VICE PRESIDENT Sara Duterte paid tribute to both her ancestors and victims of one of the country’s worst natural disasters during her All Saints’ Day observances.
In a statement shared on social media, Duterte recounted her recent visit to the mausoleum of her late grandparents, former Davao Governor Vicente Duterte and educator-activist Soledad Duterte, offering prayers for their eternal peace in the presence of God.
“May they remain at peace in His loving presence, where there is no more sorrow, tears, or pain,” the Vice President wrote in Tagalog.
She accompanied her message with a passage from Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Ormoc Mass Grave Commemoration
Alongside her family, the Vice President traveled to Leyte to offer flowers and light candles at the Ormoc City Public Cemetery Mass Grave Memorial ahead of the upcoming 35th anniversary of the catastrophic 1991 Ormoc flash flood.
Accompanied by personnel from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) Eastern Visayas Satellite Office, Duterte offered prayers for the repose of the victims’ souls and extended comfort to the surviving families.
“The Vice President encouraged the public to remain steadfast despite life’s trials and to continuously pray for everyone’s safety, ” the OVP stated in a message accompanying the memorial visit.
The disaster, triggered by Tropical Storm Uring in November 1991, remains one of the deadliest weather events in modern Philippine history, claiming thousands of lives and leaving thousands more missing.
