The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is one with the nation in mourning the passing of Dr. Lourdes R. Quisumbing, an illustrious educator and a woman of her time.

Dr. Quisumbing served as Education Secretary during the term of Pres. Corazon Aquino. She is the first woman to hold the post as Secretary of the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS), now Department of Education (DepEd). She also served as the first Chairperson of the Presidential Commission for Culture and the Arts (PCCA), the predecessor of the NCCA, from February 1987 to December 1989, and Secretary General of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines.

Dr. Quisumbing’s contribution to cultural education and the emphasis she has put on Filipino values is being continued in the NCCA.