Manila: Former senator Joker Arroyo, known for being a politician “beholden to no one,” died in the United States on October 5 while undergoing open-heart surgery. He was 88.
Arroyo left behind three daughters — Maoi an academic-technopreneur; Baba, an artiste; and his namesake, an equestrienne who took part in international competitions.
Little was known about his circumstances during his illness, but he was last seen in public several months ago showing personal support during a mass action defending then Makati City mayor Junjun Binay, the son of his friend Vice-President Jejomar Binay.
Junjun at that time was besieged with corruption allegations,
A human rights lawyer during the administration of the late President Ferdinand Marcos during the 1970s to the 1980s, he was considered a maverick in a country where propriety and rule of law takes a back seat to political exigency. Arroyo, took a quixotic stand and found himself nearly alone in the Senate in 2012 when he voted for the acquittal of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Corona was eventually constitutionally ousted in an impeachment trial by the Senate-House tribunal dominated by appointees and political allies of incumbent President Benigno Aquino III.
“Joker was an incorrigible fiscaliser. He loved to tilt the windmills and tussle with the powerful. He was a solitary gunfighter, drawing strength from the righteousness of his crusade, never taking comfort in the number of people who share his belief,” said his colleague, Senator Ralph Recto.
In a chamber notorious for its extravagance and fast-buck making ways, Arroyo went against the grain. He consistently topped the senate and house list of lawmakers with the lowest expenditures.
“But there was one area he didn’t scrimp on. And that was offering his sharp legal mind, for free, to those who need it most but can afford it least. If he had a good heart, it was because his favourite form of exercise was to bend down and pull someone out of the gutter,” Recto said.
Arroyo had served in the Senate for two consecutive terms in 2001 and 2007 before quitting politics in 2013. Prior to this, he had served as the Makati City congressional representative for three terms.
He served in the Cabinet of President Corazon C. Aquino as Executive Secretary from 1986 to 1992.
“For the younger generation who may not be aware of Senator Joker’s contributions to nation-building, they should know that he fought for the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. He fought in the courts and in the streets for the restoration of our civil and political rights which we enjoy today,” former Senator Edgardo Angara, Arroyo’s friend and colleague in the Senate, said.
