Vice President Jejomar Binay is mourning the passing of former Senate President Jovito Salonga, who is one of the founders of the ruling Liberal Party.
In a statement on Thursdsay, Binay, an opposition candidate under United Nationalist Alliance, said Salonga played a key role in steering the Senate during the transition period from martial law to the restoration of democracy.
“We mourn the passing of former Senate President Jovito Salonga, a pillar of the protest movement who steered the Senate during the difficult years of transition from dictatorship to democracy,” Binay said.
Binay said Salonga, a survivor in the Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971, led the Senate in voting against the extension of the US military bases in the country in 1991.
“His capable leadership—forged and strengthened in the dark days that followed the Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971—guided the Senate when it voted to oust the US bases in 1991,” Binay said.
“It is with my deepest sympathies and prayers that I share his family’s sorrow and pain in this time of grief,” he added.
Salonga is one of the founding fathers of Liberal Party, according to a statement by vice chair Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
Belmonte said Salonga was a close family friend—a ninong (godfather)—of his family and that of his late wife Betty Go-Belmonte.
“We condole with his family and feel the loss not only of one of the founding fathers of the Liberal Party but of this nation. We owe a debt of gratitude to Jovy for dedicating his talents, bravery and his life’s work to the Filipino people. He is a tough act to follow and a source of pride for us,” Belmonte said.
“Jovy can be considered a bastion of Philippine democracy who has served this nation and staunchly fought for our freedoms in various arenas and in various capacities,” Belmonte said.
According to a statement sent by the Speaker’s office, Salonga served as the 14th Senate president during the term of former President Corazon Aquino from 1987 to 1992.
He was also the first chair of the Presidential Commission on Good Government.
A World War II veteran who was imprisoned during the Japanese occupation, Salonga was also a notable constitutional expert who topped the bar in 1944.
He was a senator opposed to the dictatorial rule of President Ferdinand Marcos when he survived a grenade attack on Aug. 21, 1971, during the Liberal Party proclamation led by its president Sen. Gerry Roxas.
“Throughout his life—as lawyer, congressman, senator and Cabinet secretary—as well as through his brave battle against Marcos during the martial law years, Salonga remained focused on his goal to attain and safeguard democracy in the Philippines,” Belmonte said.
Salonga passed away on Thursday at age 95.