Message from the Editor-in-Chief

When I entered Ateneo in June of 1987, it had already been ten years since the university’s first-ever cohort of female students graduated. A co-ed in Ateneo was no longer unfamiliar or unheard of as it had been in 1973, when the College of Arts and Sciences first welcomed 127 intelligent young women to become part of its history.

Those women are now successes in their fields spanning business, the arts, education, and the sciences: Lourdes Josephine “Joji” Gotianun-Yap; Ma Lorenza Dalupan-Palm; Sophie Lizares-Bodegon; Vivian Dy-Gordon, Nina Picache-King, Barbara Jacinto-Pineda. Later on, Ma Assunta “Achoot” Cuyegkeng, and Dr Antonette Palma-Angeles.

Since then, a long line of female graduates followed, with notable alumnae from every batch and across different sectors, industries, and advocacies. In 2024, more than 160 years after its founding, the Ateneo de Manila University finally began admitting girls to its earliest levels. This historic move comes fifty-one years after female students were able to enroll in its college, breaking a 114-year tradition of being an educational institution solely for boys. No longer was the Jesuit-run school originally established for the Spanish elites of colonial-era Manila a “bastion of male exclusivity” — it has since, for a few years now, positioned itself as a university for the 21st century. While there were many countless challenges in the journey to becoming fully co-educational, the road from here is brighter than ever before.

Women hold up half the sky, or so the Maoist adage goes. But it’s not always quite so obvious, especially when women are still underpaid compared to their male counterparts; when women and young girls still experience domestic violence at an alarmingly rate. But I’m never one to discount any progress made, any hope instilled in anyone’s heart—it must be the romantic in me—so as the fight for gender equality goes on, we continue to learn more about men and women, and we continue to fight for those in between.  We continue to learn about the unique and different gender identities many others share. It is a doing away with binaries, it is seeing the beauty in the middle.

In this issue of Fabilioh, we present to you stories not just of Ateneans, but also of Ateneo: its history in the realm of gender and sexuality, its history of co-education from the primary levels all the way to college—a “natural progression of Ateneo’s mission,” as Fr Joaquin Jose Mari “Jonjee” Sumpaico III SJ once remarked.

You will read about Sansan Borja (BS Psychology ’88, MA Psychology ’11), the principal of the Ateneo Senior High School as she discusses the challenges of the transition from all-boys to co-ed, and Lakambini, the student organization she moderated, a safe space to make sure everyone’s voices are heard. We also will read about Dean Jennifer “Apple” Oreta, the dean of the Ateneo School of Government, leading the school as it faces a complex political and social landscape. There’s a profile on actress and advocate Mela Habijan (HS ’04, AB Comm ’08), who reflects and reminisces about her time in Ateneo and how she continues to champion new generations of queer Filipinos. You will also get a glimpse into Ateneo’s Gender Office, established during a time of intense discourse and a desire for accountability on campus, established to protect students of all genders and sexualities from harm, established to give everyone in Ateneo a safe space.

Finally, we also introduce Fabilioh!’s newest publisher, Fr Raymund Benedict “RB” Q Hizon SJ, who was appointed Director of the Office of University Development and Alumni Affairs (OUDAA) in June last year.

We may be late in wishing you all a Happy New Year, but we wish it anyway; knowing that true newness comes from the wellspring of our hearts, and that each day is a new day to continue the work of the mission.