The Commission on Elections today expressed their profound sadness over the untimely demise of Commissioner Romeo Aliac Brawner. He died this morning of a heart attack at the Saint Luke’s Hospital. He was 72.
“Commissioner Brawner is a great loss to the COMELEC,” says COMELEC Chairman Jose A.R. Melo. “But while we in the COMELEC mourn the Commissioner’s untimely demise, we believe the most fitting tribute we could give him is to ensure that the coming ARMM elections will be peaceful and credible,” the poll body chairman added.
Brawner, a native of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, leaves behind wife Leonora Fe C. Saturnino, who is a retired University of the Philippines Baguio professor and children Romeo Jr., Vicky Jane, Eric, Marietta and Ferdinand.
For his part, Education and Information Chief James Jimenez, who worked closely with Brawner for the past three years, said “Brawner lived the full life of genuine and untainted service to the public.”
He said Brawner worked as a prosecutor for 11 years; 8 years as a Baguio City Judge and 12 years as a Regional Trial Court Judge. August of 1995, Brawner was appointed Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals. He moved up to become the chamber’s Presiding Justice ten years later.
September 17, 2005, Brawner was appointed as COMELEC Commissioner. He was the Commissioner in Charge for Region II during the May 14, 2007 National and Local Elections. And for the slated August 11, 2008 ARMM polls, Brawner was chosen by the COMELEC en banc to serve as Commissioner in Charge of Sulu.
But aside from his long and glorious government service, Jimenez said “Brawner will also be remembered as the Commissioner who played the saxophone, wielded a cue stick and wrote poetry.” ###
