Jessie John Gimenez

March 3, 1960 – September 27, 2018

Jessie was raised in a family where each individual’s goals were fully supported by their parents. His father worked for the military while his mother nurtured her six children. 

He studied at Sero Elementary School and Notre Dame High School in Cotabato City where he garnered awards as an outstanding student. From Cotabato, he went straight to Tennessee, USA to continue his senior high school as an exchange student scholar for a year. This feat can only be done by someone with a courageous spirit, being away at a young age from the city he grew up in and his family. This grit was what he needed when he entered UP in 1979 where he underwent a transformation and emerged as a leader.

In an article in Inquirer.Net, writer Benjamin Pimentel said, “Jessie was one of the typical middle class who entered UP to have a lucrative career. As his friend and former UP student activist Jean Laguerder recalled, Jessie’s dream was to be rich, and to earn his first million pesos, then a significant sum, before age 30.

At UP, Jessie found himself in the middle of the almost decade-long struggle to restore the student council and other students’ rights and welfare.

‘But like many other young Filipinos from middle-class families who entered UP in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Jessie was drawn to activism, to the fight for social change,’ she said. That led him to join the activist movement to restore the UP student council and other freedoms.

‘My recollections of him as a student leader remain,’ she share in her note. ‘He had a way with people. He was charming, cheerful, kind, and lighthearted – and I will continue to cherish him by these traits.’”

In an entry in his diary on July 22, 1980, Mario L. Cuezon’s “Ilang Pilas sa Talaarawan” narrated how Jessie and Laguerder courageously showed persistence on that day. Both student leaders insisted that the throng of students they were leading be allowed to march outside of Palma Hall. They were refused three times at different exits of the college. To their surprise, they found out that the front gates of the building were open, so they rushed out and continued their program at the Palma Hall steps. After a few minutes of negotiations, the UP Police finally allowed them to march in one lane of University Avenue. 

In 1987, Jessie graduated at UP Law but he never forgot the lines of UP Hymn’s “malayong lupain, aming man marating, hindi rin magbabago ang damdamin”. Whenever he went, he continued to help the country by initiating fundraising campaigns and other projects. For instance, during his stint as the Chair of the Association of Filipino Students in Japan (AFSJ), they raised funds by selling Filipino food. They also created caricatures and showcased Filipino culture including the staging of a Filipino fiesta complete with food and the tinikling. Proceeds of the project went to Operation Damayan, a project to help typhoon survivors.

In a letter to Jessie, former Philippine Ambassador Romeo Arguelles wrote:

Dear Jessie, 

Thank you for your valuable contribution in building a positive image of the Philippines, increasing mutual understanding between Japan and the Philippines and forging a strong and supportive community in Japan during your term as Embassy’s Foreign Information Officer from June 1994 to June 1999. Your boundless enthusiasm, creativity, and commitment are an inspiration to us all!

Jessie was a workaholic who can’t resist working even during weekends. He initiated corporate social responsibility projects, as well as performing his responsibilities in his law office and the advertising firm that he headed. Despite his busy schedule, he hired a Zumba dance instructor for the staff and joined in the sessions.

A good brother, Jessie sent his youngest sister to law school. She became part of the law offices that Jessie established.