The Governor as a Nurse Politician: Working for a Healthy Province

After a long hiatus, the Global Filipino Nurses Review is back on the loop. Hopefully, this will continue to work in the next months. After getting feedback from a number of colleagues and readers, we thought of redirecting our search of the unique Filipino nurses right at the homefront.

So in this edition, it is quite different as we look into a nurse as a political leader (not the sourgraping "politicians" label).

An ardent search took place and finally, we found her among the roster of Philippine governors. She hailed from Northern Philippines.

Governor Floydelia Reyes Diasen was born on April 6, 1953 in Tabuk, Kalinga Province.

A nurse by profession, Gov. Diasen was an educator until she was elected as Kalinga’s chief executive on May 14, 2007. She began her career in the academe as a clinical instructor at the De Ocampo Memorial Schools, College of Nursing in 1974 until she moved to Melville Saskatchewan, Canada to work as staff nurse at St. Peter’s Hospital in April 1976. After serving for two years, she went back to Kalinga and worked as part-time instructor at the Kalinga Community College. In 1984, she was promoted to instructor until 1986. In 1988, she joined the Kalinga-Apayao State University as a college professor, and at the same time was a reviewer for the Board Examination for Midwives. She held the latter position until 2004.

Gov. Diasen earned her Ph.D. in Human Resource Development and her Master’s degree in Public Administration at the Cagayan State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing at the Arellano University in Manila, after completing her elementary and high school education at the Tabuk Central School and the Tabuk Institute, respectively.

As an educator, Gov. Diasen has received a number of awards, which include: the Loyalty Award for 20 Years in the Service, Loyalty Award as Instructor from June 1980 to March 1993, Award Distinction: As Pioneer Instructor of KASC, and Outstanding Demonstration Teaching as Lecturer from by the Kalinga-Apayao State College. The Tabuk Institute Alumni Association also conferred on her the Outstanding Alumni in the Public Service Award. She likewise received citation for the Most Outstanding Woman Leader from the Municipality of Tabuk. She also received the Katibayan ng Pagpaparangal: Women’s Club President from the National Manpower and Youth Council in Manila.

Gov. Diasen is the widow of former Kalinga Vice-Gov. Rommel Diasen, with whom she bore eight children: Heinrich, Marriane, Czarina, Mark Aldrich, Rommel Jr., Lee, Briccio and Kevin.

Photo and a large part of this data are culled from the League of Provinces in the Philippines