Senators on Sunday honored former senator and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim for living a life of public service.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Lim “wore many hats as a public servant” from being chief of police of Manila to senator from 2004 to 2007 and as mayor of Manila for many years.
Sotto said he remembers Lim for being a staunch advocate of peace and order as foundation for the progress of the people.
“He risked life and limb when called upon by his Commander-in-Chief. The nation salutes him for a life of service,” Sotto said in a text statement to reporters.
Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel II also mourned the death of the former mayor who passed away at the age of 90.
“We are deeply saddened with the passing of our beloved and well respected party-mate former senator and mayor Fred Lim. Through his support for PDP-Laban, he became a true friend of mine,” Pimentel said in a statement.
“We will certainly miss his words of wisdom, advice, friendship and support,” he stressed.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, likewise, expressed his admiration for Lim for “being a public servant to the bone.”
“He had a clear political vision and, more importantly, the will to get things done. He was a true man of action,” Zubiri said in a separate statement.
“Whether he was serving as police officer, senator, cabinet secretary, or Manila mayor, he was consistent in his work toward peace, order, and justice—so much so that we all came to regard him as our very own Dirty Harry,” he added.
Zubiri said he is certain that citizens of Manila will feel Lim’s loss deeply. “He dedicated so much of his life to the city, and did everything in his power to turn his vision of a clean and crime-less Manila into reality,” he said.
“Mayor Lim may be gone, but Manila will always be testament to everything he stood for,” Zubiri stressed.