PAL’s high-flying women
AIMEE CarandangGloria’s story was definitely just the beginning for women pilots in the Philippines.
At a panel discussion held at the same sendoff event, two other female pilots shared their admittedly non-traditional path toward flying high in the sky.
One of them was the very lady Carandang thanked for opening PAL’s doors to other determined women.
Like Carandang, it was neither Lilybeth TanNg’s dream to become a pilot. For one, she said, no one in her family wanted to be a pilot growing up. Ever humble, she left out the part that this was despite coming across pilots most of her life as one of tycoon Lucio Tan’s children. Better known as The Kapitan, the Tan patriarch, of course, owns the country’s flag carrier.
“I actually took up hotel and restaurant management at St. Scholastica’s College,” Ng imparted. “After graduating, my first job was at the front office department of The Peninsula, Manila. I worked there for a little over a year until I joined Philippine Airlines as a management trainee.”
Ng then talked about going to the PAL headquarters in Nichols, where she eventually saw the Boeing 737 simulator during one of her visits.
“When I saw it, I fell in love at first sight. I saw the controls and the lights and thought to myself, ‘How do you fly this thing?’ So that started the journey for me.”
As for the third panelist with Carandang and Ng, Captain Amorelle Martinez introduced herself as the Equipment Chief Pilot of the Airbus Division of PAL Express.
Martinez graduated from the Philippine Military Academy before eventually earning a place with the Philippine Air Force (PAF), where she served for 13 years.
Asked why she shifted to commercial flying, Martinez replied, “I wanted to pursue my passion for flying because as we progressed [in PAF], we would spend less time flying and do more administrative work.
“So, for me, it was more like I wanted to play. So I joined PAL,” she chuckled.
Martinez eventually became PAL’s chief pilot, officially making her the first Asian woman to hold the position. As such, she was in charge of the pilots, ground personnel and flight attendants.
While grateful for being treated like her male colleagues and merited for her work throughout her career in PAL, Martinez still recalled a few incidents when her capabilities were questioned because of her gender.
“There would be occasions where someone [a passenger] would say, ‘Ah babae pala yung captain natin, naku baka hindi maganda yung flight (Oh, our captain is a woman. Oh dear, the flight might not go smoothly).’”
Instead of arguing she is fully equipped to fly planes like all male pilots, Martinez proved such opinions wrong in the best way possible.
“Once we get to their destination safely, we would land the flight as smoothly as possible. So the passenger who’d be doubting ends up showing their appreciation instead.”
Martinez, in fact, admitted that many passengers often ask her and her female crew to have photos taken with them at the end of a flight.
“We are proud that today we’re changing perspectives and showing people that it’s true — women can fly just like, if not better, than men.”
Ng and Martinez are just two of the growing number of women pilots in PAL’s roster.
Citing figures, PAL’s Vice President for Human Capital Jo-Ann Maluenda noted that while the current 12-percent female rate in pilotpopulation at PAL is already an achievement, the company hopes to close the gap and achieve a 50-percent ratio.
Beyond the cockpit, PAL is proud to employ a 50:50 male-to-female ratio for the company’s total population.
“For middle managers — that’s supervisors up to managers — there are actually more women at PAL at 52 percent. For executives, it’s 47 percent women, and these figures have been growing steadily since 2019.”
Maluenda explained that PAL is able to push equity for women’s employment via programs and policies that are favorable for women.
“We have programs, promotions and progressions that are based on performance. We also have policies to protect women, especially from sexual harassment.
“These are things that we try to consciously do, to empower women and at the same time push them to drive for excellence because if we really want to be measured or considered in the same way as men, we really have to perform. That’s why we’re always pushing all of those programs that would enhance the skills of women.”
Ng seconded this in her closing statement, affirming, “I always tell the women that you have to study to be competent and to prove yourself. If you equip yourself and surround yourself with people who can help you be better, then you can do anything you want, in whatever field you want to be.”