Jose Cortes Jr., president of the North Luzon Railway Corp. (Northrail), passed away early Sunday morning while undergoing treatment at the Medical City in Pasig, where he was rushed after suffering a seizure over the weekend.
He was 66.
Cortes, a former undersecretary for Rail Transport at the Department of Transportation and Communications and concurrent president of Northrail until October 2004 when he gave up the DOTC post to be full-time Northrail chief, reportedly succumbed to heart failure at around 1:50 a.m. Sunday.
His remains now lie at the Capilla dela Virgen of the Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati City and will be cremated at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10, after a Mass at 11 a.m.
His staff said that Cortes had reported for work last Friday and showed no signs of ill health, making his death over the weekend unexpected. – Rainier Allan Ronda