Former Olongapo mayor Bong Gordon passes away

Former Olongapo City mayor James "Bong" Gordon Jr. has passed away.

The news of Gordon's death was confirmed by his brother, Senator Richard Gordon, during the Senate session on Tuesday afternoon.

"He was a long-serving mayor of Olongapo, a stalwart volunteer during the Pinatubo eruption," Gordon told his fellow senators without disclosing the cause of his brother's death.

Bong Gordon served as mayor of Olongapo City from 2004 to 2013.

Prior to this, he also represented the first district of Zambales in the House of Representatives during the 10th to 12th Congresses, from 1995 to 2004.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri offered their condolences to Senator Gordon and his family over his brother's passing.

"We would like to just give our deepest and sincerest condolences to the family of Senator Richard Gordon for the passing of his dear brother who was a very, very good friend of ours, many of us. He was a classmate of ours in Congress," Zubiri said.—AOL, GMA News