TRIBUTES POUR IN FOR SAGUISAG

MANILA, Philippines: Tributes poured in for the late senator Rene Saguisag, who passed away on Wednesday.

The Liberal Party (LP) of the Philippines, in a statement, called Saguisag a "symbol of promoting democracy, human rights, and social justice."

"As a lawyer, he was among those who stood up against abuses during Martial Law. As a member of the Liberal Party, he raised the bar for those in public service, not only through the laws he authored, but also through the personal fulfillment of his sworn duty. As a writer, he used his deep understanding of the law and his experience to criticize what he saw as wrong in the government, including the erasure and revision of our history," the LP wrote in Filipino.

Former senator and LP spokesman Leila de Lima,in a separate post on her X (formerly Twitter) handle, said: "Thank you Sen. Rene for all your support in all the more than 6 years of my imprisonment. Thank you for being there in my trial to show your solidarity even when it was already difficult for you to travel," she wrote. "The Philippine legal community has lost another luminary, and the Filipino people has lost a great leader. You will be missed always, especially in our shared struggle for a just and progressive nation."

"We lost a statesman: Sen. Rene Saguisag. The nation longs for more senators like him and [Jovito] Salonga. You will be missed!" wrote former presidential spokesman Harry Roque on his Facebook page.

"RIP Atty. Rene Saguisag. A friend, a patriot and a compassionate lawyer. You will be missed," wrote Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen on X.

On Wednesday, partylist group Akbayan said: "We didn't just lose a great man today. The nation lost one of democracy's greatest defenders. Senator Saguisag gave his life not just to the ideals of the law, our nation, and its people. He lived fully, in the conviction that all Filipinos deserve a society that stands for those who have the least in life, speaks truth to power, and nurtures our dreams for a brighter future."

"His faith in our ability to rise above our weaknesses never wavered. And we in Akbayan will honor that faith by continuing the struggle he and so many others gave their lives to," it said.

Saguisag died on Wednesday at the age of 84, his family announced.

2024-04-24T04:15:26Z dg43tfdfdgfd