The
heart and soul of the Haven is its founder, Mrs. Estelita A. Caleon-Aguirre.
Blessed with boundless creative
energy and a passionate desire to champion the cause of public service,
she describes herself, with typical modesty, as "a Certified Public
Accountant by profession, a Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue
by designation, and a poetess by avocation." She loves to hear herself
described as a "beautiful" person, but she will tell you that indeed,
it is a beauty not seen in physical attributes, but an inner beauty,
the kind that comes from the heart, the kind that lasts and never fades.
After placing 10th in the
1964 CPA Board Examinations, she went on to build a career spanning
thirty-five years in public service, and was hailed in 1997 as the Philippines'
Civil Service Commission's Dangal ng Bayan (Pride of the Motherland)
Award for Ethical Behavior, all the while managing to raise a family
of four beautiful children, and running a Foundation that grants scholarships
to gifted but underprivileged children.
She has traveled the world
on various scholarship grants that she believes have truly enriched
her knowledge and expertise, yet for her, there is no place that can
hope to equal the pastoral charm of her hometown of Pulilan, in historic
Bulacan. A nature-lover at heart, she never fails to extol the need
to safeguard the environment, a conviction that prompted her to create
in her ancestral property the ecological sanctuary that is the Pulilan
Butterfly Haven, now fast becoming one of Bulacan's favorite tourist
destinations.
A
true lover of art and beauty, however, she is also an accomplished poetess,
having published two volumes of poetry, Abutin Mo Ang Bituin (Reach
for the Stars) and Kay Sarap Mabuhay (Living is Wonderful), detailing
in the musical cadences of her native Pilipino her idyllic childhood
in rural Bulacan, and her many colorful experiences as a daughter and
a sister, and as a young wife and mother. She was married to Pulilan's
late Vice Mayor Honorato C. Aguirre, and believes the greatest treasures
of her life to be their four children and three granddaughters and the
127 young scholars of her Foundation.
Weekends will surely find
her at the Haven, relaxing amongst her orchids, watching for emerging
butterflies, or oftentimes conducting one of the guided tours herself!
Far from the pressures of work and city life, she finds in her delicate
charges - and in their unchanging cycle of rebirth and renewal - the
timeless promise of hope and faith in the wisdom of a Loving Creator.
Today, the Haven she created
is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bulacan Province.
To ensure the sustainability of the Haven in the decades to come, and
that it shall continue to enchant many more generations of Filipinos,
Mrs. Aguirre moved for its registration with the Securities and Exchange
Commission as a family corporation in 2002. The baton of its management
was then passed on to her son, Honorato Jr., who now serves as the Haven's
President and General Manager.
Mrs. Aguirre is now Chairman
Emeritus of the Haven's Boad of Directors. She continues to be the guiding
light and inspiration behind the Haven's timeless vision of natural
beauty and grace.
