Brawner's death saddens Ifugaos

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The untimely death of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Romeo Brawner has saddened the Ifugao community here. This came after news of Brawner's death circulated in the Internet by family members and friends. “An Ifugao Eagle faded into the cold and lonely sunset of Manila Bay" responded one reader while another described him as "one of the few good men in government." Friends and relatives even from abroad poured in their condolences through the ifugaos@yahoogroups.com. Brawner, 72, died because of a massive heart attack at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City. It was learned that the Commissioner was confined Monday following a check up then he suffered an attack Thursday. Ifugaos remember Brawner as a simple ranking government official who drives an old but reliable Volkswagen from Manila to Ifugao when attending family and social functions. Brawner was presiding justice of the Court of Appeals when he was appointed to the Comelec on July 2005 immediately upon his retirement. He was appointed as acting Comelec chairman on Feb. 2, 2008 following the retirement of Commissioner Resurreccion Borra. He served in that capacity until Jose Melo assumed the position on March 25, 2008. Family members said Brawner's remains will be honored at the Comelec office in Manila then to the Court of Appeals Friday, then to Baguio City on Saturday. Brawner was born on Sept. 17, 1935 in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya province but was raised and studied in Kiangan, Ifugao. He studied at the Kiangan Central School. Although not a full-blooded Ifugao, Brawner used to wear his Ifugao G-string and warrior garb during special occasions. A review of his record revealed that Brawner served as a city court judge in Baguio City in 1973. He later became a judge of the regional trial court. Prior to his stint as a judge, he served as a prosecutor for 11 years. He was also a professor of law at the Baguio Colleges Foundation now University of the Cordilleras from 1971 to 1995. He is survived by his wife Fe, a retired UP professor, and five children. - GMANews.TV