'Mama Ranger' Angelique Songco (standing, second from left) joins US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (standing, second from right), First Lady of the United States Melania Trump (standing ,center), and seven other 2025 International Women of Courage awardees at the US Department of State’s Benjamin Franklin Room in Washington, D.C.
PhotoGRAPH courtesy of us embassy
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Protected Area Superintendent Angelique Songco, also known as “Mama Ranger,” has been named among the US Secretary of State’s 2025 International Women of Courage (IWOC) for her longstanding leadership in protecting and conserving marine biodiversity in Palawan.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and First Lady of the United States Melania Trump recognized Songco and seven other awardees during the annual IWOC Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C. on 1 April.
“At the State Department and under President Trump, we try to take every opportunity to defend and to promote women and girls across the world,” Secretary Rubio said at the ceremony. “And let me reaffirm the importance of protecting women and girls and promoting their well-being are American goals. So to our honorees, congratulations and thank you for your work to create a safer and more secure and just world.”
Songco received the award for leading a team of marine park rangers who protect the 97,030-hectare Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, the Philippines’ largest protected area. She has managed the park since 2001, working with the rangers to protect the reefs from illegal fishing, poaching and unsustainable tourism practices.
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