EMILY Espeso joined the Philippine Ports Authority's (PPA) Port Management Office (PMO)-Iloilo in 1989 when the then 15-year-old agency was just removed under the auspices of the then Ministry of Public Works and Highways. Consequently, she has today become the first and possibly the only woman to remain serving PMO-Iloilo for the past three and a half decades.

While Espeso started her career with PPA as a storekeeper and ascended the ranks until she was eventually promoted to the agency's administration division manager, many in PMO-Iloilo see her as a strong mother figure who thrives in a male-dominated sector.