Conrado Vasquez, RP’s first Ombudsman, dies at 93

Former justice Conrado Vasquez, who served as the country's first Ombudsman, died of old age Tuesday after a colorful career in the judiciary that started 67 years ago. He was 93. Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez attended the wake for Vasquez at his home in Binan, Laguna. Records at the Office of the Ombudsman showed Vasquez was appointed the first Tanodbayan, the predecessor of the Ombudsman, in May 1988. Before that, he had served as associate justice of the Court of Appeals in 1973, and associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1992. Vasquez started his government career as an attorney at the Department of Justice in 1939 and was promoted chief of the Legal Research Division in 1946 and chief of the Law Division in 1948. In 1950, he became the Technical Assistant to the Secretary of Justice, and also served as Judge of the Court of First Instance of Batangas (1954); Judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila (1961); and Member of the Presidential Commission on the Safety of Nuclear Plants (1979). He was also a professor of law and a bar reviewer at the Far Eastern University, San Sebastian College, San Beda College, National University, and Philippine Law School. He graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines-College of Law where he later served as a professorial lecturer. "Despite these accomplishments in his career, ‘Lolo Dadoy’ or ‘Tatay’ as he is called by his former subordinates at the Office of the Ombudsman, remained dow -to-earth and was a true epitome of a dedicated government official. Friends and staff alike say he ‘lived simply’ and chose to remain low-profile despite the all the attention accorded to his famous position," the Office of the Ombudsman said in a statement. As Ombudsman, he was described as a "workaholic boss" who always comes early to work and expects the same amount of devotion from his employees. -GMANews.TV