The Department of the Interior and Local Government mourns the passing of its Negros Occidental provincial director, Ferdinand Panes, and will provide all necessary assistance and benefits to his family, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said.
Panes passed away at the St. Paul’s Hospital in Iloilo City Wednesday night, October 28.
“As a frontliner, PD Panes’ life was true to our dictum of Matino, Mahusay at Maaasahan brand of leadership in Western Visayas. He was a beacon of excellence in his quest to deliver public service to the Negrenses and all other LGUs he was assigned to,” the secretary said in a statement
“True to his calling as a public servant and despite the danger posed by the coronavirus, especially to people of his age, he braved the threat of the pandemic every single day if only to serve the people,” he added.
Año said the DILG will honor Panes’ legacy and years of dedicated service by doubling its efforts to shepherd local governments and the public to strictly observe minimum health protocols as the country begins to heal from COVID-19 and recovers as one.
Anthony Panes said his brother was admitted to St. Paul’s Hospital for severe pneumonia. He succumbed to cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to multiple organ failure at 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, Anthony said.
The late provincial director’s body will lie in state at the Pavia Multipurpose Center in Pavia, Iloilo, from November 2 to 7, his bother said.
He will be buried at the Garden of the Ascension in Pavia after a 2:30 p.m. mass on November 7 at the town church, the brother added.*