Activist Renato Constantino Jr. dies

MANILA, Philippines — Activist Renato Constantino Jr., known to his family and friends as RC, passed away on Thursday. He was 79.

The Constantino Foundation confirmed his passing in a Facebook post on Thursday. A wake will be held on April 8 at 38 Panay Avenue in Quezon City, to be followed by days and nights of remembrance until April 10.

“We mourn the unbearable loss even as we celebrate a life fully lived,” the foundation said in its post.

A son of the late historian Renato Constantino, RC was a political activist during the martial law period. He remained active in various causes and advocacies in the following administrations, including the campaign against the renewal of United States military bases in the Philippines in 1991.

His children include broadcast journalist Karmina Constantino and environmentalist Red Constantino, former executive director of international climate policy group Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities.

Karmina, in a post on X, described her father as her hero.

“Pop, help me pull through,” she added.

Red, meanwhile, asked family and friends to “celebrate instead of spending too much time mourning.”

“To live life with meaning and purpose,” he wrote in a post on Facebook.

Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta was among those who extended condolences to the Constantino family.

“RC was one of (the) fiercest, honest, nonpartisan, advocate of Timor-Leste’s cause in the Philippines and beyond. We first met in the early 80s and forever RC became connected with our struggle as he was always forever connected with all causes of justice and freedom,” he wrote on his Facebook page.