ZAMBOANGA CITY, 4 January 2004 — Maria Clara L. Lobregat, the influential mayor of Zamboanga City and a staunch supporter of US troop deployment in the southern Philippines, died of heart attack in Manila, her family and aides said yesterday.
Lobregat, a member of the political opposition LDP party, died shortly before midnight Thursday in hospital, her staff said. She was 83. No other details were made available by Lobregat’s staff, but the news of her sudden demise shocked many people in the city. She was last seen speaking to reporters on television on Thursday about her plan to seek re-election in May.
“She was a big loss to everybody,” said Jesus Dureza, the presidential adviser for Mindanao.
Lobregat, born in April 26, 1921 from a Filipino mother Luisa Rafols and Spanish-Filipino father Don Pablo Lorenzo.
A former congresswoman, Lobregat had strongly supported the presence of US military forces in Zamboanga City during the joint RP-US Balikatan 02-1 (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) in 2002 and the smaller anti-terrorism exercise Project Bayanihan (Helping hand) between the two countries last year.
The 21st mayor of city, Lobregat had led tens of thousands of local residents and joined pro-US rally in in support to the government’s anti-terrorism campaign.
A widow, she started her political career in 1971 when she was elected as the city’s delegate to the Constitutional Convention. During the Marcos regime, she was the chair of the Philippine Coconut Authority.
She ran for the position of regional representative to the Batasang Pambansa in the early 1980s but lost to the more colorful Cesar C. Climaco. In 1987, she ran for Zamboanga City’s congressional seat and won the election.
