Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo (File photo)
MANILA – Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Wednesday offered condolences to the family of the late retail tycoon Herny Sy on the death of his granddaughter Jan Catherine Sy.
The Sy family revealed that Jan Catherine died on March 18 due to sepsis, a condition that damages the tissues and potentially lowers blood pressure to a life-threatening level. She was 29.
“Tayo po ay nakikiramay, nalulungkot (We offer condolences, we are saddened) and I can relate,” Panelo said in his commentary show “Counterpoint.”
Panelo recalled how his son Salvador Carlo Panelo III, who had Down syndrome, died at a young age of 27 due to heart complications.
“Nakaka-relate po tayo kasi yung anak ko si Salvador Carlo III e 27 lang po nung siya’y binawian ng buhay. Eto naman 29 so two years lang ang pagitan nila. Kaya sabi ko nga (I can relate because my son Salvador Carlo III died when he was 27. She died at 29 so they only have a two-year age difference. That’s why I’m saying) I can relate to your grief and I share your grief,” he added.
Panelo said he knew how painful it was to lose a family member.
“I know it’s really devastating for a member of the family to pass and go beyond the physical plane,” he said.
He also offered prayers for Jan Catherine, whom he described as “a very accomplished woman.”
“Let us just pray for the eternal repose of the soul of Jan Sy. Sana yung pong (I hope that) perpetual light will always shine upon her,” he said.
Jan Catherine is the eldest of three children of Henry Sy Jr., SM Prime Holdings chair.
In his eulogy, Mr. Sy mentioned her daughter often told him “how it pained her to see the sufferings of the poor” and “how she wanted to be able to do her part in alleviating such.”
She served as assistant vice president and project director for SM Development Corporation (SMDC), the real-estate arm of the business run by her father.
She was also an equestrienne and competed in international events.
Her grandfather passed away on January 19, 2019. (PNA)
