THOUSANDS of Cauayanons welcomed the arrival of the remains of the late Mayor Jerry Tabujara at his hometown in southern Negros Occidental over the weekend.
The 68-year-old Cauayan mayor succumbed to a liver ailment at Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, Muntinlupa City last Wednesday.
Emotions ran high at the Bacolod-Silay Airport, where Tabujara’s wife, Ananita, and son, now mayor John Rey, along with relatives, municipal government officials, and more than a hundred residents waited for his remains.
Roberto Tabujara, a relative of the former mayor and a municipal employee, confirmed that the remains arrived around 5 a.m. Saturday.
He said that personnel of Cauayan Municipal Police Station offered an honorary welcome to the former mayor at the airport.
From there, the remains were transported to his residence in Barangay Poblacion, where the wake is being held.
Hundreds of residents also waited in Kabankalan City, and then joined the convoy. Some constituents also condoled with the family by standing along the roads, and waited for the convoy to pass by, he added.
A day before the former mayor’s interment at the Cauayan Public Cemetery on October 16, a necrological service will be held at the town’s auditorium.
Vice Mayor Tabujara had sworn as mayor of Cauayan, succeeding his father last Thursday, along with cousin Rico James Tabujara, who succeeded him as vice mayor.
Before he was elected vice mayor this year, the younger Tabujara was the town mayor while his father was the vice mayor. They swapped positions for the May 2016 elections.
