Philippine politicians

Cavite town mayor dies

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Cavite town mayor dies

RIP. Rosario, Cavite Mayor Jose 'Nonong' Ricafrente Jr died on December 11, 2020

Mayor Jose 'Nonong' Ricafrente Jr of Rosario, Cavite, was a 2013 Civil Service Commission Pagasa Awardee for his leadership anchored on 'development for the masses'

(UPDATED) Mayor Jose “Nonong” Ricafrente Jr of Rosario, Cavite, died on Friday, December 11. He was 72.

Cavite officials started posting tributes to the popular long-time mayor and words of condolences to the Ricafrente family on Friday afternoon. The family has yet to issue an official statement as of Saturday noon, December 12.

Cavite Vice Governor Jolo Revilla posted a tribute to Ricafrente and extended his condolences to the mayor’s family on his Facebook page early Friday afternoon.

The Vice Governor’s father, Senator Bong Revilla Jr, also condoled with the Ricafrente family and paid tribute to the mayor, his friend, who had served as provincial administrator when he was Cavite governor.

Vice Mayor Voltaire Ricafrente III, who is also the mayor’s son, will assume the mayoral post while top town councilor Antonio “Mao” Luna will take over the vice mayoral post.

The Municipality of Rosario posted a tribute to the mayor on its Facebook page on Saturday afternoon.

Other Cavite officials also condoled with the Ricafrente family and with Rosario residents through social media posts. Ricafrente’s constituents mourned the death of their beloved mayor, many of them posting on Facebook how he helped them during their times of need.

The wake is at the Ricafrente Compound.

‘Development for the masses’

Ricafrente was Rosario mayor from 1992 to 1998, and 2007 to 2016; and vice mayor from 2016 to 2019. He again won as Rosario mayor in 2019.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) recognized Ricafrente’s devotion to the development Rosario town, as he was among the 2013 CSC Pagasa awardees for his leadership anchored on “development for the masses.”

In his profile on the CSC website, Ricafrente was quoted as saying that he looked forward to residents coming to him for help – beginning 6 am, any day of the week, including weekends and holidays – so he could help them with their problems.

Kapag ang tao ay dumulog sa akin at umiiyak, gusto ko paglabas niya sa aking tanggapan o tahanan ay nakangiti na siya (When people come to me crying, I want them to leave my office or my house smiling),” the CSC profile quoted the mayor as saying.

Ricafrente will also be remembered for transforming a dump site into a public beach, La Isla Bonita Salinas; and for socieconomic programs that helped Rosario residents. He also penned the Himno ng Rosario (Hymn of Rosario).

Following the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda, the mayor opened the doors of Rosario to displaced families from Eastern Visayas.

Succession

December 12, a day after Nonong Ricafrente died, Vice Mayor Jose Voltaire Ricafrente III, his son, assumed the post of mayor. No. 1 Councilor Mao Luna also took his oath as the new vice mayor.

With the succession process leaving a vacancy in the council, the new mayor named Municipal Administrator Joanne Michelle Gonzales as the 8th councilor. Gonzales had been the administrator since 2007. – Dennis Abrina/Rappler.com

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