Commission on Human Rights Chairman Chito Gascon, 57-years-old, has died of COVID-19, his brother declared on Saturday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSa dami mong laban, sa COVID pa tayo na talo! Love you Kuya! RIP Chito Gascon<\/em>,\u201d his brother Miguel Gascon wrote in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n[Translation: Of all the many battles you have fought, you lost to COVID. Love you, big brother! RIP, Chito Gascon.]\n\n\n\n Gascon had served the CHR for six years. Before leading the CHR, he was a member of the Human Rights Victims Claims Board, the body assigned to receive, evaluate, and investigate compensation claims made by victims of human rights violations during the Martial Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The human rights lawyer and political activist who was also the youngest member of the Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Constitution, as well as the 8th Congress, had graduated from the University of the Philippines with an undergraduate degree in philosophy, then pursued a Bachelor of Laws degree from the same school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His death received a lot of tributes and condolences from former colleagues and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “His leadership in the Commission has inspired and nurtured a culture of enabling, empowering, and safe environment that move CHR personnel to always serve with genuine compassion… utmost integrity, and excellence,” CHR spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia mentioned in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CHR vowed to “continue the human rights work with equal fervor and sincerity that Chair Chito exemplified in his work.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit will serve as officer-in-charge, following Gascon’s passing, de Guia said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vice President Leni Robredo honoured Gascon as a person who “touched many lives” and “was a constant light in these dark times.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is now up to all of us to tend to this light. May we all honor his legacy by following his example of compassion, courage, and integrity,\u201d she had said in her message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n French Republic to the Philippines Ambassador\u00a0Mich\u00e8le Boccoz\u00a0and European Union Ambassador to the Philippines\u00a0Luc Veron\u00a0recalled Gascon as a \u201cfriend\u201d in upholding human rights in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gascon was one of his “idols as a young activist.” Liberal Party vice president Teddy Baguilat\u00a0said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gascon was a human rights defender since the Marcos regime. He was also a very vocal critic of the Duterte administration’s\u00a0bloody drug war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Commission on Human Rights Chairman Chito Gascon, 57-years-old, has died of COVID-19, his brother declared on Saturday. “Sa dami mong laban, sa COVID pa tayo na talo! Love you Kuya! RIP Chito Gascon,\u201d his brother Miguel Gascon wrote in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[8684,8686,8333,8687,8685],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Gascon.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1804,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=1804","url_meta":{"origin":11715,"position":0},"title":"Miguel \u00c1ngel Troiti\u00f1o Vinuesa, geographer","date":"May 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Miguel \u00c1ngel Troiti\u00f1o Vinuesa a Spanish geographer, professor of human geography at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) died of COVID-19 on 21 April 2020. He was an expert in cultural tourism and heritage preservation. Born in El Arenal, province of \u00c1vila in 1947, Troiti\u00f1o earned a licentiate degree in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Noteworthy"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10786,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=10786","url_meta":{"origin":11715,"position":1},"title":"Miguel \u00c1ngel Mart\u00ednez, Nurse","date":"April 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Miguel \u00c1ngel Mart\u00ednez \u2013 a Nurse at ISSSTE Regional Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico \u2013 passed away after suffering from COVID-19. It was reported on 15 April 2020. Miguel \u00c1ngel was a nurse at the ISSSTE Regional Hospital October 1 and was infected by attending to dozens of people with covid-19\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Medics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8556,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=8556","url_meta":{"origin":11715,"position":2},"title":"Miguel Angel Giron Guzm\u00e1n, Emergency Room Director","date":"April 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Miguel Angel Giron Guzm\u00e1n \u2013 an Emergency Room Director at La Perla General Hospital, Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico \u2013 passed away on 9 April, 2020, after suffering from COVID-19. Miguel was 60 years old. According to health officials, the doctor did not become infected at the hospital, but had traveled to Cuba\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Medics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6776,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=6776","url_meta":{"origin":11715,"position":3},"title":"\u00d3scar Miguel Cabrera, Oncologist","date":"April 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00d3scar Miguel Cabrera \u2013 a Third-Year Oncology Resident, Internet personality on the YoMedico blog at Hospital Eugenio Espejo, Quito, Ecuador \u2013 passed away due to COVID-19. It was reported on April 7, 2020. Oscar was 28 years old. \"We regret to report that today our colleague Dr. \u00d3scar Cabrera, better\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Medics"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2312,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=2312","url_meta":{"origin":11715,"position":4},"title":"Ella King Russell Torrey, human rights activist","date":"April 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ella King Russell Torrey \u2011 public information officer for Eleanor Roosevelt, a recipient of the United Nations Human Rights Hero Award, and a human rights activist \u2011 died of complications from Covid-19 on April 14, 2020. She was 94 years old. \u00a0 Ella King Russell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "High Profilers"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4247,"url":"https:\/\/personmatters.com\/Remembering_Covid_19_Victims\/?p=4247","url_meta":{"origin":11715,"position":5},"title":"Tahmineh Adibi, Nurse","date":"March 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Tahmineh Adibi, a nurse in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran, died due to COVID-19. It was reported on March 31. 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