Endena Cogasi raised a family on her own and lived a simple life. But despite her simplicity, she chose to raise her voice and became an invincible icon of the Cordillera region, who continue to struggle for justice. When conflicts arose in the Cordillera area between the armed forces and the community, she rose to become one of the strong leaders of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance. She advocated for peace and courageously defended the human rights of poor indigenous peoples and women despite the harassments and threats she received from the military. She did not yield to military harassment. She even joined delegations for a dialogue with the military. Her presence during the peace rallies in the Mountain Province was even acknowledged by a former senator.

She inspired a number of Cordillera women, young and old, to follow her footsteps of courage and dedication to serve the women and people. On 9 December 2010, Endena Cogasi was one of the awardees of the Gawad Tanggol Karapatan or Awards for Cordillera Human Rights Defenders during the observance of the International Human Rights Day.

Nominated by:  Cordillera Women's Education Action Research Center, Inc. (CWEARC)
E-mail:  cwearc09@gmail.com
Phone No.:  +63 74 442 5347