Kapampangan broadcast journalist Sonia Soto has been honored by her cabalen on Friday with the Gawad Felisa Jocson award for being a “Champion for Women’s Rights and Empowerment.”
Soto received the award from officials of Jocson College led by its President Felicitas Manalang in ceremonies held at the Best Western Metro Clark in Angeles City on 21 February 2025.
The award, which was named after Jocson College Founder Felisa Jocson, honors outstanding Kapampangan women achievers and is presented annually as part of the commemoration of Felisa Jocson’s birth anniversary and International Women’s Month.
Jocson College Executive Vice President Leigh Jocson said Soto was recognized for having dedicated her life advocating for women’s rights, gender equality, and social justice.
“Her work as an activist, media leader, and governance advocate has consistently amplified women’s voices; advanced gender-responsive policies; and inspired feminist organizing at the grassroots, national, and international levels,” Jocson said.
Soto’s advocacy began in her youth, first as a leader of the League of Filipino Students and later with the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and other cause-oriented organizations where she put herself on the line of fire during a tumultuous period in our country’s history.
Soto is remembered for securing the Soto-Enrile Accord in 1988 that barred the military from entering the University of the Philippines campus on Diliman without permission from its administrators.
As a feminist leader, Soto was a charter member of the women’s alliance Gabriela and other women’s organizations in the Philippines and abroad, including the Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan, a grassroots feminist organization she founded in 1988 to advance the rights of women, their political participation, and economic empowerment.
As City Administrator of San Fernando in 2005, Soto was recognized for the establishment of the Gender and Development (GAD) Program that institutionalized gender equality in governance.
“This initiative mainstreamed gender-responsive policies and programs in local governance, creating lasting impact for women in the community,” Jocson said.
“Beyond grassroots organizing and governance, our honoree has leveraged media as a platform for social change,” as former General Manager of CLTV36.
Soto is the third recipient of the Gawad Felisa Gomez Jocson since it was launched in 2023.
The first recipient is Ambassador Laura Quiambao del Rosario, President of Miriam College, who received the award in 2023 in recognition of her outstanding contributions as an educator and diplomat.
Last year’s recipient was Justice Maria Teresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta, chair of the Seventh Division of the Sandiganbayan, her outstanding accomplishments in government service, particularly in the judiciary.