Liberal Party mourns passing of Charito Planas

The Liberal Party (LP) on Friday remembered the late Charito Planas as a “champion of democracy.”

In a statement mourning the death of Planas, the LP said the former Quezon City vice mayor “embodied liberal values in her political career.”

“She was a champion of democracy, fighting against the tyranny of the Marcos regime and helping shape what is now the colorful and thriving Quezon City. She spent her life in public service, a vocation she saw through until the final years of her work,” it said.

“Hers is a story of love for country and freedom. Her legacy lives on in us who remember and strive to continue the fight she and her many contemporaries once fought and won nearly 40 years ago,” it added.

Planas, a leader of the opposition during the Marcos dictatorship, passed away on Thursday morning. She was 87.

A political and human rights activist during the Marcos administration, Planas led the campaign against the ratification of the 1973 Constitution. She was among the opposition leaders arrested after the declaration of Martial Law in 1972.

Planas was drafted in the Lakas ng Bayan slate led by former senator Ninoy Aquino in the 1978 interim Batasan elections. She left the country after the elections to join the anti-Marcos forces in the United States.

After the historic People Power revolution in 1986, Planas returned to the country and helped in reviving the Liberal Party.

Planas served as Quezon City vice mayor from 1992 to 1995.

She served as the spokesperson of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, with the rank of Undersecretary in the Office of the President from 2010 to 2011.

A necrological service will be held on December 8 at the Carlos Albert Hall, Quezon City Hall. — Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/RSJ, GMA News