Incumbent Senate President Franklin Drilon remembered the late Senator Ernesto Maceda as “a tireless worker and a very hands-on Senate leader”.
Drilon, in a statement late Monday night, said he joined the entire nation in mourning Maceda’s passing.
“I send my sincerest condolences to his family and I pray that the Lord will give them strength throughout this difficult time,” he said.
A Cabinet member at the young age of 29, Drilon said, Maceda went on to become an “effective bureaucrat and a principled lawmaker who always acted based on the people’s interest.”
“In the time that we shared in the Senate floor, I have known him as a tireless worker and a very “hands-on” Senate President, whose unique zeal and work ethic had led to many important laws that benefited our people,” said the Senate leader.
“I am proud to have worked alongside such a distinguished public servant. He will remain an inspiration to all of us,” Drilon said.
Maceda was Senate President from 1996 to 1998.
The former Senate leader was first elected in the Senate in 1971 but his term was cut short when the martial law was declared in 1972.
After martial law, Maceda returned to the Senate in 1987 to 1992 and from 1992 to 1998.
After serving two terms in the Senate, the late senator was appointed as ambassador to the United States by former President Joseph Estrada from 1999 to 2001.
Drilon said he has already ordered Senate Secretary Oscar Yabes to lower the flag at the Senate at half-mast to honor the late senator.
The Senate, he said, will also coordinate with Maceda’s family to provide honor guards during the wake and arrange for a necrological service for him.