Filipino scientist Maria Orosa honored with final burial in San Agustin

Note: This article has been updated, with few errors corrected.

THE remains of World War II heroine and food scientist, Maria Orosa, have been reinterred in San Agustin Church, Intramuros, alongside 22 other World War II heroes on Thursday, February 13, 2025. 

The event also coincided with the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Manila and the bombing of Remedios Hospital, where Orosa tragically met her fate in 1945. A funeral mass was held as part of the commemoration. 

The crypt beneath San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila, now serves as the final resting place for Orosa. She received a dedicated tombstone, while the other heroes shared memorial markers. 

On her tombstone were inscribed the following words: Here lie the victims of the tragedy of Remedios Hospital, Malate, killed during the Liberation of Manila on February 13, 1945.

The event was attended by the descendants of these Philippine heroes, including Milette Orosa, the niece of Maria Orosa from her late younger brother Jose Y Orosa.

Milette was happy that Maria Orosa finally had a place where people could visit her and remember her legacy. 

“After 80 years, after her death, finally, there’s some closure,“ Milette said to the press. 

The discovery of Orosa’s remains were a product of Malate Grave Project, a collaborative forensic archaeological and anthropological initiative aimed at uncovering and honoring the remains of civilian war victims from World War II, launched in 2019.

The project specifically focuses on the long-forgotten mass grave site discovered at Malate Catholic School in the city of Manila, which was formerly the Remedios Hospital that served as a hospital for the American prisoners of war and local civilians. 

The project, led by retired diplomat and military history author Matthew Westfall in partnership with the University of the Philippines, has successfully exhumed over 20 sets of commingled human remains.

According to Milette, Maria Orosa’s remains had undergone DNA testing with the help of the female lineage of the family. Cyd Cardasis, the daughter of late Clementina Orosa, gave the DNA sample.

The remains also fitted the description of Orosa, particularly her size. 

Who is Maria Orosa?

You might recognize the name ‘Orosa’ from a street in Manila, but the woman behind it has a legacy far beyond that—one that extends beyond her creation of banana ketchup.

Maria Ylagan Orosa was a pioneering Filipino food technologist, pharmaceutical chemist, humanitarian and war heroine at a time when women were rarely given recognition in science and the military, 

She studied in the University of Washington in the USA, but came back to serve her homeland using the knowledge she earned abroad. Her innovative works using local ingredients were used to fight against malnutrition in the country— a rampant problem during the war. 

She also developed Soyalac, a nutrient-rich soybean drink, and Darak, rice bran cookies fortified with vitamin B1 to combat beriberi. 

During World War II, Orosa’s commitment extended beyond the laboratory; she joined the guerrilla movement against Japanese occupation and clandestinely supplied her food inventions to prisoners and civilians, saving countless lives.

Orosa died on February 13, 1945, when Remedios Hospital was bombed during the Battle of Manila. Her legacy lives on through her culinary innovations and patriotism. She also serves as a beacon for many Filipino women, especially in the field of science.