Maceda: ‘Man for all seasons’

By: Leila B. Salaverria - 8 years ago

A visitor looks at the body of the late Senator Ernesto Maceda during its wake at Mt. Carmel Church in Quezon City on Tuesday, June 21, 2016.
INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

For colleagues, former Senate President Ernesto Maceda was more than just “Mr. Exposé,” he was also a hardworking legislator, a powerful writer, a generous adviser, and a “man for all seasons.”

Maceda died on Monday night after undergoing gallbladder surgery. He was 81.

The Senate is scheduled to hold a necrological service for Maceda on Thursday afternoon and will provide an honor guard for his wake. The flag at the Senate compound has also been lowered to half-staff.

When he led the Senate, Maceda had been hands-on in his task and served as inspiration to his colleagues, Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

Drilon said Maceda, who became a Cabinet member in the Ferdinand Marcos administration at the age of 29, was an effective bureaucrat and principled lawmaker who 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,” Drilon said in a statement.

Former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. said many thought of Maceda as the “epitome of adaptability in the complex world of politics.”

“He probably was,” said Pimentel. “For he showed how one could work with ruthless political figures without being merciless, himself. Or, with the compassionate without being consumed by tearful tenderness,” he said.

He also hailed Maceda, who wrote a newspaper column, for his way with words.

Way with words

“At the same time, he wielded a trenchant pen that brought down would-be angels from their imagined pedestals to stark reality. But, on the birthdays or some such happy occasions of some lucky few, he did wish them well in the opinion pieces that he wrote,” he said.

Maceda was a “man for all seasons,” in a manner of speaking, Pimentel said.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. described Maceda as “among the best and brightest” in his father’s Cabinet.

“His entire life’s record of public service is a testament not only to his brilliance but dedication to his calling. But most of all, he was a true friend and a second father to many of us,” Marcos said.

Sen. Nancy Binay, who ran with Maceda for the Senate during the 2013 elections, said: “His devotion in serving our countrymen was marked by the outstanding performance in the various capacities he had served as well as the numerous scams he exposed during his terms as a senator. He was also recognized as an advocate of women’s rights, and continued to give the poor and the marginalized a voice in his columns.”

‘Colorful’

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. remembered Maceda as a “colorful politician with an equally colorful personality.”

“I remember fondly how I willingly offered my salary for a month to fully support his campaign and entry into politics when he ran for councilor of Manila,” Belmonte said in a tribute to the late senator.

“He was eventually hailed as the No. 1 councilor there at the age of 23,” Belmonte recalled. “Ernie was known to many as ‘Mr. Exposé’ as he was always an outspoken and staunch politician.”

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that Maceda “distinguished himself as a legislator, Cabinet member and ambassador for more than five decades of dedicated public service.”

‘Political mentor’

Former President Joseph Estrada, now Manila mayor, said he was “greatly saddened” by the death of his “political mentor.”

Estrada said Maceda was set to receive the Gawad Gat Andres Bonifacio Award on Thursday, June 23, as part of the 445th Araw ng Maynila celebration, the highest recognition the city government confers to outstanding Manileños.

“I still remember [Maceda’s] face brightening up when we told him we would be giving him Manila’s highest award for one of its greatest sons,” Estrada said. “It saddens me that he will no longer be able to personally receive it.”

Former Speaker Jose de Venecia said: “Senate President Ernesto Maceda and I as Speaker of the House worked relentlessly to address the causes of the nation. The Filipino people will miss him,” he said. With reports from DJ Yap, Nikko Dizon and Annelle Tayao-Juego