TACLOBAN CITY — Former Leyte congresswoman and Baybay City mayor Carmen Cari, a key figure in Baybay’s conversion into a city and the transformation of a state university into a leading agriculture-focused institution, died Tuesday, Sept. 1, after a lingering illness. She was 90.
Cari died after a long career in public service that spanned local and national government, with much of her political legacy rooted in Baybay City and Leyte’s fifth congressional district.
She served in Congress for nine years beginning in 2001, representing Leyte’s fifth district. She later became mayor of Baybay, where she helped lead efforts that resulted in the town’s conversion into a city in 2007.
At the time of her death, Cari was serving as a city councilor and president of the Philippine Councilors League-Leyte chapter. Her position in the league made her an ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Her death was announced by her grandson, Carl Nicolas Cari, whose father, Jose Cari, is the incumbent mayor of Baybay City.
“In every role she held and each endeavor she undertook, her abiding love for Leyteños never faltered,” Carl said in a statement released hours after her death.
“We honor the vibrant life of Mommy Carmen, which was marked by her unwavering dedication to public service, her grace under pressure, and her strength rooted in kindness. She has touched countless lives, and her legacy in the Kinto Distrito will live on forever,” he added.
The Baybay City government also mourned Cari, describing her as the “Mother of Baybay City.”
“Her passing is a great loss to Baybay City and to the many lives she touched through her years of public service,” the city government said in a statement as it extended its condolences to the Cari family, relatives, friends and others mourning her death.
Cari’s contributions extended beyond Baybay’s cityhood. She was also instrumental in the conversion of Leyte State University into Visayas State University, which has since emerged as one of the country’s prominent institutions specializing in agriculture and related fields.
Her political career was closely intertwined with one of Leyte’s influential families. Among her relatives is incumbent Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho Petilla, who served as secretary of energy under the administration of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
Cari’s decades in public service left a legacy in Baybay and Leyte’s fifth congressional district, particularly through her role in the city’s development and in advancing agricultural education in the region.
(LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
