Dr. Jose Conrado ‘Jolly’ Benitez, 71
Human settlements advocates mourned the untimely demise of Dr. Jose Conrado “Joly” Benitez, whose outstanding achievements in pushing for housing and urban development programs under the Marcos government have served as inspiration to many urban and human settlement planners.
Dr. Benitez, who at 28 was the youngest member of the Cabinet and human settlements czar of the Marcos era, died Sunday due to a lingering illness. He was 71.
A member of the First Batasan Pambansa, Dr. Benitez served as deputy minister of the Ministry of Human Settlements under the Marcos administration. As a legislator, he served the lone district of Pasay City.
Dr. Benitez was acknowledged as the architect of various housing agencies in the government that address the human settlement requirements of the country. These are the Human Settlements Development Corporation, Home Guaranty Corporation, and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC).
He was also instrumental in establishing the BLISS Development Corporation and the Home Development Mutual Fund (PAG-IBIG).
His eldest son, Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo “Albee” B. Benitez, currently serves as chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development that is behind the on-going housing summit. Rep. Benitez is also convenor of the Visayan Bloc of the House of Representatives.
A TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) awardee, Dr. Benitez was also cited as one of the Outstanding Metro Manila Citizens.
Belonging to a family of renowned educators, Dr. Benitez also served as president of the Philippine Women’s University and was credited for introducing several highly effective curriculum innovations such as on-line distance education and continuing education.
The Marcos-era technocrat studied development planning and development education in Stanford University.
Aside from Rep. Benitez, the deceased is also survived by son, Dr. Francisco Benitez of the PWU; wife, Joanne de AsisBenitez; and daughters, Gaia de Asis-Foley, investment banker, and Jana de Asis Benitez, an acclaimed international painter.
His remains lie in state at the Capilla del Señor, Santuario de San Antonio, Forbes Park, Makati City. Inurnment has yet to be finalized. (Ben R. Rosario)