MANILA – Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman passed away on Thursday afternoon at the age of 82, his family confirmed.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father,” Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman said in a statement. “He came into this world on 01 May 1942 and left it for a better place on 30 January 2025 at exactly 5:01 in the afternoon due to cardiac arrest.”
Lagman, a longtime advocate for human rights and the rule of law, will be remembered for his “integrity, compassion, and fearlessness.”
“He left this world the way he lived his life — with integrity, compassion, and fearlessness. He fought until the end with the dogged determination, tenacity, and unshakable hopefulness that defined all that he stood for,” the statement read.
His family vowed to honor his legacy.
“He will live on in our hearts, and we will continue to honor his memory by living our lives the way that would make him proud,” it added.
The veteran lawmaker played a key role in the passage of several landmark laws, including the abolition of the death penalty, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, and the Centenarian Act.
Lagman was widely recognized as the principal advocate of the Reproductive Health Act and a leading author of the law preventing child marriage.
Until his passing, he served as the president of the Liberal Party. (PNA)