SOMETIMES, the simplest moments—like sharing a cup of coffee with women over heartfelt conversations—can ignite a powerful journey of service.
For Jaye Lacson-Noel, through these intimate exchanges with the incredible wives, mothers, and women of Malabon City, her heart was awakened to the need for a platform to uplift and empower those facing struggles in the community.
The City’s weak disaster management, the absence of social protection, and the poor response to gender-based violence, including sexual assault, exploitation, and forced marriages, are some of the significant reasons for Malabon women’s vulnerability.
Consequently, during flooding and other natural calamities, women, with the City’s pre-existing gender inequalities of education, health, and employment, are left out of response to recovery efforts, hindering inclusivity. As such, women and their households are prone to living in poverty in an underserved community.
The Birth of Kayang-Kaya ni Misis (KKM)
Inspired by the poignant stories of struggles shared with her by the 25 women who sought help, Jaye founded Kayang-Kaya ni Misis, Inc. (KKM) in 2005. She envisioned this organization as a welcoming and nurturing environment, where women during disasters and crises could come together to assure and enable each other through education and skills development, ready livelihood and be able to qualify for higher employment opportunities and become each other’s hope and resilient support for growth and empowerment, all at the comfort of the safe space she created for women.
Women Leading the Community
The selflessly dedicated women leaders are credited with KKM’s success and the stories of struggles and triumphs that sparked this initiative.
Jaye Lacson-Noel believes that integrating women in society by creating gender-responsive programs and processes to put them at the center can propel the City towards a more progressive and stable economic status. Although this may seem so simple, Jaye Lacson-Noel’s innovative approach of compassionate leadership, tied with the women community leaders’ firm resolve, genuine sincerity, and overflowing compassion may be a sustainable solution to ensure that all social programs are directed to those in dire need, responsive and sufficient.
Jaye Lacson-Noel deeply values the transformative strength found in unity, equality, and the importance of building capacities for everyone, with a special focus on women. As more KKM women step into leadership roles, they approach each challenge and setback with kindness and understanding, ensuring that every obstacle is addressed with love and empathy.
Overcoming Challenges
In 2010, while KKM and women’s integration initiatives were gaining momentum, she also changed the lives of 800 KKM children graduates. She granted a full academic college scholarship, was able to send 15 constituents abroad for higher employment opportunities, provided a six-month contract of employment to 1,500 women displaced of their livelihood, and awarded 400 boat engines to fisherfolk.
She draws from the culture and principles of Bayanihan—hard work, and resilience deeply ingrained in the core of everyone in Malabon City to create more opportunities. However, these programs are not without its challenges, fuelling Jaye Lacson-Noel’s commitment to better the lives of those in Malabon City.
The same year, she embraced compassionate leadership when elected as the only woman representative of the Lone District of Malabon City to the House of Representatives. Her heart understands the immediate need to make drastic changes that would uplift the lives of her constituents. She launched social services committed to change one community at a time, while championing women’s rights, protection, and equal opportunity to all in Congress.
The following year, she further improved social programs for education, health, and livelihood programs. She granted 3,000 academic scholarships to college students, awarded educational assistance to 1,900 grade six students, technical-vocational skills to 5,000 workers inside Malabon’s labor force, strengthening the national government’s support to the City through social services, and building new public infrastructure. These, were crucial to the passage of the Republic Act No. 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 that she, together with other colleagues in the Lower House, have championed during the 14th Congress.
Driving Innovation and Strengthening Management for Growth and Prosperity
As a proud University of the Philippines alumna, Jaye Lacson-Noel has long advocated for good governance, innovative practices, inclusive growth, and positive change. Her background in business and formative experiences in public service allowed her to craft more practical yet innovative management responsive to disasters, crises, and social issues of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition through integration, inclusivity, and equality in all of Malabon’s social and economic programs.
Jaye Lacson-Noel believes that women are natural multipliers and invaluable to nation-building, as our 1987 Constitution also proclaimed.
All women have this innate and unique ability to make discounted things valued. Similar to her initiative of encouraging women to lead the community with compassion, empathy, and kindness, just by noticing the overlooked, the City has already solved half of its problems.
In 2021, she championed in the lower house the passage of House Bill No. 09943, now known as Republic Act No. 11596 or Anti-Child Marriage Law, penalizing the practice of child marriage in the country.
The now 11,300-strong women leaders of KKM have lit the path of the City towards building resilience and solidarity. Jaye Lacson-Noel has intensified her commitment to further improve 59,514 scholars, who have already graduated, offered 200,850 employment and livelihood opportunities to folks, who are now strong members of NCR’s labor force, provided health assistance to 135,861 sick patients, built countless infrastructure, like 21 health centers, 18 multipurpose buildings, and flood controls like the Damapalit Megadike, among many others.
A Vision of Bagong Malabon
The City’s poverty incidence rate improved from 20.7% in 2010 to 8.1% in 2022. As her City grows, she keeps fortifying programs aimed at solving poverty, through equal access to all City services, social protection, and proactive programs for heartfelt brighter opportunities through the launch of Serbisying Buong Puso, with a commitment to compassionate leadership anchored on her vision, of innovative, sound and sustainable governance. Some of the major programs for implementation are comprehensive healthcare insurance, adequate educational allowance for scholars and indigents, modernization and recalibration of disaster management system, enabling the sectors of Senior Citizens, Person with Disabilities, and Youth, while continuing to rescue vulnerable women in difficult situations.
Jaye Lacson-Noel’s work passionately embodies the essence of collective empowerment. It transcends individual transformation, highlighting the urgent need for equality and creating new opportunities. This approach not only uplifts individuals, but also strengthens communities, profoundly impacting society as a whole. Embracing this vision can lead us towards a brighter future for everyone.