Escoda was born in Dingras, Ilocos Norte as Josefa Llanes Madamba. She was the eldest of the seven children of Mercedes Madamba and Gabriel Llanes. Josefa's siblings were, Florencio, Luisa, Elvira, Rosario, Purita and Eufrocina. She served as the Spiritual Leader of the Underground during World War II in the Philippines. Escoda was also a well-known Filipino advocate of women's rights of suffrage and founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.
"I have done my duty to my country and God! To my mind the most I have done is having helped with the little I could do to save the lives of the surrendered soldiers of Bataan and Corregidor. I have offered myself as a guarantor for men later released by the enemy, that they commit no anti-Japanese act, men who, if they had the guts left would continue their resistance. I have acted as guarantors not only for the sake of humanity but also to encourage them to fight again. If you happen to survive, and I fail, tell our people that the women of The Philippines did their part also in making the ember sparks of truth and liberty alive till the last moment."
Together with José Abad Santos and Vicente Lim, she is memorialized on the Philippines' 1,000-Peso banknote depicting Filipinos who fought and died resisting the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during the Second World War at FEU Manila Campus. Escoda truly represents how courageous a Filipina woman can be.
Comments