MANILA, Philippines — Former senator John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña, who survived the 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing, died on Tuesday in Cebu City due to complications from colon cancer, according to The Freeman. He was 86.
His sister, Annie Osmeña-Aboitiz, confirmed in a statement late Tuesday that he died at 2:45 p.m. in his unit at the Maryville Condominium and was immediately cremated. His wake will be done online, she said.
He just celebrated his birthday last Jan. 17. The senator was confined last July for COVID-19 but recovered.
At the miting de avance of the Liberal Party at Plaza Miranda on Aug. 21, 1971, grenades exploded, killing 11 and leaving scores of people wounded. Both of Osmeña’s legs were badly injured. He, however, still was elected as senator that year, along with five other members of the LP.
Osmeña went into forced exile during the Marcos regime and returned to the country shortly after the assassination of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. on Aug. 21, 1983 to fight the dictatorship.
He ran and won as a senator under the ticket of Aquino’s widow, the late president Corazon Aquino, in the first election post-EDSA in 1987 and was reelected in 1992.
Among the laws Osmeña authored or sponsored were the Municipal Telephone Act (Republic Act 6849), Mini-Hydroelectric Program (RA 7156), Public Telecommunications Act of 1995 (RA 7925) and the creation of the Philippine Postal Corp. (RA 7354) and Department of Energy (RA 7638).
He also authored landmark laws like the Electric Power Crisis Act (RA 7648) and Build Operate Law (RA 7718). – Mitchelle Palaubsanon/The Freeman