Maria Carissa Oledan Coscolluela

Maria Carissa Oledan Coscolluela is a Filipino humanitarian, sports leader, and politician. She has served on the Board of Governors of the Philippine Red Cross since 2011, has been an active member of the Philippine equestrian community, and served as member of the House of Representatives in the 14th Congress.https://hrep-website.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/download/docs/roster-legislators.pdf She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
==Early life, education, and career==
Born on November 16, 1972 in Manila Philippines to Ricardo Coscolluela and Maria Erlinda Oledan, Coscolluela graduated high school from the International School Manila in 1990 and finished with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1994.
After graduating from university, Coscolluela worked as the Vice President for External Affairs of the Subic Bay Waterfront Development Corporation, which developed the Subic Bay Yacht Club in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Coscolluela became the founding President of the Subic Bay Tourism Association and volunteered as a convenor of various community initiatives of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority under the leadership of its Chairman and Administrator Richard J. Gordon.
==Public sector==
In 2001, Coscolluela served as the chief of staff of Gordon when the latter became the Secretary of the Department of Tourism under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Coscolluela served concurrently as the OIC Director of the Office of Tourism Information. At the DOT, she oversaw the implementation of key tourism development projects, in particular, the WOW Philippines international marketing and advertising campaign, and the domestic tourism campaign. When Gordon was elected to the Senate of the Philippines in 2004, Coscolluela served briefly as his chief of staff.
During the national elections of 2007, Coscolluela was nominated by BUHAY Party List as its second nominee. BUHAY topped the party list election that year and Coscolluela became a member of the 14th Congress. She was elected to various committees and was a vice chairman of the Committee on Good Government.
As a congresswoman, Coscolluela authored and sponsored legislation in the following areas: economic development, employment and livelihood generation, tourism, humanitarian law, and veterans' benefits. She was a principal author and sponsor of pieces of legislation that saw passage into law: R.A. 9499 – Filipino World War II Veterans Pensions and Benefits Act of 2008, R.A. 9593 - Tourism Act of 2009, R.A. 9728 – The Freeport Area of Bataan Act, R.A. 9851 – Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, R.A. 10072 – The Philippine Red Cross Act of 2009, R.A. 9509 - The Barangay Livelihood and Skills Training Act of 2008. She also co-authored numerous bills in the fields of health care, education, sports, and economic development. Coscolluela funded through congressional initiatives various infrastructure projects such as farm to market roads, tourism development infrastructure, classrooms, and other roads and bridges, as well as constituent projects such as the computerization of schools and provision of scholarships and medical assistance in the Central Luzon area, leading to her official designation as an Adopted Daughter of Olongapo City.
In March 2024, Coscolluela was appointed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
==Humanitarian work==
Coscolluela sits on the board of governors of the Philippine Red Cross, a leading humanitarian organization in the Philippines. As Chairman of the Blood Services Committee, she oversees policy for the PRC's national blood program, including fundraising and implementation of indigent services. In 2019, the PRC received a fund of unprecedented magnitude from Bloomberry Cultural Foundation for the benefit of the its Blood Samaritan Program and Dialysis Program, which fully cover the costs related to the provision of blood and to the delivery of sustained dialysis treatments to indigent patients.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Coscolluela steered the organization's COVID-19 vaccination programs, securing vaccines privately to augment the supply provided by the government, in order to implement a nationwide vaccination campaign for the PRC. During the pandemic, she also oversaw the communications program of the PRC with regards to testing, contact tracing, and emergency services.
Coscolluela has spearheaded and implemented numerous fundraising efforts and relief operations for victims of typhoons, floods, landslides, and other disasters and calamities in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Bataan, Laguna, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Leyte, Samar, and Bohol.
==Sports leader==
Coscolluela has served as the chef d'equipe of numerous Philippine national teams to regional championships since 1992 such as the Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games, including of the team gold and individual silver and bronze contingent to the 2005 SEA Games. In 2001, Coscolluela became a founding member of the Equestrian Association of the Philippines. She served as secretary general and president of the EAP in various years, during which time the country staged the equestrian component of the Southeast Asian Games in 2005 and along with it the final of the SEA World Cup Jumping League.
Along with Joker Arroyo, Toni Leviste, and other members of the equestrian community, Coscolluela in 2018 founded Equestrian Philippines, Inc., an equestrian sports development organization involved in the training of elite and developmental athletes, staging of competitions locally and in cooperation with international organizations, and provision of equine management services to the local community. EqPH launched the first national championship series, the first for the country in over a decade. The group continues to sponsor events and bring professional equestrian expertise to the Philippines and to engage in charitable and humanitarian activities, such as its Ride for Life fundraiser.
Category:Filipino people
Category:Sportspeople
Category:Politicians
Category:1972 births