NATIONAL Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCO) party-list
Rep. Guillermo Cua, 53, died Wednesday evening in a hospital in Cagayan de Oro
City due to liver cancer.
House secretary general Marilyn Yap said Cua, an accountant
by profession, is survived by his wife Fe and children Gerard, Leslie Ann and
Carmela. She said the lawmaker’s family is yet to request for a necrological
service at the House.
COOP-NATCO second nominee Jose Ping-Ay, an engineer, will
assume Cua’s post.
Cua was the fifth member of the 14th Congress to die,
following Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar who was killed on Nov. 13, 2007, Mt. Province
Rep. Victor Dominguez on Feb. 8, 2008, Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran last May
20, and Misamis Oriental Rep. Danilo Lagbas last June 8.
Rubi Mayor, Cua’s political affairs officer, said the
congressman was diagnosed with liver cancer last October and had been getting
treatment since then. "He doesn’t smoke or drink. He’s always at the gym and
he’s health conscious with his diet," he said in Filipino.
Deputy majority leader Neptali Gonzales II of Mandaluyong said it seems Cua
just waited for the ratification last Tuesday of his pet measure amending the
Cooperative Code of the Philippines before leaving. "Ilang Congress na kasi ang
nagdaan at hindi lumulusot iyan," he said. – Wendell Vigilia
