Dubai: The Filipino community in Dubai and the northern emirates will pay tribute on Wednesday to former head of mission Benito Valeriano, who passed away on Monday.
Valeriano, who served as Consul-General in Dubai from January 2008 to September 2012, died on Monday morning after suffering a heart attack. He was 62.
After his post in Dubai, Valeriano served as the 16th Philippine Ambassador to India before moving back to the home office in Manila. Valeriano’s last posting was at the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs as Assistant Secretary.
Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes said Valeriano lived a truly purposeful life and “will be remembered in our hearts”.
“The Philippine Foreign Service and the Filipino people lost one true gentleman. Ambassador Valeriano was a senior diplomat who knew what it took to serve the public and represent the country and his people in the best way possible,” Cortes said.
“He mentored many, not only in the Filipino communities he was posted in, but also young aspiring diplomats like myself with a fervour and candour that is refreshingly transparent, one that is most certainly beneficial to the overseas Filipino and to the Philippine nation.”
Cortes said a memorial mass will be held on Wednesday at 7pm at the Philippine Consulate-General to celebrate the life and service of the former ambassador. Father Chito B. Bartolo will celebrate the mass.
