Belmonte family denies ex-speaker has died

MANILA, Philippines — The family of former House speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. yesterday denied reports that the former Quezon City mayor and congressman has died.

Brothers Miguel and Isaac Belmonte, who are in charge of managing this newspaper now owned by tycoon Manny Pangilinan, denounced memes and fake news that spread in social media showing their 85-year-old father’s picture reportedly bearing his demise.

The Belmonte siblings, brothers of incumbent Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, said their father was even interviewed by reporters when he visited the wake of former president Fidel Ramos at the Heritage Park in Taguig City.

The meme read: “Rest in Peace, Feliciano ‘Sonny’ Belmonte Jr. – October 2, 1936” and indicated “August 4, 2022” as the alleged date of his death.

“News in social media of my untimely demise are not accurate,” the former speaker said.

‘Perfectly healthy’

“There is absolutely no truth to this alleged ‘Breaking News’ item. By God’s Grace, my father is alive, well and in good spirits,” Joy said. “I can assure everyone that my Dad is perfectly healthy.”

Belmonte expressed gratitude to those who concernedly took the time to verify the reports.

“Like other fake news of this nature, I can only speculate its origins, and wonder why several deceptive art cards were posted at approximately the same time,” she said. “Needless to say, I would like to request all truth-loving netizens to kindly refrain from sharing this false information, and if possible, correct it if they encounter it on their social media feeds.”

The elder Belmonte served as Quezon City mayor from 2001 to 2010.

He was also the city’s fourth district representative from 1992 to 2001 and from 2010 to 2019, serving as House speaker briefly in 2001 and again from 2010 to 2016. – Janvic Mateo