Despite her busy schedule as a motivational speaker, socio-civic leader and businesswoman, not to mention as a wife and mother, this philanthropist continues to find meaningful causes to support. The newly minted “climate champion” also puts in the hard work for her crusade for the environment, which will soon include, among other things, an extensive cleanup drive for Pasig River and, in true Mache style — the “gala of a lifetime.”
By Jose Paolo S. dela Cruz
Photography by Mark Chester Ang
Mache Torres-Ackerman — the same lady who donated P1 million in personal funds to The Hapag Movement and its hunger alleviation program — doesn’t just stop at cutting the check. She goes into her advocacies with much zeal and compassion, trading the makeup and gowns for sneakers and jeans when the job calls for it.
“I’m very passionate about service, which means helping others not just financially but physically. For instance, I do outreach work in the Women’s Correctional, and go around different provinces to connect with people as part of my climate change work,” says Mache, who is charter president of the Rotary Club of Makati Business District (RCMBD). “When people see me in a gown, they think that I’m just another social butterfly. But that’s not true.”
Upon closer inspection, there is, indeed, more to her than meets the eye. For one, she has been appointed as a climate change ambassador by Commissioner Albert dela Cruz of the National Climate Change Commission (NCCC). With this new appointment, she will lead “Climate Change Week” this year and stage related activities in November.
Her face lights up when she talks about the Green Gala, where she and her collaborators, including the NCCC, and some non-government organizations and corporations, will join forces to recognize “environmental heroes, champions and action heroes” in a one-of-a-kind ceremony on Nov. 8. The event will be held exactly a decade after Super Typhoon Yolanda wreaked havoc in the Philippines — and in many ways, sent dire warnings on how destructive nature could be in the wake of climate change.
On a personal note, Yolanda was a wakeup call for Mache, who on Nov. 8, 2013, was partying the night away at Manila Golf, along with her fellow Rotarians. “We knew that there was a typhoon but it was somewhat quiet here in Manila. We partied until four in the morning, but we felt a sense of guilt when we woke up the next day to the devastating news,” says Mache. “From then on, we at the Rotary decided to be of help in whatever way we can.”
Mache says that she, along with Illac Diaz and other climate change champions banded together as the Light it Forward Team, which sought to make and provide solar lamps for victims of the tragedy, and eventually turn the effort into an advocacy to promote solar energy. Since then, the team has used Liter of Light’s solar lamps to light up statement pieces such as the largest solar image of Jose Rizal and the world’s largest rosary of healing in Luneta Park, and even the largest solar light tribute to Santo Niño de Cebu.
It’s not all fundraising, galas and installation art, either.
As an ambassador for the NCCC, Mache is also channeling her energy towards an ambitious cleanup drive of the iconic Pasig River, which, sadly, has also been the posterchild of environmental neglect for decades now. The cleanup, according to her, will start right at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s backyard in Malacañang.
“It’s not just a regular cleanup but a revival. Together with the Ilog Ko, Buhay Ko Foundation, we will treat the waters using reverse osmosis machines that will really clean the whole river — and not just the portion that passes through Malacañang. We will beautify it as well by building walkways lined with trees, as well as boardwalks and parks on its banks,” says Mache, who is also promoting waste-to-energy projects.
Mache, along with her fellow “climate action heroes,” will also engage in a tour across the country, where they will hold climate change summits, talks and other activities that are relevant to their agenda. “I’m proud of the NCCC. We are workers on the field. We experience
climate change. We are out there, making sure to tell the truth about climate change and to convince our countrymen to join us and act on it at the same time,” she says.
Growing up in nature
Like many things about Mache, her actions are powered by her heart. And in it you’ll find happy childhood memories of a young girl who grew up communing with nature. “I grew up in Manila, but my parents owned farms in Tanay. So, I spent a lot of time there in the midst of nature, playing with farm animals and with kids from the Dumagat communities in the neighboring areas,” she says.
Born to businessman Jaime Torres and his wife Myrna, who was a teacher, Mache knew early on the value of education. After all, her parents founded the St. James College System in Sucat, Parañaque City, where Mache herself eventually served as an administrator for close to three decades. It was there that she learned a valuable lesson that she would carry with her for the rest of her life.
“You don’t know everything. In the same way that they can learn from you as a mentor, you can also learn also from your students and employees. That, in a way, is the spirit of an inspirational and not a dictatorial kind of leadership,” she shares.
Despite having divested from the school, Mache continues to mentor through other means. For instance, she has written a number of self-help books, the latest of which is titled You Are Brand New.
“I thought of the title because I remembered people who thought of giving up, especially after going through something particularly traumatic such as a failed marriage. I wanted to remind them that healing could happen, and it’s not the end of your life as you know it,” says Mache, whose first marriage was annulled in 2006.
“Even I thought of ending my life but in the end, I decided that I needed to heal. And with therapy, my loved ones’ and friends’ prayers, and my children, who are my pillars of strength, I found the brand new me, so to speak,” she admits.
The “brand new” Mache also found love again in businessman David Ackerman, with whom she now has an eight-year-old daughter. The two, who started out as friends, have known each other for seven years, before tying the knot in Sydney in 2015. This time around, Mache has a better understanding of how marriages work. “What’s really important is communication and forgiveness. Without those, it would be very difficult because no marriage is perfect, and the need for communication and forgiveness will always be there,” she says, adding that David is her inspiration in everything that she does.
With her four kids from her previous marriage now grown up and studying abroad, and David and their little one making up her home sweet home, is there anything else that Mache dreams of?
“Can I be Barbie?” she says with a chuckle, before turning a tad sentimental. “My dream, honestly, is simple. First, I just want to see my daughters successful and happy, and me and my husband to be always at peace and in perfect health. I used to have bigger dreams, but during the pandemic, I realized that health is the first thing a person needs to be able to give back. The rest is just a bonus.”
