[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 54 (Thursday, May 4, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO ZENY C. CUSTODIO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 4, 2000

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, the island of Guam bids farewell to an 
esteemed community leader. Zeny C. Custodio, a colleague in the field 
of public administration, was recently called to her eternal rest.
  Born on April 18, 1938, in the Republic of the Philippines, Zeny 
eventually raised her family in Guam and made the island her home. She 
attended, the oldest pontifical university in the Philippines, the 
University of Santa Tomas, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree 
and a Bachelor of Laws degree. In addition, she took special courses on 
International Banking laws at the University of the Philippines and the 
Institute of Finance and Management at Ateneo de Manila University.
  Although a lawyer by profession, Zeny's legacy lies in the field of 
community and public service. Aside from being the first woman to be 
appointed as director of the Guam Department of Labor, Zeny also served 
the Government of Guam in a variety of capacities and positions. On 
separate occasions worked as a special assistant to the Chief of 
Customs and to former Guam Senator Elizabeth Arriola. She also served 
as executive director for the State Advisory Council on Vocational 
Education and as Segundo Suruhano at the Guam Suruhano's office. She 
was a board member for the Guam Visitor's Bureau and, until her 
retirement in 1998, the executive director of the Bureau of Women's 
Affairs.
  Her civic activities and affiliation include leadership and 
membership posts with the Guam Lytico and Bodig Association, the 
Soroptimist International of Guam, the Guam Women's Club, the Filipino 
Ladies Association of Guam, the Guam Council of Women's Club, the 
Filipino Community of Guam, the Federation of Asian Women, the Metro 
Manila Association of Guam, the UST Alumni Association, the 
International Women's Club, the Women's Lawyer Association of the 
Philippines, the Kundrirana Association of the Philippines, the Cavite 
Association of Guam, the Batangas Association of Guam, and Beauty World 
Guam Limited. For her efforts on behalf of the community, she has 
garnered a host of honors and awards--the most prestigious of which are 
the Banaog Award presented other by former Philippine President Fidel 
Ramos and the Ancient Order of the Chamorri presented to her by the 
lieutenant governor of Guam, Madeleine Z. Bordallo.
  On behalf of the people of Guam, I join her husband, Narcisco, and 
her children, Roland, Yvonne, Raymond, and Maria in celebrating her 
life and mourning the loss of a wife, mother, community leader, and 
fellow public servant. Adios, Zeny.

                          ____________________