BRITANICO (Photo via Tara Yap)
ILOILO CITY – Former Iloilo Rep. Salvador “Buddy” Bas Britanico passed away on Good Friday. He was 88.
The family announced on social media that the former assemblyman during the administration of President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and party-list congressman died “after a long and difficult illness.”
Britanico started his long political career as municipal councilor of Oton and was a delegate to the 1973 Constitutional Convention.
During the martial law years, Britanico was an interim and regular member of the Batasang Pambansa. President Marcos Sr. appointed him as deputy minister for education.
During his stint, Britanico sponsored legislation for the elevation of several higher education institutions that would later become State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).
Britanico was elected representative of the Barangay Association for National Advancement and Transparency (Banat) party-list.
A lawyer, Britanico became a critic of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s war against drugs.
Britanico’s youngest son, businessman Delfin, became a collateral casualty in a January 2020 anti-drug police operation. Delfin was gunned down while sitting on his motorcycle 30 minutes after police killed a suspected drug pusher in Iloilo City.
Salvador said his son Delfin, 36, was killed for no reason. He filed cases against five police officers, including a former Iloilo City police chief, for the killing of his son. These cases were dismissed in 2022.