Liberal Party President Edcel Lagman passes away at 82

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 8:02 p.m.) — Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay, First District) passed away at 5:01 p.m. on Thursday, January 30, due to cardiac arrest.

Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman, one of his daughters, announced his passing on Thursday. Lagman was the president of the Liberal Party.

“He left this world the way he lived his life – with integrity, compassion, and fearlessness. He fought until the end with the dogged determination, tenacity, and unshakable hopefulness that defined all that he stood for,” Krisel said in a statement.

As an independent minority lawmaker, he advocated for human rights policies and measures throughout his long tenure as Albay representative.

Lagman was also one of the lawmakers who criticized former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war campaign and condemned the arrest of Sen. Leila de Lima, who is now acquitted after seven years in prison, on baseless charges of involvement in the illegal drug trade.
  
The lawmaker also disagreed with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s justification for the government’s refusal to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was based on the claim that the local justice system is working.

Lagman argued that the Philippine justice system remains ineffective as long as Duterte remains free and unindicted as the “principal instigator” of drug-related extrajudicial killings.

He served in Congress’ lower chamber since 1987 for eight terms. He was the senior deputy minority leader for the 9th and 10th Congresses, a deputy majority leader during the 13th Congress, and minority leader during the 15th Congress.

Among the bills authored by Lagman are those focused on preventing adolescent pregnancy, addressing child marriage, establishing an absolute divorce law, protecting against rape and sexual abuse, and combating red-tagging.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez described Lagman as a “passionate and fearless legislator whose presence in the House of Representatives commanded respect.” 

“Whether one agreed with him or not, no one could deny his dedication to his work and his tireless advocacy for human rights, good governance and social justice,” Romualdez said in a statement.

Lagman graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) with a law degree in 1966 and pursued his doctorate at Bicol University in 2013.

Lagman was a UP Law Alumni scholar and a Bienvenido Gonzales Memorial Law scholar. He served the UP Law Register as an editor from 1962 to 1963 and was the managing editor of the Philippine Collegian in 1965.

In 1964, Lagman was a university councilor at the UP Student Council.

He was recognized as the Most Outstanding Congressman by the Philippine Free Press in 1988.

Lagman also served as the Department of Budget and Management’s undersecretary for a year in 1986.

Lagman passed away at 82 years old.

Krisel said that her father will be remembered for being a generous father and a loving brother, uncle and grandfather. 

“At his final peaceful moments, he was surrounded by all his children, sisters, and family members,” she said.