Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo is mourning the loss of Corazon Abalos, wife of former Commission on Elections chair Benjamin Abalos.
Abalos, mother of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Benhur Abalos, passed away Monday after contracting the coronavirus illness.
Panelo, in a statement, remembered Abalos as a dear friend and a kind person, adding she was loved by her family and the people of Mandaluyong City.
"I am deeply saddened by the passing of Ms. Corazon Abalos…She was a dear personal friend of long years, and a godmother on the baptism of our lawyer son, Salvador Paolo, Jr., and our eldest daughter, Ramona Francesca. She was a beautiful, gentle, kind, thoughtful and generous person, who always had a smile on her face," he said.
"She was very much loved by her family because of her loving and caring devotion to them, as well as the people of Mandaluyong," he said.
Panelo also said Abalos showed "sweet and gentle ways and passion" to serve the Mandaluyong residents, citing the establishment of foundations that benefited women as well as the Girl Scouts of Mandaluyong.
"Our prayers go to her as her soul travels beyond the physical plane to meet our Maker, even as we share in the grief of her loved ones by her passing. We pray that she may rest in eternal peace and perpetual light will shine upon her," he said.