By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
MANILA — She was a feisty and courageous woman who was not afraid to speak the truth, a vocal critic of her former student Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She was also a beautiful and brilliant student, a loving mother and a doting grandmother. She is Josefina Trinidad Lichauco, or Josie to her friends, and colleagues. A lawyer, she turned into an activist when she vigorously campaigned for the ouster of then president Joseph Estrada and current President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Lichauco died of cardio-pulmonary arrest last Feb. 14, 2010, at the age of 75.
Colleagues and friends say Lichauco lived a meaningful life as she made it a point to be on the side of the truth and justice. As former vice-president Teofisto Guingona said in a tribute to her: “She is a woman who is dedicated to what she believed in and she’s not afraid to speak out the truth especially in times of crisis.”
True enough, Lichauco worked closely with the Bagong Alayansang Makabayan or Bayan. She was a key partner, together with Concerned Citizens Movement, in the Oust GMA Movement.
Her working relations with Bayan started when she became one of the key figures in the Estrada Resign Movement. But her involvement did not end when Estrada was deposed. She pursued her activism, protesting the election fraud during the 2004 presidential elections, the NBN-ZTE scandal and the widespread violations of human rights under the Arroyo government.
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