Former Foreign Secretary Yasay succumbs to pneumonia triggered by cancer

Former Foreign Secretary Yasay succumbs to pneumonia triggered by cancer

MANILA – Former Foreign Secretary Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. passed away at 7:27 A.M. today due to pneumonia triggered by the recurrence of cancer and not due to COVID-19

In her Facebook account, Cecile Joaquin Yasay, her husband had remission from cancer ten years ago but the ailment recurred.

He was appointed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte after the latter’s inauguration in 2016.

“Mr. Yasay has left a legacy of integrity and patriotism in public service,” according to Nino Reyes, former executive assistant at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

He was the Secretary of Foreign Affairs when the Philippines was awarded the Hague’s Arbitral Tribunal decision, declaring the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the South China Sea, rejecting the claim of the People’s Republic of China.

He earned his law degree from the University of the Philippines and passed the Bar Examination a year after his graduation. When Martial Law was declared, he went in exile to the United States and joined the Movement for Free Philippines of then Senators Jovito Salonga and Raul Manglapus and former National Press Club President Eddie B. Monteclaro.

He passed the New York State Bar while he was in exile and set up his temporary law office in Manhattan, New York.

He was appointed by President Fidel V. Ramos as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) where he instituted reforms in the two stock exchanges and underscored the developmental role of the SEC in the development of the Philippine Capital market.

He left behind his wife Cecile Joaquin Yasay, former Executive Director of the Commission on Population and his children Oliver, Raveena, Stephanie and stepsons Nino and Richie Reyes. (Melo M. Acuña)