CEBU CITY — Former Cebu governor Vicente “Tingting” de la Serna died in his residence at 12:05 a.m. on Saturday after battling lung cancer. He was 66.
“It was a peaceful death,” said his daughter, Dr. Frances de la Serna, in a media interview.
The former governor’s body will be cremated and buried tomorrow, September 2, at the Cebu Memorial Park Cemetery in Barangay Banilad, Cebu City following a Mass at 7 a.m.
Frances said it was her father’s wish to immediately lay him to rest after his death.
“He wanted a public wake and burial,” she said.
De la Serna was survived by his older brother Manolo as well as his three daughters and a son.
Frances said her father was diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2017. He underwent chemotherapy before he succumbed to the disease on Saturday.
The wake is held at his residence in Sto. Niño Village, Barangay Banilad, Cebu City.
Cebu City Councilor Joey Daluz was among those who first visited De la Serna’s wake.
“He’s a close family friend. We’ve always known him to be someone who has a vision, a brave man, and a champion of the masses,” he said in an interview.
Daluz’ mother, the late Nenita “Inday Nita” Cortes-Daluz, joined De la Serna and other Cebuano activists in fighting the dictator, president Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s.
“They stood up against the Marcoses, and Tingting will surely be missed,” he said.
But among De la Serna’s legacy, Daluz said, nothing beats how the former governor paved the way for the realization of the 93-1 lot swap agreement that allowed the Cebu City and provincial administrations to sign a deal to trade city-owned properties for province-owned lots occupied by the city’s urban poor.
International boxing judge Edward Ligas said De la Serna would always be remembered as a person who associated himself with common people.
“He was the man of the masses. Despite the temptations, he remained an honest government official. I’m saddened by his death,” he said.
De la Serna was appointed officer-in-charge vice mayor of Mandaue City after the Edsa Revolution in 1986.
He later served as congressman of Cebu’s sixth district before he was elected Cebu governor in 1992.
De la Serna sought reelection in 1995 but lost to former governor Pablo Garcia.