DAVAO ORIENTAL – Davao Oriental Governor Cora T. Nuñez Malanyaon passed away on Wednesday, June 28. She was 73.
Presumptive Governor Niño Uy, in a public address confirmed the news that the Governor died at 3:50 in the afternoon.
“Uban sa tumang kasubo, nga akong ipahibalo ang wala sa panahon nga pagpanaw sa atong mahal nga gobernnador Corazon N. Malanyaon (It is with a heavy heart that I announce the untimely death of our beloved Governor Corazon N. Malanayon).”
Uy said “Governor Cora will always have a special space in the hearts of the people of Davao Oriental. She dedicated her life to serve the people of Davao Oriental with a heart.”
“In the name of public service with the heart, In this moment, let us remember her good leadership and she will remain in our hearts forever. the province of Davao Oriental,” he said in vernacular.
The provincial government, Uy emphasized, will continue to serve the people of Davao Oriental with the good example left by Malanyaon.
Uy, asked the people to respect the privacy of the family in their moment of grief and to pray for the eternal repose of the governor.
It’s unclear what caused her death. She died at a hospital in Davao City. She had health concerns for years.
Everyone was shattered and the Facebook walls of provincial government employees and local officials were flooded with purple hearts (her favorite color) and crying emojis, they lost a good governor with a heart.
Davao del Norte Governor Edwin I. Jubahib was still in a state of shock “Is it true?, I cannot believe she left us, she was a very strong leader with a soft heart,” said Jubahib. She was a ” A leader filled with visions for Davao region and everytime she presided the meeting of Regional Development Council, being our chairperson, she always listen to us and share her dreams of Davao Region, she is very down to earth.”
Malanyaon was a renowned accountant and a corporate lawyer, she was behind the successful recovery of millions of tax overpayments among banana growers.
She was recently elected to a new term as governor in 2022.
She started her political career as Davao City Councilor from 1986 to 1992 as a member of the defunct local political group Lakas ng Dabaw. She was well-loved by the Davao media because she was always honest in her positions on various issues.
She was an active member of the Yellow Friday Movement along with then-Davao City Mayor and former President Rodrigo Duterte.
She decided to serve her province and was elected governor in 2007, after three terms she ran unopposed as congresswoman of the province’s first district.
After the People Power Revolution, Malanyaon took on the position of an Officer in Charge (OIC) member of Davao City’s Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council) and served under the leadership of OIC Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte until November 1987.
She was instrumental in the fast recovery of Davao Oriental after typhoon Pablo devastated her province.
It was during her second term as governor when the province became the first area which was declared as insurgency-free in Davao Region.
She personally crafted the tourism campaign and rebranded the Davao Oriental Beautiful tourism template.
She was born on August 22, 1949 in Barangay Taytayan in the town of Cateel in Davao Oriental.
She is survived by her husband, Luis Jr., and daughter, Michelle.
