A LAWYER OF THE MASSES FROM THE CORDILLERA WAS JUST AWARDED AS AN OUTSTANDING SOCIAL WORKER IN THE PHILIPPINES

October 7, 2023 Community Billboard Lifestyle

Mary Inglay CapuyanFokno was awarded Outstanding Social Worker of the Philippines 2023 by the Philippine Association of Social Workers, Inc. (PASWI) during its 75th Jubilee celebration of service held on September 22, 2023 in Manila City, Philippines. This is the second time she received the distinction, the first time was in 2004. The Municipality of La Trinidad also honored her with the same award in 2021.

“For her indomitable spirit as a lawyer for the masses, representing the down and the trodden, the marginalized and oppressed,” the citation for Fokno, who was a past PASWI Baguio-Benguet president, said. “Her notable dedication to PASWI and its initiatives, her belief that one should have an advocacy greater than oneself, as well as her contributions as former member of the BOD are deeply appreciated and her life of love, grace and faith continue to inspire.”

Fokno was born in Sagada and graduated in high school at St. Mary’s School. She graduated as social worker at the Silliman University in Dumaguete before taking her Masters in Social Work in UP Diliman. She later took her Law degree at the Saint Louis University. She lawyers for small-scale miners and juvenile delinquents. She also opened Cordillera Quest to provide outof-school youths from Benguet and nearby provinces skills training from TESDA.

She also opened her restaurant, Inglay Restaurant, in La Trinidad for food drives to calamity victims. She opened a feeding station in Inglay’s Restaurant during the COVID lockdown. Inglay also writes a column for a local weekly. PASWI was started in 1948. According to the Philippine Regulatory Commission, there are about 56,000 registered social workers.