Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) – Known constitutionalist, statesman, and former Senator Joker Paz Arroyo has succumbed to a heart failure, Monday (October 5), in the United States.
His good friend, Atty. Rene Saguisag confirmed this in a radio interview on Wednesday (October 7). Saguisag said Arroyo’s wife and family planned to announce the former senator’s passing, but media broke the news online.
Arroyo was a highly acclaimed human rights lawyer and was given several prestigious awards for being a very good constitutionalist.
He received Philippine Bar Association’s Most Distinguished Award for Justice as a “man beholden to no one except to his country,” and a Senate Resolution commending his invaluable public service.
Arroyo was born and raised in Naga, Camarines Sur. He was 88 years old.
Unafraid, honorable
When former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law, Arroyo was the first lawyer to challenge the act before the Supreme Court. He questioned its legality under the 1935 Constitution.
When former President Corazon Aquino challenged Marcos in the snap elections in 1986, Arroyo served as counsel for Aquino.
He was the lead prosecutor of the House of Representatives during the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, whose trial did not reach verdict as he was ousted in EDSA People Power 2.
Arroyo also served as a senator-judge in the impeachment trial of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, and voted to acquit the chief justice who was later on impeached by 20 – 3 decision.
Arroyo was Makati’s representative at the lower house for three consecutive terms from 1992-2001 before he served as senator for 12 years. He finished his term as a lawmaker in the upper chamber in 2013.
He was one of those few senators who did not use his annual P200-million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocation.
Arroyo was a low-profile politician who walked around without bodyguards. As a legislator, he ran his office with only a handful of staff and paid their salaries from his own pocket through his law firm.
