Ex-DSWD head dies of leukemia

One of the country’s pioneering social activists, Dr. Estefania Aldaba-Lim, died yesterday morning after a long bout with leukemia. She was 89.

Her remains lie at the Santuario de San Antonio at Forbes Park in Makati City. She is the mother of veteran broadcast journalist Cheche Lazaro.

Lim’s colorful career in public service is marked by various firsts.

In 1948, Lim was recognized as the Philippines’ first female clinical psychologist.

She was also the first female Cabinet member, having been appointed minister of the Ministry of Social Services and Development, now known as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), from 1972 to 1977, by the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

Social Welfare Undersecretary Celia Yangco, who got to work with Lim, remembers her as "one of the best managers that the DSWD ever had."

"She introduced innovations at the DSWD. She was a very good communicator. She was a prolific writer," she said.

Yangco said Lim captured the DSWD’s various responsibilities with acronyms — such as SPDEFS, which stood for "self-employment assistance program, day care services, emergency assistance, family planning and social services."

"She built a foundation that we are continuing in another format. She contributed a lot to the DSWD. She had her whole lifetime committed to public service," Yangco said.

Social Welfare Undersecretary Luwalhati Pablo said the former department chief struck her as "a passionate worker and a champion of the children."

"She was no longer with the DSWD when I joined the agency. But I knew her. In fact before she died, we were having meeting with her because we were designing a training program for all the psychologists of the DSWD. She really cared for the children," Pablo said.

From the DSWD, Lim went on to become the United Nations’ special representative for the International Year of the Child in 1979, with a rank of assistant secretary-general.

In 2005, the United Nations Children’s Fund had commemorated the IYC by launching Lim’s book, titled "1979: Remembering the International Year of the Child, Dr. Estefania Aldaba Lim’s Two-Year Campaign for the Welfare of Children."

Lim served as the founding president of Museo Pambata, the Philippines’ first children’s museum, and chairwoman of the Council for the Welfare of the Children, the Commission on Population and the Population Center.

She was honored by the University of the Philippines as its most distinguished alumna on its 75th anniversary, and was also given The Outstanding Filipino Award in 1997, among other citations. — Sheila Crisostomo