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Gilberto M. Duavit Sr., ex-congressman and GMA-7 founding chairman, passes away


Attorney Gilberto M. Duavit Sr., a former congressman and founding chairman of GMA-7, has passed away. He was 84.

He was survived by his wife Vilma Roy Duavit, and his children GMA Network President and Chief Operating Officer Gilberto Duavit Jr., Rizal Representative Michael John Duavit, and former GMA board member Judith Duavit Vasquez.

Duavit was chairman of GMA Network, Inc. from 1974 to 1976 and was a former Director of the company in 1977. He was also one of the pillars behind the rebirth of Republic Broadcasting System (RBS)-TV Channel 7 in the 1970s.

He also sat as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Group Management and Development, Inc., as well as Chairman of Guronasyon Foundation, Inc., an organization which recognizes remarkable teachers in the province of Rizal.

Duavit was elected as member of the 9th, 10th, and 11th Congresses, representing the 1st District of Rizal.

During his stint in Congress, he served as Senior Assistant Minority Floor Leader (10th Congress) and Chairman of the House Committee of Appropriations (11th
Congress) after becoming a member of the same House Committee (9th and 10th Congress).

He had likewise served as a member of various House Committees including Constitutional Amendments, Education and Culture, Housing and Urban Development, Public Works and Highways, and Banks and Financial Intermediaries.

As a lawmaker, Duavit was cited as One of the Ten Most Outstanding Congressmen in the 9th, 10th, and 11th Congresses.

Aside from being a member of the House of Representatives, Duavit was also a former Assistant Executive Secretary for Social, Political, Legal, and Economic Affairs (1966-1970) and Acting Executive Secretary, Office of the President (1969), and was twice awarded the Presidential Merit Award in 1967 and 1968.

Duavit was also a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention, representing the 2nd district of Rizal, and became President of the Philippine Constitutional Association (PHILCONSA) in 1970.

He served as Executive Director of the National Youth and Sports Development Foundation of the Philippines (1978), and as Senior Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (1974-1978). He was also a member of the Batasang Pambasa, representing the Southern Tagalog Region from 1978 to 1984.

Aside from GMA, he was also Chairman/Director of various firms and companies, among them Permastress Industries, Inc., Unistress Concrete Systems, Inc., Sagittarius Condominium Corporation, and Mar Fishing Company, Inc. Atty. Duavit earned his Bachelor of Arts and Law degree from the University of the East Manila, and holds a Doctorate degree in Humanities from the University of Rizal System.

Duavit's remains will be at Heritage Park in Taguig City until Sunday and will be open for public viewing starting Saturday. They will be brought to Binangonan, Rizal, on Tuesday. —KBK, GMA News

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