Who’s Who in Bataan – MEDINA LACSON DE LEON

MEDINA LACSON DE LEON (1914-1984) was the 12th lone Representative of Bataan in Congress, from 1950 to 1953. She was acknowledged as the mother of the Bataan National School of Arts and Trades (BNSAT) now the Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU), the Mindanao Institute of Technology in Cotabato and the Women and Children’s Bureau of the Department of Labor.

“Meding” Lacson was born in Tortugas, Balanga on April 1, 1914 to parents Simeon D. Lacson and Maria dela Rosa Dizon. She finished her Law degree at the Philippine Law School and became a practicing lawyer starting on December 23, 1937. She was involved in private practice while employed as secretary of Bataan Governor Jose Manahan from 1941 until 1942.

When World War II broke out, “Tia Meding” was appointed by then Army General Manuel Roxas as the official food coordinator of the USAFFE forces in Bataan. She too surrendered to the Japanese Army when the defense of Bataan fell. She became one of the unwilling participants of the Bataan Death March. Luckily, she was able to escape from the prisoners’ column upon reaching Pilar.

She ran and won a congressional seat during the November 1949 national polls as a replacement candidate for Congressman Bonifacio Camacho of Abucay. While in Congress, she headed the Committees on Education, Health, Agrarian and Social Works. It was during her term that BNSAT was established in Balanga. She sought re-election in 1953 but was outpolled by lawyer Jose R. Nuguid of Orani.

In 1967, she ran for the governor against Governor Pedro R. Dizon and Vice Governor Guilermo Arcenas of Hermosa. Arcenas won the race by two votes over Dizon.

Being the president of the Liberal Party in Bataan, she was appointed by President Diosdado Macapagal (1961-1965) as Undersecretary of Commerce starting in 1962 until 1965. She also held other government positions, such as chairperson of the Fair Trade Board, Civil Aeronautics Board, and director of the Bureau of Commerce. She was also elected president of the Women Lawyers Association of the Philippines, Council Undersecretaries of the Philippines, Filipinescas, and the Federacion Internacional de Abogadas. She was a member of the board of Philippine Christian College, Wesleyan College, and one-time chairperson of the Central Methodist Church.

Medina Lacson was married to the late Atty. Ricardo de Leon.She passed away on October 12, 1984.