Former Negros assemblyman Wilson Gamboa; 70

Former Negros Member of Parliament Wilson Gamboa died on Thursday after a lingering liver ailment. He was 70.

He is survived by his mother, Nanay Conching, and children Wilson Jr., Lauro, Wilma, Roseller, and Antonino.

His remains lie at the Loyola Memorial Chapel along Commonwealth Avenue. Interment will be announced later.

Gamboa was a member of the regular Batasang Pambansa during the Marcos regime.

He was also undersecretary of the Department of Defense during the Ramos administration, when Fortunato Abat was defense secretary.

In 1996, he was appointed chief of the Sugar Regulatory Administration. His term saw the creation of the Presidential Task Force for the sugar industry, which was tasked to draft plans and programs that would enhance productivity in the sugar industry.

He was also a former director of the Development Bank of the Philippines.

Gamboa served as a councilor of Bacolod City from 1972 to 1979. In 2001, he ran for Bacolod’s lone congressional seat but lost.

A lawyer and accountant, Gamboa is remembered for questioning before the Supreme Court the basis for the computation of foreign stockholders equity in a public utility. It ruled in his favor, saying only common shares, not preferred shares, should be the basis.

In 2007, Gamboa, a shareholder of the Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Co., asked the Supreme Court to nullify the sale of the government’s stake in the company to Hong Kong’s First Pacific group.