Former mayor of Batac passes away

BATAC CITY, Ilocos Norte — Former Batac Mayor Jesus Nalupta, Sr., who served the longest term as local government chief executive, died of heart failure at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, here, at past 11 p.m. April 1.

Incumbent Batac Mayor Jeffrey Nalupta said his father was taken to the hospital after he suffered from massive heart attack.

It was his first attack after the former mayor was diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes.

“He has been on dialysis for the last 12 months,” Nalupta’s son said.

Nalupta, 74, held the reigns of Batac for nearly two decades beginning 1988 when he first sat as mayor. He completed his three terms as mayor in 1997.

He made a comeback in 2001 and ran the city for six more years.

He would have ran unopposed in his third and final term in 2007 but he withdrew his candidacy in favor of his son, the incumbent mayor.