The Commission on Appointments’ Committee on Labor, Employment, Social Welfare and Migrant Workers on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, endorses for plenary confirmation the ad interim appointment of Maria Susana “Toots” Ople as secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople lied in state in Malacañang on Monday morning.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. lead Ople’s necrological service inside Kalayaan Hall inside Malacañan Palace.
Other members of the Cabinet as well as officials from the DMW also attended the ceremony. A public viewing is set to be held in the Palace in the afternoon, where visitors can pay their respect to the late secretary.
Ople died at the age of 61 on August 22. While the cause of death has yet to be stated, she had been battling breast cancer.
Marcos had previously called Ople’s death a great loss to the nation, lamenting how he had lost a friend.
Prior to her death, Ople had been on a wellness leave to mourn the deaths of her two brothers, former Hagonoy Mayor Felix “Toti” Ople and former journalist Blas F. Ople Jr. Both had died due to lung cancer.