Senate pays tribute to late ex-Sen. Ziga, condoles with family

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Monday paid tribute to former Senator Victor Ziga and expressed its sincere condolences to his family over his passing.

Senators adopted Senate Resolution No. 630 expressing the chamber’s profound sympathy and sincere condolences on the death of Ziga.

In sponsoring the resolution, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the passing of a “great and dedicated public servant” like Ziga is a “great loss to the nation.”

READ: Ex-senator Ziga dies at 75

According to Zubiri, Ziga served as a senator from 1987 to 1992 and was a former assemblyman from 1984 to 1986.

“He was a distinguished and brave law practitioner and brilliant member of the academe. He rose to national prominence when he won in the 1984 Batasang Pambansa elections at a young age of 39 despite running under the opposition banner,” the majority leader said.

Ziga, who authored and co-authored 295 bills and resolutions, was also “instrumental in the passage of important measures,” Zubiri added.

Among these are the Local Government Code and the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers.

“Exhibiting moral courage and uncompromising ethical commitment to honesty in government and for the environment, he publicly denounced graft and corruption in all levels of government and criticized the inability of the admin to curb pollution as one of them,” Zubiri went on.

Senator Richard Gordon, meanwhile, remembered Ziga as a “humble and simple” man.

“Senator Ziga has always been a quiet presence, even in our class in Ateneo, he was our classmate, we never even felt him, he was so quiet,” Gordon said.

“People are even asking in our chat group if he was our classmate and very few actually remembered because he was such a humble persona,” he added.

Ziga was the son of former senator Tecla San Andres Ziga, the first female senator in the Philippines and the first woman in the country to top the bar examination, and Venancio Ziga, a former governor of Albay province.

“In spite of a very, very great progeny, the man remains simple, quite humble, a gentleman,” Gordon said.

“He has served in various capacities in our country,” he added.

For his part, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Ziga’s memories and legacy “will always remain in the halls of the Philippine Senate.”

Ziga passed away on Sunday afternoon due to heart and multi-organ failure at the St. Luke’s Hospital, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. He was 75.

He is survived by his wife Carmen and children Christian, Diane, Caroline, Vic Jr., Rick, Brian, and Mayte.

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