Maita Gomez

Margarita "Maita" Favis Gomez (May 23, 1947 – July 12, 2012) was a Filipino scholar, activist and beauty pageant titleholder.

In 1967 she won the Miss Philippines–World beauty pageant and went on to represent the country in the Miss World contest. She later became a political, economic, and women's rights advocate, and was active in the Makabayan political movement in the 1980s.

Early life Maita was born in 1947 to Jose C. Gomez and Cecilia Favis Gomez, and was one of 7 children: Cita; Patty (d. July 11, 2013); Ditas (d. May 16, 2012); Joe; Naty (d. September 11, 2017); and Migui.

Miss Philippines 1967 She was crowned as Miss Philippines in 1967, and represented the Philippines in Miss World 1967.

Advocacy work Maita was well known for her political advocacy work. She fought for the liberation of Filipinas and worked hard to fix injustices faced by women. Her advocacy timeline began when she first joined the New People's Army in the 1970s to overthrow the Marcos dictatorship. She got arrested in Baguio in 1973, and escaped prison a few years later thanks to a military asset. She later rejoined the NPA 3 years later and remained until 1980 due to health problems. After resurfacing, she got placed under house arrest until 1984.

Maita was part of the National Council of SELDA (Samahan ng mga Ex-detainee Laban sa Detensyon at pata sa Amnestiya), She was also a fellow of Action for Economic Reforms (AER), a think tank focusing on economic and fiscal policies. Her work in AER covered gender economics, and government policies on public-private partnerships and mining.

Death On July 12, 2012, Maita died at age 65. One of her children found her dead in her home in Quezon City and realized that she had died of a heart attack in her sleep.

Personal life Maita is survived by her children Melissa Perez-Rubio Ugarte, Jose Luis Decena, Kris and Antares Bartolome, and Michael Phillip Beltran, as well as their children and spouses.