Malacañang has expressed its sympathies over the demise of Perfecto Yasay Jr., President Rodrigo Duterte’s first foreign affairs secretary in 2016, who succumbed to pneumonia related to his cancer at 7:26 a.m. on Friday. He was 73.
In a statement, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque extended the Palace’s “heartfelt condolences” to Yasay’s family, friends, and colleagues.
“As we pay tribute and honor Secretary Yasay, we offer our sincerest prayers to the Almighty to grant him eternal repose,” Roque said.
His passing was announced by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) on its Facebook page.
The UCCP page also shared a post of Yasay’s wife Cecille Joaquin-Yasay which stated: “My husband, my partner, my best friend—left us today at 7:26 a.m. due to pneumonia cause by the recurrence of his cancer, not COVID. Jun Yasay, you are loved. We will miss you lots.”
Yasay stepped down as foreign affairs secretary in March 2017 after the Commission on Appointments refused to confirm his appointment due to citizenship issues.
Upon his retirement from the government, Yasay served as chair of the board of trustees of the Philippine Christian University, an affiliate of the UCCP.
During the Estrada administration, Yasay also served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
He claimed that then President Joseph Estrada called him up over allegations of stock manipulation against one of Estrada’s friends.
Yasay’s allegation was among the reasons that led to Estrada’s impeachment and eventual ouster in the Edsa 2 revolt in January 2001.
Perfecto Yasay Jr.
‘Uncompromising integrity’
He ran for senator in the 2001 mid-term elections. He also ran for vice president in the 2010 elections under the Bangon Pilipinas Party of Jesus is Lord Church founder and president Eddie Villanueva.
The SEC expressed “great sorrow” on the passing of Yasay, who served as its chair from 1995 to 2000.
“As SEC chairperson, Mr. Yasay exemplified commitment to the Commission’s mission of empowering the corporate sector and the investing public. He did so with uncompromising integrity and independence,” the SEC said in a press statement on Friday.
SEC chair Emilio Aquino, who had worked under Yasay during his tenure at the SEC, also posted a personal message of condolence on his Facebook account, which read: “While the risks do go up proportionately with the level of your pay grade, I owe it to this man who galvanized me to aim high and to take those challenges in stride. He was a good mentor and supporter … Rest in peace Sir.”
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. also paid tribute on the passing of his predecessor on Friday.
“He recommended me for my UN job. He hurt no one and helped everyone he could,” Locsin said on Twitter.
Alluding to Yasay’s flight to the United States in the late ’70s to escape repression during the Marcos dictatorship, he said: “He did what many fighting tyranny had to: shield themselves with US law. Because the United States is the only country—and thankfully, the greatest military power in history—dedicated to liberty at home and everywhere abroad it is imperiled. Thank you, America, for shielding him while he fought for Filipino liberty.”