Hagibis’ Sonny Parsons dies of heart attack

MANILA, Philippines — Former Hagibis band member Sonny Parsons died of a heart attack while riding a motorcycle in Lemery, Batangas, at past noon yesterday. He was 61.

Parsons, whose full name was Jose Parsons Nabiula Jr., was reportedly on his way to Quezon province, and had been riding on his own for almost five hours when the incident happened.

In a social media post, former Boyfriends band member Male Rigor wrote, “Pagdating nya duon kinapos na ng hangin (When he arrived he was struggling to breathe). He expired inside a clinic while being given oxygen.”

The part-time actor and former politician was best known for being part of Hagibis, an all-male song and dance act from the late 1970s to early ’80s that was patterned after the Village People. Under the Blackgold record label, the band’s hits included Katawan and Legs, and some of their songs were written by Filipino rock musician Mike Hanopol.