Former Sen. Teresa Aquino-Oreta has passed away, her son announced on Facebook yesterday.
Malabon City Mayor Antolin “Lenlen” Oreta said his mother passed away at 10:48 p.m. last Thursday. She was 75.
Mayor Oreta described the former lawmaker, sister of the late Sen. Ninoy Aquino Jr., as a public servant “who devoted her life to the country.”
“Former Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta was a public servant who devoted her life to the country and her adopted hometown of Malabon,” Mayor Oreta said.
“She was a loving grandmother, mother and wife, and a friend to those whose lives she touched,” the city chief executive said.
Senate President Tito Sotto expressed grief over the passing of former Sen. Oreta.
“My family and I are so saddened by her demise. She was very close to me and Department of Information and Communications Secretary Greg Honasan,” Sotto said.
Sotto disclosed that his wife, Helen, a relative of former Sen. Oreta, is devastated by her passing.
“She has not stopped crying since we were told the news last night,” Sotto added.
“I will remember her as a strong woman-legislator whose advocacies focused on empowering women and children,” Sotto said.
Sotto said the Senate will honor former Sen. Oreta on Monday. “Tradition dictates that we open and close our session on Monday,” he said.
Former Sen. Oreta chaired the Senate Committee on Education, Arts, and Culture in the 11th and 12th Congress and advocated better employment, working conditions, and welfare benefits of public school teachers.
Some of her bills signed into law during her term in the Senate were the Early Childhood Care and Development Act, Solo Parent Act, Solid Waste Management Act, Philippine Micronutrient Fortification Program, Clean Air Act, E-Commerce Act, the Philippine High School System Act, Governance of Basic Education Act, and the Philippine Landscape Architecture Act. (Hannah Torregoza and Vanne Terrazola)