The provincial government of Negros Oriental is in mourning over the death of one of its best legislators, Atty. Arturo Umbac, who died while on an official trip to Aklan on Thursday.
Umbac was with Acting Gov. Edward Mark Macias and some board members to learn from the experience of Aklan in its ISO (international standards organization) accreditation.
Acting Gov. Macias confirmed that Board Member Umbac had collapsed while they were on tour of the mangroves site of Aklan.
Acting Governor Macias, a medical doctor by profession, initially administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on the Board Member before rushing him to the Panay hospital where he was later pronounced dead. He was 84.
According to Board Member Nilo Sayson, Umbac was a great loss on their part, both in politics and as a private person.
He is not only well versed and very effective in lawmaking but was a very good general manager of the Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative (NORECO 2) of which he was responsible for energizing the whole province back in the 1980s, Sayson said.
Umbac’s entry into politics seemed a logical step after he was retired by the Noreco II Board at the age of 60 inspite of the national policy on retirement, which pegs the retirement age at 65. Umbac went to the courts and received a favorable decision after ten years.
Umbac first served as a Provincial Board member from 2004 to 2007, decided to run for mayor in Dumaguete but lost to the late mayor and Gov. Agustin Perdices and came back in 2016 as board member.
One of his very notable accomplishments as a provincial legislator is the ordinance establishing the Barangay Agricutural Development Center (BADC), which was adjudged as a “Galing Pook” awardee nationwide.
Another is the walking blood donors’ ordinance that requires all the 557 barangays all over the province to keep a list of walking blood donors to be used during emergency situations, among other ordinances.
Umbac is also brigade commander of the ready reserve battalion of the province and a member of the national board of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.
Sayson said Umbac had a good sense of humor, a good writer and a very effective legislator. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)
