MALACAÑANG on Monday extended its condolences and sympathies to the family of former Senator Leticia Shahani who passed away early this morning.
"The Palace is saddened by the news of former senator and career diplomat Leticia Ramos Shahani’s passing this morning," Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
"Our condolences and prayers to the family and friends of the former Senator. She was a profound humanist and her voice will be missed," he added.
According to Shahani's family, she died at the intensive care unit of St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City at 2:40 a.m. She was 87.
Shahani, a sister of former president Fidel Ramos, was supposed to undergo chemotherapy for stage 4 colon cancer when she passed away.
Her daughter Lila Shahani, in a Facebook post, said the former senator's family is "bereft and full of grief, but still strangely peaceful in the knowledge that she is now free from all suffering."
Abella acknowledged Shahani's excellence in being a public servant under different administrations.
"Senator Shahani served the nation well as Senator of the Republic and worked tirelessly in the executive branch in various capacities under different administrations," the presidential spokesperson said.
Shahani became senator in 1987. During her stint, she chaired Senate committees of foreign affairs, education, culture and arts, and agriculture; she was also a member of Commission on Appointments.
She also served as Philippine ambassador to Australia from 1981 to 1986; secretary general of the World Conference on the United Nations (UN) Decade of Women in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985; and assistant secretary general for UN Social and Humanitarian Affairs. (SunStar Philippines)