A “farewell mass” for Rep. Charlie Cojuangco (1st District, Tarlac) will be held at the St. Michael the Archangel Parish Church in Pontevedra, Negros Occidental, at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 2.
Cojuangco, 58, succumbed to arrhythmia dysautonomia at St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City on February 22.
He was driving in a circuit race at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga when he suffered from brain aneurysm on Oct. 26, 2021. He underwent surgery but did not regain consciousness.
Cojuangco was mayor of Pontevedra town from 1992 to 1998 and congressman of the fourth district of Negros Occidental from 1998 to 2007.
His son Jaime Diaz Cojuangco, in a Facebook post, said he and his sister, Claudia, are deeply saddened by the passing of their father.
“Our dad was a devoted public servant who faithfully served his nation for about three decades… He didn’t waver in his mission to champion agricultural advancement, the development of the nation’s creative industries, and sports programs, among many others,” he said.
“In our thoughts and prayers are also the people of Negros Occidental, where my dad dedicated his youth to the Municipality of Pontevedra as a mayor and then as the congressman of its 4th district. Our thoughts are with you as we share this immense loss of a great man we’ve all known and loved,” he said.
“Despite the unquestionable commitment, Charlie, as many people call him, was always a father first to my manang and me,” he said.
Jaime Cojuangco is running for congressman of the first district of Tarlac in his father’s place.*