Ex-Senate President Ernesto Maceda dies

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Former Senate President Ernesto Maceda died Monday night, June 20. He was 81.

He died at 8:58 pm due to multiple organ failure, according to his daughter-in-law Rica Vergara-Maceda.

Earlier on Monday his son Ernest Maceda told Rappler that the former Senate President was in critical condition and that they were “not expecting miracles.”

“He’s still hooked up to machines. We’re just waiting for our brother [eldest son, coming from San Francisco] to come here by tonight,” said his other son Erwin.

Erwin told Rappler that his father was suffering “complications due to the condition of his heart.” 

Maceda served 3 terms in the Senate and held 5 Cabinet positions. He was the oldest senatorial candidate in the 2013 elections. (READ: Ernesto Maceda: ‘Voters miss brilliant senators’)

He was also the Philippines’ ambassador to the United States under the administration of former President Joseph Estrada. 

A product of the Ateneo de Manila University and Harvard, Maceda entered politics as councilor of Manila in 1959. 

Until recently, he wrote a column in The Philippine Star and hosted a weekly radio talkshow called “Mr Exposé,” after the title he earned when he led a series of high-profile investigations in the Senate. – Rappler.com