Former Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte Sr. breathed his last at 12:35 a.m., Sept.9, at St. Luke’s Medical Center – BGC, Taguig City, according to his son, Rep. LRay Villafuerte. He was 86.
Aside from confirming his father’s passing through a Facebook post, LRay also paid tribute to Luis Sr. by describing him as “highly respected by many for his intellectual prowess, creative thinking and out-of-the-box ideas on anything. He was not only my mentor and idol, but also [a mentor] to many. He continues to be our inspiration, as he always motivated us to be the best in whatever we do.”
In a separate post, Camarines Sur Gov. Miguel Luis “Migz” Villafuerte thanked his lolo and described him as his inspiration. “In every part of CamSur that I remember, I always have someone telling me that you have helped them to finish school, to be a nurse, to start their own business and much more,” he posted in his local dialect.
Luis Sr., started his five-decade political career as an assemblyman from from 1978 to 1986; and was the minister of trade from 1979 to 1981 during the Marcos administration. He also served as the governor of Camarines Sur for a total of 15 years; and later became the province’s Second District representative from 2004 to 2010, before becoming its Third District representative from 2010 to 2013.
In 2013, Villafuerte Sr. was defeated by his grandson Miguel Luis “Migz” Villafuerte, for the gubernatorial seat of Camarines Sur – an election showdown that caused a rift in the family. However, the two happily revealed to PeopleAsia editor-in-chief Joanne Rae Ramirez that they have already reconciled, as all three Villafuerte men graced the cover of the magazine in February 2019.
Ramirez wrote that sometime in 2017, Migz reached out to his lolo during a cousin’s wedding and invited him to a Christmas family reunion. The Villafuerte patriarch attended, but according to LRay, the ice had not completely thawed between him and his father at the time.
But during LRay’s birthday in 2018, Migz again invited his grandfather, who took to the mic and said, “Many things can happen in this world, but I’d like to say I love my son very much.” Tears started to well up in the eyes of the people in the party.
The elder Villafuerte continued, “but I’d also like to say that I love my grandson even more.” By then, everybody in the room, who witnessed the emotional and political battles among the three generations of Villafuertes, were sobbing.
Happiest was the woman related to all three “Luises:” family matriarch Nelly Favis Villafuerte, who credits the healing in her family to their renewed faith. It was she who whispered to her husband before he went up the stage, “Don’t forget to tell LRay you love him.”
LRay, for his part, just smiles at the recollection of those turbulent days in their lives as a family. “Hindi ko naman sila matitiis (I cannot foreswear them). Blood is thicker than water. Whatever is the misunderstanding, all you need to do really is sit down and address it. In the end, what matters is, we are family.” — Jose Paolo S. dela Cruz
