VP Duterte mourns death of 'real patriot' Ople
By Raymund Antonio and Raymund Antonio
Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday, Aug. 22, mourned the passing of Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople, whom she called a “real patriot” and a “beacon of hope” for migrant workers.
DMW Secretary Susan 'Toots' Ople (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)
In a statement, the official said Ople, a lifelong advocate of migrant workers’ rights, will be “greatly missed.”
“The country has lost a real patriot whose life was dedicated to the welfare and protection of the fundamental rights of migrant Filipino workers and their families,” she wrote.
“She was a beacon of hope and a source of strength for migrant workers caught in distressing situations while working abroad,” the Vice President added.
Lauding Ople for a “legacy” that the Philippines “will cherish forever,” Duterte sent her sympathies to her family and prayed “that they may find comfort in the special moments they shared together.”
The DMW, in an earlier statement, confirmed Ople’s passing at 1 PM on Tuesday.
While the statement did not say the cause of her death, the secretary had been battling breast cancer.
Last July 25, the agency said that Ople was on a “much-needed wellness break.”
Ople was the daughter of the late former Senate President, Foreign Affairs Secretary, and Minister of Labor Blas Ople, who is considered the “Father of Overseas Employment” and “Father of the Labor Code,” which was signed into law in 1974.