CEBU (Updated) -- Cebu City North District Representative Raul del Mar died in a hospital in Manila Monday night, November 16. He was 79.
Del Mar’s death was confirmed in a statement of the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC), as it mourned the death of the “author of Cebu Press Freedom Day law and expanded Sotto law.”
“Del Mar passed away early Monday night, Nov. 16, in a hospital in Manila where he had been attending virtual sessions of the House. He would’ve turned 80 on March 20,” the CCPC said.
House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco expressed sympathies to the bereaved family of Del Mar and said the Cebu City lawmaker's dedication to the service is “truly remarkable and serves as an inspiration to many.”
“While in the hospital, Representative del Mar still proved his passion and commitment to public service, attending virtual plenary sessions and public hearings of the House of Representatives in order to fulfill his duties and mandate as a lawmaker. Never a day in his job was he absent,” Velasco said in a statement.
“His contributions to Congress and the nation cannot be overstated, having served a total of nine terms as congressman since 1987. He was a mentor to me and many others. He would have been a deputy speaker under my term,” he added.
At the Senate, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri reportedly expressed Tuesday morning his condolences to the del Mar family.
The family has yet to issue a statement as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, November 17.
Del Mar was born in Cebu City on March 20, 1941 and was congressman for a total of nine terms from 1987. He belonged to the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) and the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino.
He was the principal author of Republic Act 11122 of 2018, declaring September 21 of each year a working holiday in the cities and province of Cebu.
“Del Mar also filed the original bill in the House, working for its passage through a number of Congresses, that became the law (Republic Act 114581 of 2019) expanding protection of the Sotto Law to include not just print journalists but also broadcast, online, and wire agency journalists,” the CCPC said.
“The law exempts specified journalists from revealing the source of their news except when security of the state is involved or a committee in Congress compels the disclosure,” it added.
He was also principal author of several legislation including laws on anti-money laundering, dual citizenship, absentee voting, special economic zone in Cebu, increasing the salaries of public school teachers and the police and those creating the Cebu Port Authority, the Mactan International Airport Authority and the Mega Cabu Development Authority. He also authored, among others, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act.
He introduced flyovers in Cebu City streets and pushed for modern transportation options for Cebuanos, including the Bus Rapid Transit project.
During the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, del Mar joined Cebu's Panaghiusa, the local opposition alliance in the 1980s against the dictator. He joined in the anti-Marcos struggle by local luminaries, among them, Chief Justice Marcelo Fernan, Nenita “Inday Nita” Daluz, Ribomapil “Dodong” Holganza Sr., Representative and Councilor Antonio Cuenco and former senator and ex-Toledo City mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña.
Del Mar left behind his wife, Melanie, and children former Cebu representatives Rachel “Cutie,” Raoul, and Bunny. (LMY/NBC/Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/SunStar Philippines)