A PROFESSOR from the Ateneo de Manila University was one of the recipients of  The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service awards for 2019.

Dr. Ma Regina Justina ‘Reena’ Estuar of the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science was honored by the Philippine Senate for her work in the field of computer science and social psychology, particularly her efforts in developing computing platforms for social good.

Estuar was cited for her work in the Ateneo Center for Computing Competency and Research; BluEHR; tugon.ph; and the Feasibility Analysis on Syndromic Surveillance Using Spatio Temporal Epidemiological ModelleR of FASSSTER.

FASSTER is the main platform used by the government for disease surveillance and modeling as part of the nation’s Covid19  mitigation and response.

It was also recently recognized by the Department of Health.

TOWNS, which is held every three years, honors Filipino women 21 to 50 years old “who have shown outstanding dedication, exceptional talent, and a history of contributing positively to society.”

Senate Resolution 216 was introduced by Senator Juan Edgardo ‘Sonny’ Angara on November 11, 2019, but was adopted by the legislative body on May 30, 2022 after being sidelined by the pandemic.

“The Senate of the Philippines recognize and commend the 2019 The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service Awardees for their exceptional contribution to the progress and growth of different sectors of society and their commitment to national development,” the resolution read.

The 2019 TOWNS batch includes 12 outstanding women from diverse fields.

Estuar is among the two awardees for Science and Technology, along with Gay Jane Perez.

The other awardees are Xyza Bacani (Humanities); Carmina Bayombong (Entrepreneurship); Clarissa Isabelle Delgado (Education); Karla Patricia Gutierrez (Performing Arts); Samira Gutoc (Peace Advocacy); Patricia Ann Prodigalidad (Law); Stephanie Sy (Technology Entrepreneurship) and Rohaniza Usman (Education).