Valenzuela mourns founding father’s demise

Valenzuela City is mourning the demise of its founding father, District 2 Rep. Antonio Serapio, who was killed in a car crash in Nueva Ecija the other day while driving back to Manila. He was 69.

Serapio suffered a heart attack and smashed into an oncoming passenger bus. He died shortly in the hospital.

"The legacy of Congressman Antonio Serapio will not only be remembered but will forever live in the hearts of the people of Valenzuela to whom he has devoted his life as a public servant, as city father and friend," said Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian.

Serapio, a partymate at the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) and running for a second term as administration bet in the coming local elections, has been at the forefront of projects promoting the general welfare of the city residents, Gatchalian said.

Serapio was responsible for the construction of the Valenzuela City General Hospital and several public school buildings.

He is the acknowledged father of Valenzuela, having authored Republic Act 8526 which paved the way for Valenzuela’s cityhood in 1998.

Serapio was on the Gapan-Olongapo Road in Cabiao town when he had a heart attack. He was rushed to the Nueva Ecija Doctors Hospital but later died in the intensive care unit.