JUDGES PROFILE

PROF. MA. ROCIO A DE VEGA
BY ALICE P. JUICO

Our judge for this issue is well-known to all our members, having been with the PCCI
for more than half her lifetime. She joined the PCCI during its earlier years, and  occu-
pied various positions in the Board of Directors, nurturing the Club as Treasurer ( during
those times when funds were donated by the board members to keep the organization afloat),

Madame Chuchit

Over the years she acquired other group licenses— she did not want to rush for an all-
breed license, until she would have more time for judging. And so now, she is busy judging
all-breed shows all over the Philippines and has also judged several times in Australia, Thai-
land, Singapore, Indonesia and India.
Seldom do we find a person whose life is filled up with so many varied activities and
interests. She feels, however, that her primary calling was in education, thus at 22 years of
age she became a professor of philosophy, psychology and Spanish at her alma mater, the
Lyceum of the Philippines, from where she graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in
Philosophy—Magna Cum Laude-and Master of Arts in Philosophy — With Highest Honors.
She also taught her major subjects at the University of the East for many years. During those
years at both universities, many of her serious and scholarly treatises and analytical studies in
both philosophy and psychology were printed in faculty publications. She learned to live by
Emmanuel Kant’s categorical imperative as a guidepost in life.
She lived, she says, in an ivory tower of pure and abstract ideas in the academe, until the
harsh reality of her husband Dr. Guillermo C. de Vega’s  murder and her subsequent ap-
pointment as head of the Board of Censors, one of numerous posts her late husband held in
the Philippine government, took her away from the shelter of university life, to immmerse
her in the world of the here and now. with its conflicts, disappointments and its treacherous
personalities. Even in the dog sport she feels many people have not absorbed the goodness
and nobility in their own dogs’ hearts.
She has held various government positions and today she devotes a portion of her life to
various charitable non-government organizations, thus travelling to attend international
meetings and seminars in various continents. Thus in these conferences she make use of the
multiple languages she can speak and write aside from English, Spanish, Italian, French and
German – the latter 4 languages she learned from various language institute and intensive
self-study.
During the Christmas season, Prof.de Vega opens up her home to visitors, to view her
immense collection of dolls and nativity sets. A magazine article last year called her “a
woman living in a doll house” and indeed a visit to her home during the holidays is like
stepping into a wonderland. She also paints,and has joined various exhibits. Her favorite
subjects are dogs and cats, which she paints in her own whimsical style. Then also her
collection of art on postage stamps occupies several albums in her personal library of thou-
sands of books,  which she considers her mentors and companions in life. Her DVD collec-
tion of operas, symphonies and ballets is another of her high-brow pursuits.
There are many more interesting facts we can write about our judge’s  interests and
activities, but this will require millions and millions of words. We close with words she
uttered at the end of our interview, learned from the philosopher socrates “The unexaminedlife is not worthy to be lived.”