Senate to hold necrological services for Benitez

HELENA Benitez. FILE PHOTO

The Senate will hold necrological services at its session hall on Tuesday (July 19) for former Senator Helena Benitez, who passed away last Thursday at the age of 102.

Senate Secretary Oscar Yabes said senators led by Senate President Franklin Drilon will receive Benitez’s remains at 9:40 a.m. at the main entrance of the Senate building.

READ: Senators pay tribute to Helena Benitez

The senators, together with Benitez’s family, Senate officials and protocol officers, will escort the urn carried by Bryan Benitez McClelland, a family member, to the session hall on the second floor of the building.

Yabes said Drilon will present a resolution, honoring Benitez, to her family. The Senate leader, he said, will also deliver a eulogy along with former Senators Santanina Rasul, Wigberto Tañada, and Leticia Ramos-Shahani, and incumbent Senators Risa Hontiveros and Loren Legarda.

After the necrological services, Yabes said, a lunch will be served in the Recto-Laurel Rooms at 11:45 a.m. before Benitez’s remains will be escorted to the ground floor for departure at 1 p.m.

The Senate has been flying its flag at half-mast since July 14 to mourn the passing of Benitez, who served as senator from 1967 to 1972.

Before her passing, Benitez chaired the board of trustees of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) where she founded the world-renowned Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company in 1956.

While in the Senate, Benitez authored laws on education, culture, arts and the environment, such as the Philippine Eagle Protection Act and Republic Act No. 6148 declaring Mount Iglit, Mount Baco and adjoining areas on Mindoro island as a national park.

She also received various accolades for her advocacies in education, women, environment and international affairs including being the first Filipina chairperson of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women, and first Filipina recipient of the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu (Grand Cross). RAM/rga