Press Release
June 21, 2016

Senate to pay tribute to former Senate President Ernesto Maceda

The Senate will hold necrological services for former Senate President Ernesto Maceda on Thursday, June 23.

Maceda, 81, passed away on Monday evening, June 20, due to multiple organ failure. The Senate has been flying its flag at half-mast since Maceda passed away as a symbol of mourning.

Senate Secretary Oscar Yabes said Senate President Franklin Drilon, along with other senators, Senate officials and protocol officers, will await the arrival of Maceda's family and the casket bearing the remains of the former statesman at the entrance of the Senate building in Pasay City at 4 pm.

Drilon and the other senators will escort Maceda's remains and his family to the Session Hall. Yabes said Drilon will deliver a eulogy, along with Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Gregorio Honasan II. Also expected to attend are former Senators Rene Saguisag, Heherson Alvarez, Nikki Coseteng, Orlando Mercado, Joey Lina and Francisco Tatad.

During his time in the Senate, Maceda received numerous awards from various news agencies and private organizations for his outstanding performance and has been constantly chosen No. 1 Senator by numerous publications, political analysts and Senate reporters.

He was credited for having filed the most number of bills, having delivered the most number of privilege speeches, and for having a perfect attendance during the 1987 - 1992 term of the Senate.

His stint in the Senate as Senate President from 1996 -1998 has been acknowledged for its outstanding quality.

Often called as the most "hardworking member of the Senate," Maceda was also dubbed by the Philippine Free Press as "Mr. Expose," due to the many Senate probes where he exposed scams in government offices. He was also considered a staunch supporter of women's rights.

A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University and Harvard University, Maceda began his career in politics as a city councilor of Manila in 1959. In 1966, at 29 years old, he was appointed by then President Ferdinand Marcos as the Secretary of Community Development and later in 1969 as Executive Secretary in concurrent capacity as Chairman of the Commission on Reorganization.

In 1970, the Commerce and Industry portfolio was given to Maceda where he launched consumer protection programs and established trade relations with various Eastern European socialist countries.

During the Aquino administration, Maceda served as secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. He was later appointed by President Joseph Estrada as ambassador of the Philippines to the United States from 1999 to 2001.

He first entered the Senate in 1971, and authored a bill granting protection to real estate buyers on installment basis. Know as the Maceda Law, it was the only bill signed into law before Martial Law was proclaimed in 1972. (Apple Buenaventura)

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