Rep. Erico B. Aumentado:
Leader, mentor and
family man
May 18, 1940 – December
25, 2012
By JUNE S. BLANCO
HE WILL no longer be dictating communications or speeches again to
his secretary, granddaughter or aides from that large comfortable swivel chair in
his home-cum-district office or his Congressional office for that matter.
Bohol – nay, the country – has lost a good man.
Rep. Erico Boyles Aumentado of Bohol’s 2nd District
succumbed to complications of pneumonia at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig
City at 8:37 p.m. on Christmas night – the gloomiest and saddest for the family
– but which will turn out to be another reason for them to troop home on future
Christmases. He was a man who loved to have his family, friends and staff
around him. He was 72.
He died with his boots on – still insisting on reading
communications even in his hospital bed – and even pestering his doctors for
permission to attend the sessions of the 15th Congress that was
already tackling, among others, the Reproductive Health bill. He had made a
stand; he was against it.
He had pulled the caper before and got away with it – wangling a
pass from the hospital to attend a session, or “escaping” as his aides call it,
to spend his birthday at home.
This was not to be one of those capers, however. Death overcame
him before he could. But he did go to the plenary hall one last time as his
colleagues, wearing black arm bands, with the Batasang Pambansa flag flown at
half-mast, honored him with necrological services Thursday.
In her eulogy, Occidental Mindoro Rep. Amelita Villarosa, fellow
House minority member, said Aumentado distinguished himself in the four terms
he served in the legislature on top of bringing progress to Bohol.
She said Aumentado once stood on the floor for 12 hours to defend
the 1999 budget bill - the longest budget defense in the history of the House
of Representatives.
She also said he had stood alone on the floor in 1999 to foil a
House resolution that had asked the Supreme Court to allow a solon convicted of
statutory rape to serve in congress.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said the lawmaker served as ethics
committee chairman “with distinction.” He had picked Aumentado to head that
committee with no qualms even if the latter belonged to the minority.
Committee chairmanships are usually awarded to members of the
majority but Belmonte justified his choice: “He’s the proper man for that
position,” he said, adding that “Aumentado had not come from a political family
or a wealthy clan and earned respect in public office through hard work.”
“Public service was to him not only a calling but a passion,” he
said. “To him, public service was almost a religion.”
Belmonte recalled that whenever Aumentado was given a reward, he
would instead refer the persons giving it to him to the church.
Parishioners of the Santo Niño Church in Poblacion and in Barangay
San Pascual both in his hometown of Ubay, the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in
Sevilla, the hometown of his wife Grenie, and even inmates of the Bohol
District Jail, among others, can attest to that. And the list is still long.
Aumentado, a lawyer, also provided pro bono legal services to the
poor, Belmonte had said Among his cherished awards is the one given by the
Citizens’ Legal Aid Society of the Philippines (Clasp) – in recognition of his
brilliant and courageous performance in bringing justice within the reach of
the poor and for his continuing devotion to the cause of legal aid in the
Philippines. Aumentado founded the Clasp Bohol chapter.
Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas said that in all the positions Aumentado
occupied, he served with great skill and distinction. He also never lost any of
his bids for a public position.
His political career started in 1967 when then governor and later,
President Carlos P. Garcia “pushed” the newly married young lawyer into running
for Provincial Board member. At 27, he was the youngest to be elected as such,
and was senior board member to boot for two terms, with extension until 1980.
There was no turning back since then. He was a Sangguniang
Panlalawigan member from 1980-1986, vice governor from 1988-1992, congressman
for three terms from 1992-2001, governor of Bohol from 2001 to 2010 and
congressman from 2010 until his passing.
He was Deputy Speaker of the House from 2000 to 2001, and was
president both of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) and the
Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap) during his first two terms
as governor. He declined the position in his last term in order to devote more
time to his home province and his family.
He used to jest that he received a memorandum from his
grandchildren reminding him that Sunday was “family day”.
Minority Leader Danilo Suarez praised Aumentado’s infrastructure
projects for Bohol, and further hailed him for being a man of humble beginnings
who rose to become a leader of men.
The Bohol solon did his homework, pushed thru gestation
(resolutions, fund sourcing for feasibility studies, detailed engineering
design, civil works, etc.) and birth pains (trouble shooting) and implemented
the Bohol Circumferential Road Improvement Project Phases I and II, the Bohol
Irrigation Project Stages I (Malinao Dam) and II (Bayongan Dam), Leyte-Bohol
Interconnection Project Phases I and II, National Transmission Corp. (Transco)-Bohol
Backbone Transmission Project, Improvement of the Tagbilaran, Tubigon, Ubay and
Jagna ports and the Ubay and Tagbilaran airports, improvement of bridges,
public markets and the Zamora Dam.
Ongoing are the Rural Electrification Project, barangay master
planning, concrete bridge along the Danao–Getafe road, P106M San Vicente–La
Esperanza (Dagohoy)–Concepcion (Danao) road, P139M Sagbayan-Danao road
concreting, waterworks systems, medical and surgical missions, P14M
Getafe-Jandayan Interconnection Project, school buildings, flood control
projects in Sagbayan, P14 million, and Inabanga, P10 million, Hello Bohol
(livestock dispersal) Project, livelihood projects with the Department of Labor
and Employment, distribution of computers and internet accessing, tractors for
hybrid rice and corn projects, rice ratooning project, Extreme Adventure
Tourism in Danao, barangay health centers, solar dryers, Botica ng Barangay,
multi-purpose buildings with stages, Land Administration and Management Project
(LAMP), and others.
He had worked for and had received the grant from the Korean
Government for the recently inaugurated Rice Processing Complex in Pilar town.
Aumentado was orphaned by his father when he was only eight. He
joined a fishing crew at night to help his mother support his studies by day –
and those of his siblings. He graduated valedictorian from the Ubay Central
Elementary School.
He broke his piggy bank and his life’s savings then of P50
launched his buy-and-sell career of broken bottles and other recyclables that
he sold in Cebu. In turn, he bought basins, pails, kettles and other utensils
for his mother to sell during Mondays – Ubay’s market day.
Business was quite good, and soon, he and his siblings had to help
their mother sell the items. But helping out during market days took a toll on
his school attendance.
Thinking that he had been plain playing hooky, his school director
called his attention. To his credit and his surprise, Msgr. Margarito Gonzaga,
then school director, understood his predicament, took pity on him, his
siblings and other students in the same situation, and moved school days to
Tuesdays to Saturdays instead. He graduated valedictorian from the Holy Child
Academy.
He pursued higher education at the Rafael Palma College, now
University of Bohol, on full scholarship. He earned stipends by writing for the
school paper, and working for a local newspaper and later, as correspondent for
a national paper. He graduated with highest honors in Pre-Law, magna cum laude
in Bachelor of Arts in 1960, and cum laude in Bachelor of Laws in 1964.
Aumentado is dedicated to his work. He often emphasized that he
did not work just for show, or to harvest awards; he worked because that was
his job. But in the process, he did reap recognition.
He treasured most his Golden Heart Award for Humanitarian Service,
his Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence as Outstanding Governor, Local
Government Leadership Academy award as Most Outstanding Governor and a host of
others for protecting the environment, pushing nutrition, promoting Bohol as a
tourist destination, Gawad Galing Pook for eco-tourism, coastal law
enforcement, local peace building initiatives and the Award of Excellence (ACE)
for maintaining the above initiatives for at least three years, among others.
For the environmental management system (EMS) initiatives the
province pursued during his watch, Bohol was issued an ISO 14001 Certification.
And the list of awards is still long.
Also under his stewardship, the Bohol Branches of the Government
Service Insurance System, Social Security System, National Bureau of
Investigation, the Region 7 office of the National Irrigation Administration in
Tagbilaran City, the Philippine Carabao Center at the Ubay Stock Farm, the Don
Emilio del Valle Memorial Hospital in Ubay and the Bohol Medical Care Institute
were established – to give his consitutents accessibility to the services of
these offices at minimal cost compared to having to go to Cebu or Manila.
At the House, on top of his chairmanship of the Ethics and Privileges
Committee, he was a member for the minority of the committees onagriculture
and food, appropriations,
basic education and culture, Constitutional amendments, good government and
public accountability, local government, public works and highways, suffrage
and electoral reforms, tourism, transportation, as well as ways and means.
He is survived by his wife, the former Peregrina Adlaon Cabagnot,
eight children, 19 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
His family and staff may never find words encompassing enough to
express their grief over the loss and their gratitude for the outpouring of
sympathy.
But let this poem, attributed to Rose de Leon, written while a
girl was in the healing process after losing her father, narrow the gap:
we thought of you with love today
but that is nothing new
we
thought about you yesterday
and days before that too
we think of you in
silence
we often speak your name
now
all we have are memories
and your picture in a frame
your memory is our
keepsake
with which we'll never part
God has you in his keeping
we have you in our hearts...
 |
| his oath as board member in the presence of (from left to right) his wife Peregrina C. Aumentado, late Pres. Carlos P. Garcia and Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos |
Photos on his office when he was yet governor of Bohol:
Photos on his office now as congressman, 2nd district of Bohol:
Videos from national media :
DZMM - Rep. Erico Aumentado, pumanaw na [link]
GMA News video - Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado, pumanaw sa edad na 72 [link]
GMA News video - Requim mass at Necrological services para kay Rep. Aumentado [link]
PTV Philippines - Necrological rites for Rep. Aumentado [link]
Other videos :
Youtube - EBA on Peace and Development [link]
Youtube - EBA on Health [link]
Youtube - EBA on Political Dynasty [link]
Youtube - Clip from Msgr. Medroso (Bishop of Tagbilaran Diocese) [link]
Youtube - In Memoriam: EBA Bohol Today by Johnny Torralba [link]
Youtube - In Memoriam: EBA by: Bohol Tourism Office [link]
Youtube - Flower drop last January 5, 2013 at 11:30 am [link]
Youtube - Ang Bagong Pakikibaka [link]
Links :
ABS-CBN News - Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado dies [link]
ABS-CBN News - Aumentado's remains flown to Tagbilaran [link]
GMA Network Saksi - [link]
GMA Network Saksi - Huling pagpupugay para kay yumaong Bohol Rep. EBA [link]
GMA News - Bohol Rep. Aumentado dies after bout with pneumonia [link]
Inquirer News - Congressman Aumentado dies due to pneumonia [link]
Inquirer News - Colleagues mourn death of Bohol congressman [link]
Inquirer News - Bohol mourns as Rep. Aumentado dies [link]
Inquirer News - Bohol solon dies at 72 [link]
Inquirer News - Aumentado made politics an honorable profession - Belmonte [link]
Inquirer News - Legislators pay tribute to Aumentado [link]
Inquirer News - Legislator's remains flown home [link]
Philippine Star - Bohol Rep. Aumentado succumbs to pneumonia [link]
Philippine Star - Bohol congressman dies of pneumonia [link]
Philippine Star - Bohol solon pumanaw [link]
Philippine Star - Bohol congressman dies at 72 [link]
Philippine Star - Aumentado son chosen caretaker of 2nd district [link]
Philippine Star - Congressman Eduardo R. Gullas eulogy [link]
The Daily Guardian - Tribute to Rep. Erico Aumentado [link]
Sun Star - Bohol Aumentado dies [link]
Sun Star - Colleagues remember Bohol's Aumentado in necrological service [link]
Rappler - Christmas death: Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado [link]
Rappler - Solons honor late Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado [link]
Bohol Sunday Post- Death of an era in age of scalawags [link]
Bohol Sunday Post - Son rises from giant shadow of fallen pa [link]
Diversity Human - Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado dies at 72 [link]
Bohol Daily News - Boholanos say final goodbye to Cong. Aumentado [link]
No comments:
Post a Comment