Former Leyte Rep. Carmen Cari dies at 90

TACLOBAN CITY — Former Leyte congresswoman and Baybay City mayor Carmen Cari, who played a key role in the cityhood of Baybay and the transformation of a state university into one of the country’s leading agriculture-focused institutions, died on Tuesday, Sept. 1, after a lingering illness. She was 90.

Cari spent nine years in Congress beginning in 2001, representing Leyte’s fifth congressional district. She later served as mayor of Baybay, where she helped push for the town’s conversion into a city in 2007.

At the time of her death, Cari was serving as a city councilor and president of the Philippine Councilors League-Leyte chapter. The latter position made her an ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

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Her death was announced by her grandson, Carl Nicolas Cari. His father, Jose Cari, is the incumbent mayor of Baybay City.

“In every role she held and each endeavor she undertook, her abiding love for Leyteños never faltered,” Carl said in a statement released hours after his grandmother’s death.

“We honor the vibrant life of Mommy Carmen, which was marked by her unwavering dedication to public service, her grace under pressure, and her strength rooted in kindness. She has touched countless lives, and her legacy in the Kinto Distrito will live on forever,” he added.

The Baybay City government also mourned Cari, describing her as the “Mother of Baybay City.”

“Her passing is a great loss to Baybay City and to the many lives she touched through her years of public service,” the city government said in a statement. It extended its condolences to the Cari family, relatives, friends and others mourning her death.

Beyond her role in Baybay’s cityhood, Cari was also instrumental in the conversion of Leyte State University into Visayas State University. The institution has since become one of the country’s prominent universities specializing in agriculture and related fields.

Cari belonged to one of Leyte’s politically influential families. Among her relatives is incumbent Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho Petilla, who served as secretary of energy during the administration of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

Cari’s long career in public service spanned local and national government, with much of her political legacy tied to Baybay and Leyte’s fifth congressional district. INQ /mr