Heherson Alvarez

Heherson "Sonny" Turingan Alvarez (October 26, 1939 – April 20, 2020) was a politician from the Philippines. He served as a member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines and the Senate of the Philippines. He was also Minister (then Secretary) of Agrarian Reform from 1986 to 1987 and Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources from 2001 to 2002.

Education
Sonny Alvarez studied liberal arts at the University of the Philippines. He also earned a master's degree in Economics and Public Administration from Harvard University.

1971 constitutional convention
Alvarez was a young activist who participated in the 1971 constitutional convention. He refused to sign the Ferdinand Marcos regime backed constitution that gave extensions to the president's term in office.

Escape from the dictatorship
On the day when Ferdinand Marcos secretly put martial law into effect, Alvarez had been at the University of the Philippines Diliman attending a public forum with Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. When his girlfrend Cecile Guidote told him that she had work to finish and could not join him for their planned dinner, he decided to stay overnight at his ConCon office to work on a speech. As a result, he was able to evade Marcos' soldiers who had succeeded in arresting most of the oppositionist ConCon delegates, including Aquino.

He went into hiding in various places for a while, but the oppositionists soon suggested that he go to the US to help gather support for their resistance against Marcos, working with Senator Raul Manglapus who had likewise escaped capture because he was overseas on a speaking engagement martial law was declared.

With assistance from Fr. James Reuter, Alvarez and Guidote were married in a secret "Matrimonia concencia" ceremony in Cavite, with the records sealed in the church's vaults. Then with assistance from UNESCO Philippines chair Dr. Alejandro Roces, he secretly got onboard a greek ship which took him to Hong Kong, and from there, he went on to the US. His wife Cecile, founder of the Philippine Educational Theater Association managed to follow him eventually, managing to get through immigration with little more than a theater prop for a passport.

Exile during martial law
While in exile, he was one of the organizers of the Movement for a Free Philippines, which did what it could to bring the dictatorship to an end. When Ninoy Aquino was assassinated in 1983, Alvarez organized the Ninoy Aquino Movement, which lobbied for the US Government to stop supporting Marcos, despite the latter's closeness to Ronald Reagan.

While in exile, the Alvarezes had two children, Hexilon and Herxilia, which were plays on the word "exile" - a reminder of who they were and that they were meant to return to the Philippines one day.

Death of Marsman Alvarez
One major consequence of Alvarez' work against the regime, however, was the murder of his brother Marsman Alvarez at the hands of Marcos' intelligence agents. Marsman was accosted by armed men later identified as intelligence agents in June 1974, and his mutilated body was discovered the day after. Marsman body had a bloated face, a displaced jaw, a slashed tongue, and stab wounds in the neck.

Their father, Capt. Marcelo Alvarez, who had begged Sonny to be more discreet in his opposition to Marcos, died of a heart attack after he learned of Marsman's death.

Return to the Philippines and government service
Eventually, the Philippine leadership changed as Corazon Aquino, the wife of Benigno Aquino Jr., took power after the successful People Power Revolution.

He returned to the Philippines in 1986 to partake in rebuilding the government in the wake of collapse of the Marcos regime. He won a senatorial seat, representing Isabela province's 4th district, in the post-revolution government of President Corazon Aquino. He served two terms 1987 to 1998 and 1998–2001. In early 1994, Alvarez initiated the "Healthy Air Pact" among three oil companies (Pilipinas Shell, Caltex and Petron Corporation) for them to introduce unleaded gasoline to the Philippine market.

Senator Alvarez also held two cabinet positions - Secretary of Agrarian Reform (February 7, 1987 – March 7, 1987) and Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (March 29, 2001 – December 13, 2002). He was known as staunch environmentalist as he was called "Mr. Environment" during his term as Environmental Secretary. Moreover, as a senator, he authored the resolution to make April 22 of every year as "Earth Day" in the Philippines. He is an advocate of using organic fertilizer and pesticides.

From 2009 to 2016, he served as commissioner and vice chair of the Climate Change Commission.

Personal life
Alvarez married artist and activist Cecile Guidote; the couple had two children, Hexilon and Herxilla.

Death
Senator Alvarez and wife, Cecile contracted the COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines sometime in March. They were both hospitalized. CNN reported that Heherson Alvarez underwent experimental plasma therapy treatment and blood plasma convalescent therapy. On April 20, 2020, Alvarez died in Manila due to complications from COVID-19.