Former House leader Representative Arnulfo Fuentebella passed away this Wednesday at the age of 74.
In a Facebook post, his son Camarines Sur 4th District Representative Arnie Fuentebella confirmed the sad news.
“With deep sorrow, we would like to inform our family and friends that Former Speaker Arnulfo’ Noli’ P. Fuentebella has passed away this morning, September 9, 2020,” he said.
According to Arnie, his father passed away due to heart failure after two years of fighting kidney disease.
The congressman has not yet given details about necrological services for his father.
Fuentebella was elected leader of the House on November 13, 2000, when he replaced the then Speaker Manny Villlar Jr., who was ousted after the latter approved and sent to the Senate the Articles of Impeachment against the then-sitting president Joseph “Erap” Estrada.
But on January 24, 2001, Fuentebella was removed as Speaker when Estrada was ousted.
Fuentabella replaced Quezon City Rep. Then Quezon City Rep. Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., under the administration of Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who replaced Estrada as president.
Aside from being the leader of the House, Arnulfo represented the third district of Camarines Sur from 1992 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2010, and later represented the fourth district of the province from 2010 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2019.
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Instead of a grand celebration, debutante Stefi Gutierrez handed out food packs to jeepney drivers in Sampaloc, Manila, and Dapitan in Quezon City last Saturday.
This is while many drivers are still unable to travel due to restrictions on public transport amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Gutierrez told ABS-CBN News that she chose to help jeepney drivers for her 18th birthday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said that since the beginning of the year, her parents had planned her birthday, but she thought of postponing it. The celebration of a girl’s 18th birthday is traditionally grand.
“Actually, my parents had already been planning for my birthday party early this year. A lot of stuff were already set such as the venue and my outfit. But eventually, due to the [quarantine guidelines], we were unable to push through with it,” she said.