VICE President Sara Duterte expressed her condolences over the passing of Susan "Toots" Ople, the Secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), whom she lauded as a true patriot.
"The country has lost a real patriot whose life was dedicated to the welfare and protection of the fundamental rights of migrant Filipino workers and their families," Duterte said in a statement issued on Tuesday, August 22.
The Vice President described Ople as a "beacon of hope and a source of strength for migrant workers caught in distressing situations while working abroad."
"She will be greatly missed," she said.
Duterte said the late Secretary "will leave a legacy that the nation will cherish forever."
"We grieve with her loved ones and pray that they may find comfort in the special moments they shared," she said.
DMW disclosed that Ople, 61, passed away around 1 p.m. on August 22, "surrounded by her family and loved ones."
Appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as secretary of the newly established DMW, Ople was the youngest daughter of the late Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople.
She was undersecretary for the Department of Labor and Employment from 2004 to 2009.
Ople was also the founder of the Blas Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a non-profit organization aiding distressed overseas Filipino workers.
Marcos said Ople's death was a "big loss" for the country.
"It's a very, very sad news. I have lost a friend. The Philippines has lost a friend. Secretary Ople is a special person with deep compassion for the people she had cared for, mainly the migrant workers," Marcos said in an interview with reporters in Laguna.
The President added, "It's a big loss, ang galing galing ni Secretary Toots ... she very much followed the Blas Ople tradition of excellence, of compassion. It is a great loss for all of us. It is a great loss for all of us who called her a friend. It is a great loss to the Philippines, to the service that we know she could still have rendered."
In a separate statement, Marcos described Ople as a "great champion for the labor movement in the Philippines", dedicating her life to the welfare of laborers and migrant workers. RGL with reports from SNS