Mrs. Purificacion Gallego Tanchoco was born on December 23, 1901 in the municipality of San Antonio, Nueva Ecija. She was the youngest daughter of the late Mr. Julio Gallego and Mrs. Viola Gallego. She spent her first year at the Sta. Isabel College and later transferred to and graduated from the former Centro Escolar de Senoritas, now the Centro Escolar University. In 1925 she finished her Degree in Pharmacy from the Manila College of Pharmacy, presently known as the Manila Central University.On January 2, 1926, at the age of 25, she married Atty. Filemon Tanchoco, then Secretary-Treasurer of the Manila College of Pharmacy. Her earlier years of marriage were completely dedicated to the home

and concentrated her efforts on the upbringing and care of her children. However, after the liberation from the Japanese occupation in 1945, her husband, President Filemon Tanchoco, remained the only person available to direct and manage the institution. Among the original founders of the former Manila College of Pharmacy and Dentistry, two have died, another was incapacitated by a serious illness, one due to his old age could no longer actually help, and still another decided himself to the practice of his profession. Extra help was needed so, upon invitation of her husband. Mrs. Purificacion Tanchoco helped in the administration of MCU.

Her work as an administrator of an institution of learning began only after the liberation. The actual material progress of MCU then was credited to her enterprising and almost inexhaustible activities devoted most exclusively to the progress of the institution, more specially to the College of Medicine and its necessary complements – the Hospital and the Public Dispensary.Mrs. Tanchoco was also responsible for the construction of the Gymnasium of the Manila Central University. She continued helping her husband as Administrative Officer until his death in 1963. The following year, on October 23, 1964, she was formally installed as the Second President of the Manila Central University.She had a long, productive and meaningful life and although she had her own share of tragedies, she bore all these silently, bravely and stoically.Until the end, she remained the safe and quiet harbor to whom all the members of her family had gone to in times of rough sailing in the university and in the family. Until the end when finally she called Home by the Creator, she remained at the helm of the educational institution, the respected and beloved President of the Manila Central University and Chairman of the Board of the MCU-FDTMF.

Her departure from this early life on October 29, 1994, has indeed, left a void most especially in the hearts of the many men and women, whose lives she had lovingly touched. Her legacy will live on and will continue to bring light to the dark corners of Philippine society through a good and responsive education – an education that truly is a passport to a better future.

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