MANILA, Philippines - Former Quezon City mayor Ismael Mathay Jr. passed away on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack. He was 81.
Mathay’s youngest brother, Simplicio, confirmed that the former mayor passed away at 9 a.m. at the Medical City, said city public affairs and information services chief Greg Banacia.
Mathay's remains will be brought to the Christ the King parish in Green Meadows for the wake, reports said.
In a text message, Mayor Herbert Bautista described Mathay as “one of the pillars of QC development.â€
Mathay served as Quezon City mayor for nine years, from 1992 to 2001.
In 2004, he failed to retake his post from his successor former Mayor and now House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte. He also tried to make a political comeback in 2010, but lost to then-vice mayor Bautista.
Mathay 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.
He 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.
Born on June 26, 1932, Mathay received his degree in Business Administration major in Economics from the University of the Philippines in 1952. He received his Bachelor of Laws degree at the San Beda College in 1957.