Maria Susana "Toots" Vasquez Ople (February 9, 1962 – August 22, 2023) was a Filipina politician and
Overseas Filipino Workers' (OFW) rights advocate who served as the first Secretary of the
Department of Migrant Workers
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW; ) is the Executive Departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Politics of the Philippines, Philippine government responsible for the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare ...
.
Biography
Susan Ople was born on February 9, 1962, the youngest of the seven children of
Blas F. Ople and Susana Vasquez. Her father served as Labor Secretary/Minister during the
Marcos regime
Marcos may refer to:
People with the given name ''Marcos''
*Marcos (given name)
* Marcos family
Sports
;Surnamed
* Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century)
* Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer
* Né ...
and later as Senator. She served as media relations officer of Senator
Ernesto Herrera and then of her father. She later became chief of staff to her father in the Senate and later at the
Department of Foreign Affairs when he became its Secretary.
Alongside Herrera, she was the co-founder the Citizens’ Drugwatch Foundation.
In 2004, Ople was appointed Undersecretary of the
Department of Labor and Employment by President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...
. She then ran for
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
in the
2010 Philippine elections but lost, ranking 34th out of 61 candidates.
Ople was the founder and president of the Blas Ople Policy Center (BOPC) which assists distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) in various parts of the world. To promote her advocacy, Ople co-anchored the popular daily radio show “Bantay OFW” at
DZXL. She also had a Saturday radio program on
DWIZ 882 AM called “Global Pinoy”.
Ople ran again for Senator under the
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...
in the
2016 Philippine Elections. She advocated to pass laws that would help advance the welfare of OFWs while at the same time highlighting key issues that affect them today. She was endorsed by four of five presidential candidates, namely
Miriam Defensor-Santiago,
Jejomar Binay,
Grace Poe (of which Ople was part of a senatorial slate), and
Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...
. She lost, placing 22nd out of 50 candidates.
In 2022, President
Bongbong Marcos
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...
appointed Ople as secretary of the newly created
Department of Migrant Workers
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW; ) is the Executive Departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Politics of the Philippines, Philippine government responsible for the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare ...
. On November 29, 2022, her appointment was confirmed by the congressional
Commission on Appointments
The Commission on Appointments (, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by the 1987 Constitution.
Whil ...
, making her the first secretary of the newly created executive department.
Final years and legacy
Ople was diagnosed with breast cancer, which caused her to delay considering her appointment to Marcos' cabinet. Following Marcos' second
State of the Nation Address in July 2023, she took medical leave. On August 22, 2023, she died from complications of the disease. She died while confined at the
St. Luke's Medical Center in
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...
. She was 61 years old.
In 2024, President Marcos Jr., as tribute to
Department of Migrant Workers
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW; ) is the Executive Departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Politics of the Philippines, Philippine government responsible for the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare ...
's Secretary Ople, led the
groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...
of the
OFW Hospital's Bagong Pilipinas Cancer Care Center, which is the country's third such facility.This was attended by her only daughter Estelle Ople & their close family friend, The Philippines First Fat Popstar
Meowfie.
Advocacies
Ople's main line of advocacy was on the rights of
Overseas Filipino Workers
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...
, especially those being maltreated. She opposed the death sentence given by Indonesia to
Mary Jane Veloso
Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso (10 January 1985) is a Filipino who was arrested in Indonesia for drug trafficking in 2010 and then sentenced to death after being found guilty at trial. Granted a temporary Pardon#Related concepts, reprieve in 2015, she ...
, who was tricked to carry drugs into the country, and advocated for the release of numerous OFWs imprisoned in the Middle East. In the labor sector, she supported the abolition of contractualization and called better employment opportunities, especially among the youth sector.
Ople supported the passage of the
SOGIE Equality Bill which penalizes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and wrote articles in favor of the LGBT community.
Ople supported the abolition of
political dynasties as enshrined in the
Philippine Constitution.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ople, Susan
1962 births
2023 deaths
Nacionalista Party politicians
Deaths from breast cancer in the Philippines
Arroyo administration personnel
Bongbong Marcos administration cabinet members
University of Santo Tomas alumni
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Women members of the Cabinet of the Philippines
Secretaries of migrant workers of the Philippines