The Malacañang Palace expressed sympathies following the death of Fidel Castro of Cuba.
Philippine Malacañang Palace on Saturday expressed condolences to the people of the Republic of Cuba and the family of late former President Fidel Castro following his death.
The former revolutionary leader of Cuba who is one of the world’s longest-serving and most iconic leaders, has died on Saturday, Manila time, at the age of 90, after he undergone intestinal surgery few years ago.
His younger brother and successor as president Raul Castro announced the news on state television.
On Saturday, Manila Time, a somber Raul, 85, who was wearing a green military uniform, appeared on state television to announce his brother’s death.
“At 10.29 at night, the chief commander of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, died,” he said, without giving a cause of death.
“Ever onward, to victory,” he said, using the slogan of the Cuban revolution.
In 1959, Castro toppled the Cuban government when he introduced a Communist revolution. He defied the US for decades, surviving many assassination plots.
“Mr. Castro was a revolutionary who upon assuming his island’s highest political office reasserted his nation’s dignity and self-worth, stood up against the West and capitalism,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
“As it extols socialism, Cuba is one of the few societies that remain untouched by commercialism,” the statement added.
The PCO emphasized that Castro, as his nation’s father, focused on health, education and literacy.
“His achievements in social development, such as establishing a universal health care and providing free education, became models for many developing nations with limited fiscal resources,” Malacañang said.
“The passing of former President Castro will surely be felt by the peoples of Cuba and the world. We are one with the family of Mr. Castro, the Cuban Government, and the Cuban nation during this period of deep mourning,” it added.
Castro did not meet US president Barack Obama when he visited Havana earlier this year, and this is the first time a U.S. president had stepped foot on Cuban soil since 1928.
