Ex-Bulacan lawmaker dies on witness stand

SAN JOSE DEL MONTE, Bulacan—Former Bulacan Rep. Angelito Sarmiento died of a heart attack on Oct. 1.   He was 68.

The three-term congressman and two-term city mayor was on the witness stand in court testifying in the case he filed against Smartmatic-TIM Corp. when he collapsed. He was declared dead on arrival at the Bulacan Medical Center and was interred Oct. 8.

Sarmiento served as congressman of the fourth district of Bulacan from 1992 to 2001, and was the principal author of the bill making San Jose del Monte a city, as well as the bill establishing the Bulacan State University-Sarmiento campus.

He was later appointed presidential adviser on agricultural modernization by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and was known as a philanthropist, having supported the education of thousands of poor students.

Sarmiento also served as mayor of this city in 2004 and again from 2009 to 2010.

He had sued Smartmatic for P30.5 million after his ballot was rejected several times by the PCOS machine during the May 2010 elections.

His family owns the feeds company Vitarich Corp. He is survived by  his wife Eve, children Judes and Cathy, Bong and Trixie, Jackie and Joel, and Jing and Hector, and grandchildren Annika, Tara, Belle, Sophie, Ali, Teah, Keira, Zarina, Jules and AJ.