While touring Aklan mangroves; Negros Oriental BM Umbac dies, 84

CEBU, Philippines — The Negros Oriental provincial government mourns the death of one of its best legislators, lawyer Arturo Umbac, who met his untimely death while on an official trip to Aklan, together with Acting Governor Edward Mark Macias and some Provincial Board members, touring that province's mangroves site.

Macias confirmed that Umbac collapsed while they were at the mangroves site of Aklan, which is one the best in the country. He said they tried to resuscitate the PB member but failed prompting them to rush him to the Panay Hospital where he was however pronounced dead. 

It was not immediately confirmed if the group together with Umbac had participated in a long walk at the mangroves area that may have been very stressful for the 84-year old PB member. 

According to PB Member Nilo Sayson, Umbac was a well-versed and very effective lawmaker, a good writer, and a very good general manager of the the Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative (NORECO 2), in which he was responsible for energizing the whole province way back in the 1990s.

Umbac was PB member from 2004 to 2007, and decided to run for mayor of Dumaguete but lost to the late mayor and then governor Agustin Perdices. He returned to win as PB member again in the 2016 elections.

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. 

Among other laws, Umbac also authored the walking blood donors ordinance requiring all the 557 barangays in the province to keep a list of walking blood donors to be used during emergency situations.

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. (FREEMAN)