and the economy of the places they live in,” said Gina Atienza, Global FWN100 awardee in 2016 and 2022, chairperson of SunStar Publishing Inc. and FWN board member.
“For example, we have a Filipina mayor in England, a philanthropist in the United States and a doctor in medical services in Canada — during Covid, she was the equivalent of Dr. Fauci in the US.” (Dr. Anthony Fauci played a central role in the United States’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic, serving as a key public health authority and advisor at a time of global crisis).
FWN believes in the power of language to shape identity. “We don’t just use the word ‘mentor,’ we say ‘femtor,’ because that’s what we do,” Mondejar explained. “We make sure that the appropriate descriptions of what Filipina do are documented.”
Its exclusive membership of over 775 Filipina women awardees is curated based on each member’s global impact and commitment to community transformation. All awardees are asked to lead a two-year initiative in the global and their immediate community.
Among those present during the Cebu summit was newly elected Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, who echoed the heart of FWN’s mission in her speech:
“At its core, true leadership requires something more as part of courage — courage to stand up for what is right, to challenge the status quo and to embrace vulnerability.”
Book project
FWN’s groundbreaking book project — the DISRUPT Filipina Leadership Series — is both a literary and social milestone. The series captures a moment in history when Filipina women stopped asking permission to lead — and simply led. “It’s a revolution bound in pages: a celebration of those who dared to disrupt and an invitation to those who will disrupt next,” said Mondejar.
What began as an initiative to rewrite outdated narratives has grown into a five-volume anthology of leadership stories. With 167 authors from 16 countries, the DISRUPT series features voices of doctors, mayors, advocates, entrepreneurs and other changemakers redefining what it means to lead as a Filipina.
Now celebrating 25 years of amplifying Filipina voices, FWN continues to honor those who dare to lead. At the close of the FWN summit at Radisson Blu Cebu, several authors took the stage to read excerpts from their essays — personal, powerful stories that showed the depth and dynamism of Filipina leadership. S