Former Marikina lawmaker and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chief Bayani Fernando passed away on Friday. He was 77.
Fernando’s passing was confirmed by his wife, Maria Lourdes.
The leadership of the House of Representatives expressed their condolences to the bereaved family of the former mayor and lawmaker.
“It is with a heavy heart that we offer our condolences on the passingof former Marikina City Mayor and Representative Bayani Fernando, a dedicated public servant who left an indelible mark on the city of Marikina and our nation,” Speaker Martin Romualdez said in a statement.
Romualdez said Fernando’s service in representing Marikina’s first congressional district from 2016 to 2022 and being mayor of Marikinafrom 1992 to 2001, where he transformed the city into a model for others to follow, exemplified his commitment to progress and development.
“Bayani Fernando was a visionary, who dreamt of big ideas and then boldly implemented them,” added Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.
In making our cities livable, Zubiri said Ferdinando “translated his concepts into concrete achievements to show us by example that what is initially deemed impossible can indeed be done.”
The MMDA announced it was deeply saddened and shocked by the sudden demise of Fernando, who served the agency from June 5, 2002 until
November 25, 2009.
“A mechanical engineer by profession, Chairman Fernando used scientific and practical approaches in his quest to solve the problems
of Metro Manila. A man of few words, Fernando is known to be a workaholic and a disciplinarian among MMDA employees,” the MMDA
stated.
During his service, Fernando put the MMDA in the spotlight, and he was the person behind the rapid bus lanes and the “Metro Gwapo” campaign
transforming the region into a livable metropolis.
Fernando also proposed the agency revisit the Organized Bus Route (OBR) system the MMDA implemented during his time.
Under the OBR scheme, city buses can use two lanes (marked A and B) with designated loading and unloading areas with high passenger
volume. The lanes were fenced off to force drivers to pick up passengers only at designated gates, while buses were given a limited
few seconds to unload and load commuters.
