KABAYAN PARTY-LIST Representative Ciriaco S. Calalang passed away on Sunday morning, Sept. 23, due to massive stroke. He was 67.
The announcement was made by fellow Kabayan Rep. Ron P. Salo.
Mr. Calalang had undergone surgery on Sept. 17 at the De Los Santos Medical Center, his executive assistant of 21 years, Bern Fermin-Tica, said.
Mr. Calalang was a law professor and taxation lawyer. He was sworn into the congressional position in place of then representative Harry L. Roque, Jr., who was appointed presidential spokesperson in Oct. 2017.
The solon is survived by his three adopted children, Lawyer Joseph Ivan, Carissa, and Carlo Calalang.
“Rep. Calalang’s public service as a Congressman was brief but it was time and energies well-spent. He was able to author and co-author 47 house measures and helped raise public awareness about Kabayan’s platform and his key advocacies on juvenile justice, education, senior citizens, criminal justice, public transportation, and land use,” Mr. Salo said in a statement. “Rep. Calalang was the good, favorite uncle within Kabayan. We will miss him dearly,” he added.
The Kabayan party-list, for their part, said in a statement on their Facebook page, “It is with a deep sense of loss that our very own Cong. Ciriaco ‘Acoy’ Calalang has just passed away. Certainly, we lost a friend, a good man, a legislator, and a champion of the rights of children. His good deeds though for his fellowmen won’t be forgotten.”
Kabayan has yet to disclose the fourth nominee of the party-list, who will take the seat for the remaining time of the 17th Congress.
The public wake for Mr. Calalang will be at the St. Peter Memorial Chapels along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City starting Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 5 pm. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
