Establishment Background
It was on May 1, 1975, when six (6) ladies met in the Board Room of the Philippines-Japan Friendship Foundation at the 12th Floor of the Philippine Banking Building, Port Area, Manila. They were Mrs. Beatriz Castillo-Laurel, Mrs. Lourdes Kamantigue-Lim, Mrs. Josefina Bustos-Sanvictores, Mrs. Rose Laurel-Avanceña, Miss Ileana Maramag and Mrs. Yolanda Sales-Espedido. The first three had one thing in common: their respective husbands, namely, Ambassador Jose S. Laurel III, Mr. Victor A. Lim and Ambassador Benjamin F. Sanvictores, were three of the founders and members of the Philippines-Japan Society which inaugurated on January 17, 1972.
The six (6) ladies easily came to an agreement on the name, the purposes and goals of the organization to be formed. They decided to call their group, THE PHILIPPINES-JAPAN LADIES ASSOCIATION. They agreed on the items to be included in their Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws. The incorporation papers as a non-stock, non-profit organization were registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission only on August 18, 1977 under SEC Registration Number 63006. The five constituted themselves members of the Board of Directors to govern the affairs of the Association. Among themselves, they elected Mrs. Beatriz Laurel, President, Mrs. Nena Lim, Vice-President and Mrs. Rose Laurel-Avanceña, Treasurer. Mrs. Yolanda Espedido was designated Executive Secretary. PJLA is now on its 40th year of existence.