By Argyll Cyrus Geducos
President Duterte looked back at the legacy of former House Speaker Prospero Nograles following the latter's passing Saturday.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his speech during the 1st National Assembly of the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on February 25, 2019.
(SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a message early Sunday, Duterte extended his condolences to the bereaved family of the late House Speaker. Nograles's son, Karlo, is Duterte's Cabinet Secretary.
"I would like to extend my deep sympathies and condolences to the family of Former House Speaker Prospero Nograles. I am deeply saddened to hear his demise," Duterte's message read.
"His legacy as a leader who used his voice to speak on behalf of the Filipino people will continue to inspire other politicians and leaders who are committed to serving their countrymen," he added.
"May he find eternal peace and repose in the arms of our loving Father in heaven. It is also my prayer that the Lord Almighty ease your pain and that you will find solace and strength during this difficult time," he continued.
According to PBA Partylist representative Jericho Nograles, the former Speaker succumbed to respiratory failure, secondary to pneumonia. He was 71. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles earlier said that their father spent his final moments with his loved ones.
The Cabinet Secretary said the wake will be held at Chapel 1 at Heritage Park, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. Viewing starts Sunday May 5 up to May 6, before they fly the former Speaker's remains to Davao City on May 7.
The late Nograles was a lawyer who graduated from the Ateneo School of Law and placed second in the 1971 Bar Examinations.
As a lawyer, he represented victims of human rights violations during the term of President Ferdinand Marcos, and later joined the campaign of the late President Corazon Aquino in the 1986 snap elections.
He served his first term as Representative of the First District of Davao City in 1989, a post he again won in 1995 and held for three consecutive terms from 2001 to 2010. He became House Speaker in 2008 during the administration of former President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The late Nograles was Duterte's critics for decades before they officially patched things up during Karlo Nograle's birthday celebration in Davao City in 2017.
Read more: Former speaker Nograles dies at 71