Architect, heritage advocate Augusto 'Toti' Villalon passes away

One of the country's most prominent heritage conservation advocates, Architect Augusto Villalon, passed away on Saturday.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Philippines said their former president died 9am on Saturday morning.

Villalon, also a renowned cultural historian, had represented the Philippines for the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Paris.

The icon authored several works on Filipino culture and history and was a columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Villalon was also a former commissioner of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA), which extended condolences and regarded him as "one of the earliest advocates of conservation in the country."

On Facebook, his son, Lorenzo Miguel informed family and friends that the wake of his father will begin today May 6 at the Sanctuario de San Antonio in Makati. Interment will be on Thursday at 10am.

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— Margaret Claire Layug/LA, GMA News