MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Philippines joined the international community on Sunday, August 19, in mourning the death of former United Nations secretary-general and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the Philippines will remember Annan as a “champion of humanity.” (READ: Kofi Annan: The UN’s ‘rock star’ secretary-general)

“His dignity, vision, and determination have made our world a better place to live in. For that, the Philippines will forever be grateful,” Cayetano said.

According to Cayetano, Filipinos will remember the first UN secretary-general from sub-Saharan Africa for his initiatives like the UN Global Compact, Millennium Summit, Global Fund, and UN reform “that helped shape today’s international environment.”

“The Philippines will remember Kofi Annan for his unwavering commitment to multilateralism that reinvigorated the United Nations and brought peace to places around the world that have been torn apart by conflict,” said Cayetano.

In a separate statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Malacañang is saddened by Annan’s death.

“The world, has, indeed, lost not only a diplomat and peacekeeper but a humanitarian who worked tirelessly for a better and more informed humanity,” Roque said.

“It was Mr Annan who said, ‘Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.'”

There was an outpouring of condolences from across the globe when Annan’s foundation announced his death after a “short illness” on Saturday, August 18. He was 80 years old.

Annan was a career diplomat widely credited for raising the world body’s profile in global politics during his two terms as UN chief from 1997 to 2006. 

Annan led the UN through the divisive years of the Iraq war and was later accused of corruption in the oil-for-food scandal, one of the most trying times of his tenure. – with reports from Agence France Presse/Rappler.com