Jun Factoran, veteran lawyer and Rappler Board member, dies at 76

MANILA, Philippines – Veteran lawyer, staunch anti-Marcos activist, and Rappler Board member Fulgencio “Jun” Factoran Jr died on Palm Sunday, April 5, of a lingering illness. He was 76.

Factoran’s daughter Yazmin confirmed her father’s death.

In his lifetime, Factoran fought for causes that allowed him to help a diverse set of Filipinos – human rights, environment, and press freedom.

He was a key member of the Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity, and Nationalism Inc (Mabini) lawyers’ group that opposed the Marcos dictatorship. Shortly after the EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted Ferdinand Marcos, Factoran was appointed deputy executive secretary of then-president Cory Aquino from 1986 to 1987. After that, he served as environment secretary from 1987 to 1992. (READ: Jun Factoran: Leadership and legacy in DENR)

A consistent supporter of press freedom, Factoran served in the Board of Newsbreak magazine in 2004 and joined the Rappler Board in 2018, at the height of the attacks against the company.

Factoran was managing partner of Factoran & Associates Law Offices. He had also held top posts in government-owned corporations like the National Electrification Administration and the Philippine National Oil Company, and served as chairman and director in various private firms.

A member of the Sigma Rho fraternity, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Humanities (cum laude) and Bachelor of Laws degree (valedictorian) from the University of the Philippines, and his Master of Laws degree from the Harvard Law School.

“He agreed to be a Board member at a time when it was deemed dangerous to be associated with Rappler. He was a man of courage, a true loss to the nation and to journalism,” said Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa. 

To former Newsbreak editor-in-chief and Rappler editor-at-large Marites Vitug, “one of the best ways to remember Jun Factoran is to return to the immediate post-Marcos years, when he served as member of then-president Corazon Aquino’s Cabinet. In our recent conversations, his eyes lit up whenever we talked about his time in government when he felt there was nobility in serving the public.” She added, “He was proud of those years.”

Said Factoran’s close friend and documentary photographer Rick Rocamora: “If there is a one example when we say in the Sigma Rho, that we are closer to our brother Sigma Rhoan than our own blood brothers, my relationship with Jun Factoran can be counted as one. We share the same concerns and advocacies in life, human rights, equality, and social justice. Today we lost a great man and a proud Sigma Rhoan.”

Factoran was married to the late Kaye Mesina. He is survived by their 4 children Yazmin, Gertrude Anne, Fulgencio III, and Roberto Carlo, as well as in-laws and grandchildren. – Rappler.com