[PHOTO - Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo Jr. BACOLOD CITY]
MANILA, JANUARY 29, 2012 (INQUIRER) Businesswoman Grace Ibuna was not giving up hope on her longtime companion, Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo Jr., when reached by the Philippine Daily Inquirer early Thursday.
Arroyo was reported dead Thursday night after being taken off life support in London.
"I am pleading with him to fight for his life. I am hoping and praying for a miracle," a weeping Ibuna told the Inquirer by phone from London.
"It all happened so fast," she said, and called for prayers from supporters and friends.
[Photo & caption from PEP - Wife Alicia Arroyo and partner Grace Ibuna both grieving over Congressman Iggy Arroyo's death. Jojo Gabinete, Friday, January 27, 2012 10:02 AM]
Iggy Arroyo, a younger brother of Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, the husband of former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was put on life support at London Clinic after suffering cardiac arrest at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday (about 7 a.m. on Thursday in Manila).
He was afflicted with cirrhosis of the liver and has been undergoing treatment in London since last year. Ibuna said she was the only family member with him because the other relatives went home after the holidays.
Before his sister-in-law became the President, Iggy Arroyo would drive her around during her visits to Negros Occidental. She would fondly call him "Ignacito."
He was known to have shielded Mike and Gloria Arroyo in a number of controversies, including that involving their purported properties in San Francisco, California.
Clarification
Earlier, conflicting news on his brother's supposed death prompted Mike Arroyo to issue a clarification.
He said that his brother was clinically dead but had not been pronounced dead by doctors, and was on life support that could be turned off at any time.
He added that he would issue a statement at the proper time.
On Radyo Inquirer Thursday morning, Mike Arroyo said his source at the bedside of his brother initially told him that the latter died after suffering cardiac arrest on Wednesday night.
In an interview later with another radio station, he said: "At that point, an ambulance was called for [my brother] in London. He was revived at the hospital but he went into a coma. [Thursday] morning, his heart stopped beating."
The death of Iggy Arroyo was confirmed early Thursday by Marilyn Barua-Yap, secretary general of the House of Representatives. She told the Inquirer that the news had been relayed to her by Occidental Mindoro Representative Amelita Villarosa, a close friend of the Arroyo family.
"Iggy is kind, friendly and reliable. We will offer Mass and prayers for the eternal repose of his soul," Villarosa said in a text message to the Inquirer.
Yap said the House was prepared for a necrological service should the family request it. When told later by text message that the congressman was still on life support, she replied: "Yah, but Dato (Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado Arroyo, Mike Arroyo's youngest child) says wala na (he's gone). So confused."
Peas in a pod
Ibuna said she and the congressman had planned on returning to the Philippines because he was getting better after receiving blood transfusions for anemia.
She said the initial plan was to fly first to Rome and meet some friends in thanksgiving for his improved condition before returning to the Philippines late this month or early in February.
But on Wednesday, Iggy Arroyo developed a fever and was taken to London Clinic where he subsequently suffered cardiac arrest.
His physicians put him on life support and gave him medication but he did not respond to treatment, Ibuna said.
"They have already given him the maximum dose. I am asking him to fight for his life. I don't know what to do. I can't imagine life without him," she said, adding that she would ask his doctors to tell her exactly what was happening.
Ibuna and the twice-married lawmaker have been a couple for four years. She said they had been "inseparable … like two peas in a pod."
She also said she could not imagine life without the man whom she described as "sweet and good."
"I am not giving up. It is so hard to accept," she said.
Third term
Iggy Arroyo was first elected representative of Negros Occidental's fifth district in 2004, in his first foray into politics. He is now on his third and last term.
The flag at the House of Representatives in Quezon City was flown at half staff earlier Thursday, but was raised again after news came out that he was still on life support despite being pronounced clinically dead.
The congressman's condition was not a secret among his colleagues in the House, according to Minority Leader Danilo Suarez.
"We noticed that he was losing weight. He was becoming lean," Suarez said, adding that Iggy Arroyo's illness had also "bothered" him and affected his decisions on whether he would join former President and now Pampanga Representative Arroyo on sojourns abroad.
He also told his colleagues about the treatments he was undergoing, sometimes in detail, Suarez recalled.
Suarez said the last time the two of them talked was in November last year. He said Iggy Arroyo appeared to be well, and they had discussed whether or not they would watch the fight of boxing champion and fellow lawmaker Manny Pacquiao in the United States. With a report from Leila B. Salaverria
FROM THE INQUIRER
Negros Occidental officials saddened by death of Iggy Arroyo By Carla P. Gomez Inquirer Visayas 7:26 pm | Friday, January 27th, 2012 0shareNew 0
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines—Negros Occidental officials have expressed sadness over the death of Representative Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo of the province's 5th district.
"He was a humble guy yet a real performer when it came to public service," said EB Magalona Mayor David Lacson (photo at right), president of the Association of Chief Executives and the League of Municipalities in the Philippines in Negros Occidental.
Lacson said he still could not believe that the 61-year-old Arroyo had passed away.
"He was a good man, a real statesman who showed simplicity all throughout his leadership in the 5th District," the mayor said.
Lacson urged all Negrenses to offer prayers for the family of Arroyo and for the eternal repose of his soul.
Board Member Melvin Ibañez, Kampi chairman in Negros, said that like many officials in Negros Occidental, he was saddened by the death of "a close friend and political mentor."
Arroyo's sister, former Kasangga Representative Ma. Lourdes Arroyo, said her brother was declared clinically dead and put on life support at the London Clinic after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila). He was taken off life support later in the afternoon, she said.
In Manila, conflicting reports on Arroyo's death surfaced Thursday morning.
Finally on Thursday evening, Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, husband of former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, confirmed his younger brother's passing after being taken off life support.
Ma. Lourdes said she did not know the details regarding the removal of her brother from life support because she was not there.
Arroyo, who was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, was accompanied by his longtime partner, Grace Ibuna, at the London Clinic, where he was undergoing treatment since last year.
Arroyo is survived by his daughters, Bianca and Dina, from his first marriage; and Alelu from his second marriage to Alicia Morales-Arroyo, from whom he separated in 2006.
Ma. Lourdes said it might take some time before the congressman's remains could be brought home because the coroner's office would have to conduct an autopsy, which is required in London.
The plan was for the congressman to be buried at the family mausoleum in Manila, beside their mother, Lourdes Tuason Arroyo, she told the Inquirer.
However, she said, his remains might be brought to Negros Occidental for a brief wake in the fifth district.
"We are all very sad. Iggy was our youngest," Ma. Lourdes said. Mike Arroyo is the oldest among the siblings.
On the question of who will replace Arroyo, the Commission on Elections in Negros Occidental cited Article 6, Section 9 of the Philippine Constitution which states that in case of vacancy in the Senate or House of Representatives, a special election could be called to fill the vacancy.
Provincial Elections Supervisor Jessie Suarez said Congress would have to request for a special election although the House could appoint a fellow congressman to oversee the needs of Arroyo's constituents.
Suarez, however, doubted whether an election would be held since the next regular polls would be in May 2013.
Ibañez also said he was told that no special election could be held 18 months before an upcoming regular election.
FROM MANILA TIMES
House: Mum's the word on Iggy's 'pork' Published : Saturday, January 28, 2012 00:00 Article Views : 109 Written by : Llanesca T. Panti, Reporter
PHOTO - Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
HOUSE Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City (Metro Manila) on Friday kept silent about the release of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, or "pork barrel," of Rep. Ignacio
"Iggy" Arroyo of Negros Occidental province, even after assuring the late lawmaker's constituents that the chamber would look after their needs.
"Following our custom, the House will ensure that the needs of Rep. Arroyo's constituency will be addressed despite his passing," Belmonte said in a statement.
"During his tenure in Congress, Rep. Arroyo advocated the empowerment of the youth, the welfare of children, and for environmental protection and preservation," he added.
"In the meantime, we offer our deepest condolences and prayers to the family of Rep. Arroyo in this time of grief," the Speaker said.
When asked if this would mean that the late legislator's "pork barrel" would be released, Belmonte answered that there is no decision yet on the matter.
He gave the same reply after he was asked who would be named caretaker of the Fifth District of Negros Occidental—the district Rep. Arroyo represented.
According to Bong Ruado, the departed lawmaker's chief of staff, Rep. Arroyo's immediate family has sent eldest daughter Bianca to London to oversee the repatriation of her father's body.
Rep. Arroyo—who was serving his third House term when he died on Thursday in the British capital—first revealed his liver problems in a statement released in August 2010, when he claimed that he was the one who leased one of the five second-hand helicopters that were allegedly sold overpriced to the Philippine National Police in February 2009.
Prior to the statement's release, the ownership of those choppers was tagged on his older brother Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, husband of then-President Gloria Arroyo.
In that statement, Rep. Arroyo argued that the contract of lease for the five helicopters, executed on March 16, 2004, would prove that he, not his brother, was the one who sold the helicopters as brand new to the national police.
The late lawmaker was first elected to the House in 2004.
During his second term in 2007, he served as member of the House committees on agriculture and appropriations.
At the time of his death on Thursday, he was a member of the House committees on agrarian reform, appropriations, basic education and foreign affairs, among others.
VIDEOS FROM ABS-CBN
Legal wife to claim Iggy's remains in London
01/28/2012 1:44 AM Hanggang sa huli, hindi nilubayan ng kontrobersya ang yumaong si Negros Occidental Congressman Iggy Arroyo. Isang araw matapos pumanaw sa London, iginigiit ng kanyang ligal na asawa ang karapatang makuha at maiuwi sa Pilipinas ang mga labi ng kongresista. Pinag-iisipan din ng kanyang misis na kasuhan ang common-law wife ni Arroyo dahil sa isyu ng pagtanggal ng life support ng mambabatas. Magba-Bandila si Jay Ruiz. Bandila, Enero 27, 2012, Biyernes. Click following link:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/01/27/12/legal-wife-claim-iggys-remains-london#ooid=BjaDBlMzpB2BU2uMkzG7uQXan0h-uzlK
Iggy's daughter arrives in London
01/28/2012 1:43 AM Ipinakita sa ABS-CBN ng common-law wife ni Congressman Arroyo na si Grace Ibuna ang mga litrato ng masasayang sandali sa piling ng yumaong mambabatas. Ayon pa kay Ibuna, ipa-uubaya niya sa anak ng kongresista ang pagpapatunay sa mga plano at habilin sa kanila ni Congressman Arroyo. Magba-Bandila si Europe News Bureau Chief Danny Buenafe. Bandila, Enero 27, 2012, Biyernes. Click following link:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/01/27/12/iggys-daughter-arrives-london#ooid=9vdDBlMzpM_MahBONo6R1yllGY1NVmng
Ignacio Arroyo's critics send condolences By Cathy C. Yamsuan Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:17 am | Friday, January 27th, 2012
Senators who criticized Ignacio Arroyo's habit of taking the cudgels for brother Jose Miguel expressed condolences upon learning of his passing.
"No matter how he lived, a life lost must be mourned by those whose paths were crossed by the departed," Senator Panfilo Lacson said in a text message.
Lacson was among the Arroyo brothers' staunchest critics.
From (photo at right) Senate President Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada: "May his soul rest in peace. It is unfortunate that he could have helped investigators in helping resolve the cases against (sister-in-law) Gloria Arroyo. He could have provided more details about the helicopters."
Estrada referred to the recently concluded Senate investigation that linked Mike Arroyo to the questionable sale of two secondhand helicopters to the Philippine National Police.
Iggy issued a statement saying he was the one who leased the helicopters from Lionair Inc. after the Senate traced the sale to his brother.
"I'm saddened to hear (what happened)," said Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III. "My family and I will pray for him and his loved ones."
"We wish to condole with the family," Senator Francis Pangilinan said in a text message.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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