Taken from, "History of Leon," by Ms. Loreto Capoque:

Born on April 22, 1906 in Iloilo City to the late Senator Ruperto Montinola and Basa Benedicto. She finished her elementary and high school education at Assumption Convent, Iloilo City. Born with a silver spoon, instead of taking up a course, she trained herself in the languages. She could unerstand very well and speak in English, Spanish and French and travelled a lot in different parts of the world.

She became the private secretary of her father when the latter was elected to the Philippine legislature and accompanied him in various conferences and official missions abroad. She observed the intricacies of the mechanics of lawmaking and felt the sweetness and bitterness that go with politics, the subtle game of politics, the art of keeping cool under the most trying and depressing circumstances, the art of making the post out of any situation. Most of all, she observed her father’s genuine love for his people, his dedication to his work, his honesty, his uncompromising loyalty to principles and his indomitable fighting spirit.

A year after her father died in 1940, World War II came and her family evacuated to Barangay Bucari Leon where she met, fell in love and married the dashing Ramon Canillas Tabiana in 1942.

When her husband became Congressman in 1953, she became his private secretary. After the sudden death of her husband on December 20, 1964 while still a congressman, Gloria was persuaded by her husband’s supporters to join politics and take her husband’s place. She ran as Congresswoman of the third District of Iloilo in 1965 under the Liberal Party and won a big majority of 7,000 votes over her opponent.

In 1967, the Nacionalista Party of Iloilo again persuaded her to join their political party. Being a highly principled woman like her father, it was difficult for her to decide. However, knowing that she could not easily get funds for the projects of her district, after five long months of weighing the pros’s and con’s she finally decided to join the Nacionalista Party with two simple but meaningful reasons. “I love the people of the third district of Iloilo” and “My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins.”

As Congresswoman, the distinguished lady sponsored several bills which became laws, among them R.A. 5544 nationalizing the Cabatuan High School and R.A. 4955, an act establishing the Ramon Tabiana Memorial Hospital in honor of her beloved husband.

Numerous major projects came pouring into her district, such as cement roads and bridges, school buildings, two hospitals, name ALEOSAN Hospital and Ramon Tabiana Memorial Hospital.

Gloria Montinola Tabiana, a neophyte lawmaker, was chosen by the Popular Weekly nation as the valedictorian among women legislators in the House of Representatives for having authored the most numbered of laws during her time.
 
She died on March 4, 1989.