MANILA, Philippines — Senator Richard Gordon has said that he was “shattered” by the death of his brother, former Olongapo City Mayor James “Bong” Gordon Jr., who died due to cardiac arrest.
“I lost my only brother Bong today, and I am totally shattered,” the senator said in Facebook post Tuesday.
Richard then remembered his younger brother as an “approachable person who was ready to help those in need,” and had “a soft voice that would only ever get loud when he sang rock and roll.”
“Even in his youth, Bong was a dedicated servant-leader who became class president. His strength and fortitude extended to his days as a Subic Bay volunteer, as a city councilor, as a congressman, and ultimately as mayor of Olongapo,” he said.
“He was always kind, but he stood firm to serve Olongapo well. He was a gentle younger brother whom I loved dearly,” he added.
The senator then described his last moments with his younger brother: “I bid him goodbye with two kisses, just like the last time we got to kiss our father goodbye.”
On Twitter, meanwhile, Richard said that while his style of public service was “extremely aggressive, strong, and firm,” his younger brother’s was “diplomatic, kind, and gentle.”
I lost my only brother Bong today, and I am totally shattered.
Bong and I grew up together and followed the same path of public service. I served as Mayor of Olongapo, and he would run as Congressman. pic.twitter.com/jKFsErY4z9
— Richard J. Gordon (@DickGordonDG) February 9, 2021
“Our leadership styles contrasted, but we served our people well,” the senator said.
And just before his brother passed, the senator shared a bittersweet moment with his sibling: “Two days ago, after a long time, we said our ‘I love you’s.’ We said we got each other’s back. Then suddenly this morning I was told he passed on.”
The former Olongapo City mayor, according to people close to his family, died at the St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Bong served as Olongapo City mayor from 2004 to 2013. Before this, he was a congressman in the first district of Zambales from 1995-2004.