SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 20 April) — Former Governor and Representative of Agusan del Sur Ceferino Paredes, Jr. passed away on Good Friday, as announced by his daughter, Mayor Grace Carmel Paredes-Bravo, in a social media post on the same day. “Today is Good Friday, and we are commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. As we commemorate this day, our dear father, Atty. Ceferino S. Paredes, Jr., also bid goodbye to all of us,” Mayor Bravo wrote. Paredes was 79 and would have turned 80 on July 5. His wake is being held at their residence in Barangay 3. Friends, family, colleagues, and residents of the province posted tributes on the mayor’s page, including his colleagues at Platinum Group Metals Corp., where he served as long-time legal counsel, and Fr. Marlon Lacal, parish priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Paredes, a lawyer, began his public service in the early 1970s as Provincial Board Member under the late Governor Valentina Plaza, also heading the Provincial Legal Office and the Provincial Planning and Development Office. In the 1980s, he joined the anti-Marcos movement and led the opposition in the province. After the People Power Revolution in February 1986, he was appointed OIC Governor and was later elected Governor in 1988, serving until 1992. He then served as Representative of Agusan del Sur for two terms, from 1992 to 1998. (Chris V. Panganiban / MindaNews)
