Perfecto Rivas Yasay Jr. (January 27, 1947June 12, 2020) was a

Philippine government The Government of the Philippines ( fil, Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas) has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and d ...

official who served as

Secretary of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

under the Duterte administration in an ''ad interim'' basis from June 30, 2016, until March 8, 2017, the rejection of his appointment by the

Commission on Appointments The Commission on Appointments ( fil, Komisyon sa Paghirang, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by th ...

over eligibility concerns resulting from questions on his citizenship. He served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and was Bangon Pilipinas Party's vice-presidential candidate in the

2010 Philippine elections Elections for all positions in the Philippines above the barangay (except for Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regional level) were held on May 10, 2010. The elected president is Benigno Aquino III, the 15th President of the Philippines, s ...

, running alongside

Eddie Villanueva Eduardo Cruz Villanueva (born October 6, 1946), most commonly referred to as "Bro. Eddie Villanueva", is an evangelist and president-founder of the Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide (JILCW). Villanueva was previously a communist-atheist, radical ...

Early life and education

Yasay was born on January 27, 1947, to Perfecto Yasay Sr., a pastor, and Deborah Rivas, a public school teacher, in

Kidapawan Kidapawan, officially the City of Kidapawan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Kidapawan; hil, Dakbanwa sang Kidapawan; Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kidapawan'', Jawi: كوتا نو كيدڤاوان; Obo Monuvu: ''Ingod to Kidapawan''), is a 3rd class component c ...

North Cotabato Cotabato or North Cotabato ( hil, Aminhan Cotabato; ceb, Amihanang Cotabato; Maguindanaon: ''Pangutaran Kutawatu'', Jawi: ڤڠوترن كوتاواتو; fil, Hilagang Cotabato), officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked province in ...

. He finished his secondary education at Davao City High School in 1963 and received his Bachelor of Arts in political science at

Central Philippine University The Central Philippine University (also referred to as Central or CPU) is a private research university in Iloilo City, Philippines. Established in 1905 through a benevolent grant of the American industrialist and philanthropist, John D. Roc ...

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on t ...

in 1967. He earned his law degree at the

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

Career

Legal work

Yasay became a member of the Bar of the state of New York and of the United States Supreme Court. While in New York, he was managing director of the Maceda Philippine News from 1983 to 1987 and senior partner at two law firms—Maceda, Yasay & Tolentino, Esqs., and Yasay & De Castro, Esqs.—from 1979 to 1990. In the Philippines, he was commissioner of San Jose, Yasay & Santos Law Offices from 1987 to 1993.

SEC chairman

In 1993, he was assigned as associate commissioner of SEC. He was chairman from 1995 to 2000.

Estrada impeachment trial

Yasay was among those who testified in the impeachment trial against President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

on charges of corruption. The probe led to the ouster of Estrada, known as EDSA People Power II in 2001. On February 15, 2010, Yasay apologized to Estrada for "hurting and offending him" but clarified that this was not a retraction of his testimony on the deposed president's "abuse of authority and corruption."

2004 senatorial bid

He ran for a Senate seat in the 2004 Election under

Aksyon Demokratiko Aksyon Demokratiko ( ) or simply Aksyon is a political party in the Philippines founded by Raul Roco. It was recognized as a national political party in 1998 by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and is considered to be one of the major partie ...

but lost.

2010 vice presidential bid

On November 29, 2009, he accepted the nomination of the

Bangon Pilipinas Party Bangon Pilipinas Party (BPP, ) or Bangon is a political party in the Philippines, formed in 2004 as the Bangon Pilipinas Movement. It is the political vehicle of its leader, televangelist Eddie Villanueva. Villanueva ran for president on 2004 ...

to be its candidate for vice president as the running mate of

Jesus is Lord Church Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide (JILCW), or more commonly known as Jesus Is Lord Church (JIL), is a Christian megachurch based in the Philippines. It describes itself as a Full Gospel, Christ-centred, and Bible-based church, with 5 million membe ...

founder and president

. Among his campaign platform points, Yasay conveyed that the practice of using big-name endorsers should be stopped because it makes the elections a matter of money and popularity. He also said that the voters will only base their votes via the endorsers of the candidate, and that the biggest setback in the fight against corruption was the quick pardon of

. Yasay lost to

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

City Mayor

Jejomar Binay Jejomar "Jojo" Cabauatan Binay Sr. (born Jesus Jose Cabauatan Binay; November 11, 1942) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 13th vice president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016, under President Benigno Aquino III. A h ...

in the vice-presidential elections.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs

He accepted the offer of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Rodrigo Duterte to join his Cabinet on May 18, 2016. During his tenure he represented the Duterte administration's policy of an "independent foreign policy" distancing the Philippines from the United States. According to Yasay, the United States had used a "

carrot and stick The phrase "carrot and stick" is a metaphor for the use of a combination of reward and punishment to induce a desired behaviour. In politics, "carrot or stick" sometimes refers to the realist concept of soft and hard power. The carrot in this ...

" foreign policy in regard to the Philippines since for their own interest to the detriment of the latter. Yasay was meant by Duterte to serve the post until mid-2017, when Duterte planned to appoint his running mate, Senator

Alan Peter Cayetano Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano (Tagalog pronunciation: ajɛˈtano born October 28, 1970) is a Filipino politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving as a Senator since 2022 and previously from 2007 to 2017. He was the Senate Minority Leader from 20 ...

, as his successor. On March 8, 2017, however, Yasay's appointment was rejected by a unanimous vote of 15–0 by the

due to questions about his Philippine citizenship status after a period of

United States citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Cons ...

Board memberships and philanthropy

He was chairman of the Board of Trustees of

Philippine Christian University The Philippine Christian University (PCU) is a private, Protestant coeducational basic and higher education institution located in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 1946 through the initiatives of the laymen of the Evangelical Ass ...

and

Death

Yasay died on June 12, 2020, in

San Juan, Metro Manila San Juan, officially the City of San Juan ( fil, Lungsod ng San Juan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 126,347 people. It is geographi ...

, due to complications from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

according to his wife. His wife clarified, however, that his pneumonia was a complication from cancer recurrence rather than

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

, the latter disease being the cause of a pandemic affecting the world at the time of Yasay's death.

Personal life

He was married to former Population Commission executive director Cecile Joaquin and had three children, all

United States citizens Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

. He had American citizenship until 2016, but had yet to retake the Philippine oath of citizenship; there was debate whether he was stateless or not.

References

External links

Perfecto Yasay Jr.'s website

About Perfecto Yasay Jr.

Erap feels vindicated Yasay's apology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasay, Perfecto Jr. 1947 births 2020 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers American people of Filipino descent Bangon Pilipinas politicians Central Philippine University alumni Central Philippine University people Duterte administration cabinet members Estrada administration personnel 20th-century Filipino businesspeople 20th-century Filipino lawyers 21st-century Filipino politicians Heads of government agencies of the Philippines People from San Juan, Metro Manila Ramos administration personnel Secretaries of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines University of the Philippines alumni Former United States citizens Deaths from cancer in the Philippines Deaths from pneumonia in the Philippines