Former Bohol officer-in-charge (OIC) governor Victor De La Serna has passed away at the age of 78.
He died at the Holy Name University Medical Center in Tagbilaran City at 3:55 a.m., his wife Marybelle confirmed.
According to Dr. Bong Lechago, the De La Serna’s family doctor, the veteran lawyer and Bar topnotcher died of cardiac arrest.
He will be laid to final rest at the Dampas Catholic Cemetery in Tagbilaran City this afternoon.
Dela Serna ranked first in the 1965 Bar Exam, making him Bohol’s first Bar topnotcher and the San Beda University’s (SBU) fifth.
He served as OIC governor in 1986 through the appointment made by then President Corozan Aquino. He was a stalwart of the Justice for Aquino, Justice for All (JAJA) Movement.
De la Serna was a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention which was headed by former Boholano President Carlos P. Garcia.
During the Duterte administration, he was appointed as one of the 25 members of the consultative committee on amending the 1987 Constitution.
He was one of the professors of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte in SBU, then San Beda College.
De La Serna was inducted into the San Beda Law Hall of Fame in 2017.
In 1988, De La Serna passed the California State Bar. He practiced law in the state from 1989 to 1995.
De La Serna is survived by wife Marybelle, children Celestina, Rosa Concepcion, Victor Jr., Anthony, Alex, Gerarda and Alfred and four grandchildren.