Mathay, ex-QC mayor, dies at 81

MANILA, Philippines - Former Quezon City mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. died yesterday due to a heart attack. He was 81 years old.

City public affairs and information services chief Greg Banacia said Mathay’s youngest brother Simplicio confirmed that the former mayor passed away at 9 a.m. at the Medical City.

His remains will lie in state at Green Meadows Subdivision in Quezon City.

In a text message, Mayor Herbert Bautista described Mathay as one of the pillars of Quezon City’s development.

Mathay served as city mayor from 1992 to 2001.

In 2004, he lost his re-election bid to former mayor and now Speaker Feliciano Belmonte. Mathay also tried to make a political comeback in 2010, but lost to then vice mayor Bautista.

He was vice governor of the Metro Manila Commission from 1979 to 1986, and the director of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System from 1979 to 1987.

Mathay also served as the assemblyman for Quezon City at the Batasan Pambansa from 1984 to 1986, and represented the city’s fourth district in the House of Representatives from 1986 to 1992.