MARGARITA ‘MEGGIE’ OCHOA

MARGARITA OCHOA

“HAVING AN IMPACT IN ANY FIELD WILL GIVE YOU A VOICE, WILL GIVE YOU THE POWER TO INSPIRE, TO INFLUENCE, TO MOTIVATE. SOMEHOW, THE MORE I ACHIEVE IN THE SPORT, THE MORE CAPABLE I FEEL TO ACTUALLY DELIVER THE MESSAGE AND DO SOMETHING TO HELP BRING THE PHILIPPINES NEARER TO THAT SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE GOAL.”

Margarita “Meggie” Ochoa, a 5-foot Filipina and a 2019 SEA Games Gold Medalist, whose deep passion for the environment, child protection, and women empowerment is a spring of inspiration for young people and women in the Philippines today.

Prior to being a full-time professional athlete, she worked for ABS-CBN Foundation’s Bantay Kalikasan right out of college, where she was part of a team that developed ecotourism in Sibuyan Island.

She used her talent and skills in serving children who are victims of sexual abuse and exploitation. She pioneered the Fight to Protect Campaign which aims to contribute in ending child sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines, creating a cycle of empowerment among victims and the vulnerable through sports. The children she trained are now jiujitsu medalists. All of these clearly show that she is living out the JCI value, “that service to humanity is the best work of life.”

Meggie Ochoa bagged major awards for our country from 2014 up to the present in various competitions in California, Japan, Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Abu Dhabi, and the 2018 Asian Games. She also led the Philippines’ threegold medal-haul in the 2019 SEA Games.

She continues to spread awareness regarding her advocacy in almost every media appearance she is featured on. She continues to encourage more and more people to act on this issue in various publications which include: Fighter Life Japan, Men’s Health PH, Cosmopolitan PH, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ABS-CBN, ESPN, CNN, GMA, and much more.

She is also a receipient of a commendation from the Philippine Senate filed by Senator Sonny Angara.

She has been a member of JCI San Juan Dambana since 2015. She chaired various projects that aim to raise awareness, and contribute to the battle against child sexual exploitation and commercial sexual exploitation of women and children. These projects involve speaking engagements in various countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Asia.

She gave pride to our country numerous times. She is an inspiration for all us especially to the young active citizens of our country. Her passion and advocacy to end the sexual abuse and exploitation is never ending. She aims to make this a national issue that needs to end. She grabs every opportunity to enlighten the people about the child sexual abuse and exploitation in our country. She became true to her belief that “ “Having an impact in any field will give you a voice, will give you the power to inspire, to influence, to motivate. Somehow, the more I achieve in the sport, the more capable I feel to actually deliver the message and do something to help bring the Philippines nearer to that seemingly impossible goal.” Meeting more and more people that believed in the same advocacy. She launched the Empowered to Empower campaign aims to contribute in ending child sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines.