Necrological Services at Batasan, Quezon City Part 2

NECROLOGICAL SERVICES

FOR THE LATE

CONGRESSMAN ERICO B. AUMENTADO

Eulogy of Rep. Calimbas-Villarosa

REP. CALIMBAS-VILLAROSA.  It is most difficult to bid farewell to an esteemed colleague, who for decades served our country with devotion.  We are gathered here to bid our final goodbye to him – the Honorable Erico B. Aumentado.

Ricdoy, as he is fondly called, was a truly dedicated public servant.  He rose from extreme poverty to become a scholar, journalist, lawyer and public servant.  As an elected official, he served as senior provincial board member, vice-governor, Congressman and governor of the province of Bohol.  In the House of Representatives, he became Deputy Speaker and chairman of the influential 52-member bloc of Visayas Congressmen.  After serving as the only governor of Bohol for an unprecendented three consecutive terms, he was reelected as Congressman of the Second District, thus making a record of having won all his political battles since 1967.

While governor of the province of Bohol, he was responsible for restoring Bohol as one of the country’s most peaceful provinces through his program on poverty reduction for peace and development which triggered the socioeconomic development and tourism of the province.  This achievement brought in mega-infrastructure projects such as the Bohol Northeast Basin Multi-Purpose Dam, Bohol Circumferential Road Project, Bohol Irrigation Project Stages 1 and 2 and Leyte-Bohol Interconnection Projects, among others.

As a Member of the House of Representatives, he was best remembered by his peers for two unprecedented events:  First, as Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations when he stood for 12 hours to defend the General Appropriations Act of 1999, considered to be the longest budget defense in the history of Congress; and second, as Chairman of the Committee on Ethics, when he stood alone to successfully foil a House resolution asking the Supreme Court to allow a Congressman convicted of statutory rape to attend legislative sessions.

During his stint in Congress, he authored and coauthored many bills which were enacted into laws.  These include the Social Security Act of 1997, Republic Act No. 8282, the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1998, Republic Act No. 8435; and the GSIS Act of 1997, Republic Act No. 8291, among others.  As an esteemed Member of Congress, he was invited as keynote speaker in various international symposia and conferences on human rights, among which was when he was invited to speak on crime prevention and criminal justice and international drug control before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA on December 17-24, 1999.

As an accomplished public servant, Honorable Aumentado held various positions such as past National President of the League of the Philippines and the Union of Local Authority of the Philippines, and Deputy Speaker for Visayas in the House of Representatives.

More than the grief I share with his family, Ricdoy will surely be missed not only by his family and provincemates but also by the entire Filipino people.  His ideals and steadfast commitment to serve should be an inspiration to our youth and future leaders to serve our country in the same mold and with the same dedication showed by Honorable Aumentado.

As you start a new journey, my friend, take comfort in the thought that your colleagues in the House of Representatives have and will continue to remain faithful and steadfast to the ideals and visions which you have always espoused.

My husband, the former Congressman Jose TapalesVillarosa, is a batchmate on the 9^th and 10^th Congress of the Honorable Aumentado, and he came all the way from Mindoro to be with him today.

Ricdoy, may God be with you.