Former Senator Rene Espina, who authored the country’s first anti-illegal drugs law, died on Friday, his son Erik has confirmed in a social media post. The elder Espina was 89.
CNN PHILIPPINES
“Another light dimmed in the passing of a good man who loved his country,” the Espina son said on his Facebook page.
The Senate on Wednesday, September 18, honored the late senator Rene Espina, author of the country’s first anti-drug law.
Espina was a member of the 7th Congress from 1969 to 1972. He died of kidney complications on September 13, 2019.Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Espina was ahead of his time as he sought to flag the effects of illegal drugs in the country. Espina authored Republic Act No. 6425 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972.
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“Forty-seven years ago, Senator Espina had already identified the country’s illegal drug problem, although it was still at its incipient stage, as an emerging threat to human security,” Drilon said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said that Espina had demonstrated that “a life in public service is a life well-lived.” Espina’s anti-drug law was the precursor to Sotto’s Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“That he was the author and sponsor of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972 again placed him as a co-warrior in the fight against illegal drugs,” Sotto said.
The Senate held necrological services to honor the late senator on Wednesday.
Gallery of photos from the Senate of the Philippines
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