Tarlac Rep. Charlie Cojuangco passes away

Tarlac 1st District Representative Carlos "Charlie" Cojuangco has passed away, his wife China Jocson said.

"It is with a heavy heart that we regret to inform you that my husband, Claudia and Jaime's father, Carlos 'Charlie' Cojuangco, has passed away," Jocson wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

"Details of the wake and interment to follow. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers through this difficult time. -China, Claudia and Jaime," the post read.

Former Pangasinan 5th District Representative Mark Cojuangco also confirmed the news to Super Radyo dzBB, according to a report by Isa Umali, saying his brother Charlie passed away at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

According to Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) chairman, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Cojuangco had an accident and they were expecting the Tarlac solon to recover.

“We’re deeply saddened with the passing of Charlie. He is a stalwart of the party. He has been with us since the start so nakakalungkot (it is saddening),” he said in an interview at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

“It was an accident and then it took some time. Akala ko makakarecover pa e. Panay ang dasal namin pero ganon talaga. If it’s your time, it’s your time,” he added.

(It was an accident, and then it took some time. I thought he would recover. We prayed a lot, but that's it. If it's your time, it's your time.)

Other NPC members such as Senator Lito Lapid and Sorsogon Governor Francis Escudero also expressed their sympathies to the family of Cojuangco.

In a statement, House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said Cojuangco's untimely death left a gap in the NPC and the entire House supermajority coalition.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our dear colleague, Tarlac 1st District Rep. Carlos 'Charlie' Cojuangco," Velasco said.

"May he rest in peace, and may his family find comfort during this difficult time. He will be greatly missed," he added.

Rep. Charlie Cojuangco, 58, son of the late businessman Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr., married Jocson, a former Kapuso broadcast journalist, in Tarlac last October. He was previously married to actress and TV host Rio Diaz who passed away in 2004.

The Tarlac congressman ran unopposed in the 2019 elections.

Last October, Cojuangco filed his certificate of candidacy for reelection. In November, his son Jaime Diaz Cojuangco substituted for him, filing a COC with the Tarlac Provincial Comelec office. —KG/VBL, GMA News