{"id":31986,"date":"2014-11-18T00:58:06","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T16:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=31986"},"modified":"2014-11-18T00:58:06","modified_gmt":"2014-11-17T16:58:06","slug":"senators-hail-flavier-as-giant-of-public-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/11\/18\/senators-hail-flavier-as-giant-of-public-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators hail Flavier as giant of public service"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sen.<\/a>
Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago delivering her eulogy for her beloved friend Sen. Juan Flavier (Photo from Sen. Santiago on Instagram)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA \u2013 Former Senator Juan Flavier may be small in stature but senators described him as the giant of public service from small barrios to the Philippine Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201dThank you Johnny for being what you are and what you were. I am positive, as I shall always pray, that the Paradise you are in will not prohibit children. But here on earth, you will always be lovingly remembered as a funny, genial, gentle giant — the giant in the Senate, the giant of the barrios, the giant among Filipinos,\u201d Senator Sergio Osmena III said in his eulogy during Monday\u2019s necrological services held at the Senate session hall for Flavier.<\/p>\n

Osmena was one of the six senators who delivered eulogy as the Senate paid tribute to four-foot-eleven Flavier who served the Senate from 10th to 12th Congress. He succumbed to pneumonia last October 30 at age 79.<\/p>\n

\u201dHis ways were simple. He had no airs. He was always for the common man. And he exuded and laid down the proper values and the principles by which all men must live. Johnny Flavier transformed many lives. He certainly was a big inspiration to me and to so many millions of Filipinos,\u201d Osmena, Flavier\u2019s batchmate from 10th to 12th Congress, said.<\/p>\n

Senate President Franklin Drilon, another Flavier batchmate, turned emotional as he remembered Flavier as passionate and courageous colleague who never run out of jokes but with sharp mind in giving analysis to the issues.<\/p>\n

\u201dAlthough he was the first one to make a joke of his height, Johnny was a giant of a man. His monumental achievements made him stand out from the rest. But what made him more extraordinary was his strong compassion for those who have less in life, his sense of duty, and commitment to make a difference,\u201d Drilon said in his own eulogy.<\/p>\n

\u201dThe members of this august chamber and I are privilege to have known him, and have laughed, walked and worked with him. His memory will live forever in the hearts of countless people whose lives he deeply touched,\u201d Drilon added.<\/p>\n

Senator Loren Legarda remembered Flavier whom he called \u2018Manong Johnny\u2019 as a man who was bigger than life, epitomized what public service really means, and stood for the words of integrity and work ethic.<\/p>\n

\u201dManong Johnny will always be remembered for bringing healthcare to the unempowered and to the marginalized, for being kind, for being generous, for being noble. He has touched us all and his memory shall forever be etched in our minds and in our hearts,\u201d Legarda, a neophyte and Flavier\u2019s seatmate in the 11th Congress, said.<\/p>\n

Like Legarda, Senator Pia Cayetano described Flavier as her mentor specifically in public health service not only in the Senate but during Flavier\u2019s stint as health secretary and a barrio doctor for 40 years.<\/p>\n

\u201dBack then I was a private citizen, a young lawyer who already idolized this amazingly charismatic health secretary who was taking on health campaigns, that little did I know would be my very campaigns as well,\u201d Cayetano, former chairperson of the committee on health and demography, said.<\/p>\n

\u201dHe was a father to me. But as a legislator, we complemented each other. We shared a common passion for healthcare. He was the teacher and I was the student. I had dreams and aspirations; he had wisdom and experience. I had a passion for healthcare. He had the medical degree and expertise,\u201d Cayetano added.<\/p>\n

Cayetano said Flavier taught her to be patient, resulting for the passage of the Tobacco Graphic Health Warning bill and Reproductive Health two decades after his \u2018Yosi Kadiri\u2019 and \u2018Let\u2019s DOH it\u2019 campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201dHe was a strong advocate of family planning when he was President (Fidel) Ramos\u2019 secretary of health. After conducting my first hearing and a series of consultations on RH at the start of my term in the 13th Congress, I asked for his advice on how to proceed,\u201d Cayetano recalled.<\/p>\n

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago described Flavier as her best friend in the Senate and \u201cthe most honest senator I ever knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dWhen I was sometimes tired or bored or downhearted, I would saunter to Johnny\u2019s desk and engage him in a chat, confident that I was sharing a companionable time with an honest man; a good man; a great man,\u201d Santiago said.<\/p>\n

For his part, Senator Gregorio \u2018Gringo\u2019 Honasan II said the Senate became the bigger stage for Flavier who drew bipartisan support for his highest standard of statesmanship.<\/p>\n

\u201dThe highest standard of statesmanship was never a problem for Manong Johnny. I wanted to be like Senator Juan Flavier,\u201d Honasan, who like Flavier also won as senator in 1995, said.<\/p>\n

Drilon and acting minority leader Vicente Sotto III presented to Flavier\u2019s family led by his wife Susan the Senate Resolution 1014 expressing the Senate\u2019s profound sympathy and sincere condolence on the death of former senator.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hard working legislator registered a perfect attendance during the sessions and was instrumental in the enactment of landmark legislations promoting public health care and improving the quality of life of the people,\u201d according to the resolution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe passing away of the illustrious senator is a great loss not only to his bereaved family but to the nation as well,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

Other incumbent senators present include Senators Juan Edgardo Angara, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Francis Escudero and Grace Poe.<\/p>\n

Former senators also paid tribute like Heherson Alvarez, Nikki Coseteng, Santanina Rasul, Rene Espina, Roberto Jaworski, and Aquilino \u2018Nene\u2019 Pimentel Jr. along with members of Senate Spouses Foundation Inc., Milgros Drilon, Bettina Osmena and Bing Pimentel.<\/p>\n

The urn containing the remains of Flavier was given arrival and departure honor in front of the Senate building\u2019s main entrance.<\/p>\n

The senators, together with Flavier\u2019s wife and children, the Senate Secretary, Sergeant-at-Arms, Deputy Secretaries, Senate Legal Counsel, Directors-General escorted the urn, carried by two pallbearers of the Philippine National Police, to the session hall.<\/p>\n

Among Flavier\u2019s authored and sponsored bills that passed into law include the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (Republic Act 8423); Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act (R.A. 8425); Philippine Clean Air Act (R.A. 8749); Indigenous People\u2019s Rights Act (R.A.8371); Anti-Money Laundering Act (R.A. 9160); law declaring Eidl Fitr as a National Holiday (R.A. 9177); Barangay Micro-Business Enterprise (R.A. 9178); National Service Training Program for Tertiary Students (R.A. 9163); the Dangeous Drugs Act of 2002 (R.A. 9165); the Plant Variety Protection Act (R.A. 9168); the Philippine Nursing Act (R.A. 9173) and the Tobacco Regulation Act (R.A. 9211).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA \u2013 Former Senator Juan Flavier may be small in stature but senators described him as the giant of public …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":31987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ph","mauthors-jelly-f-musico","mauthors-philippines-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}