Davao City– Atty. Prospero Castillo Nograles, five-term congressman of Davao City’s First District and the first House Speaker from Mindanao in 100 years, passed away today, May 4.
He was 71 years old. Nograles, also known as “Boy Nogie,” was survived by his wife, the former Rhodora Bendigo, and his four children: Tinky, a medical doctor based in New York; Karlo, cabinet secretary of Prsident Duterte; Jericho, incumbent congressman representing PBA Partylist; and Migs, a new lawyer who passed the most recent bar examinations.
“Papa passed away peacefully, surrounded by family,” his son Jericho said. Details of the funeral will be announced later, he added.
The House Speaker of the 14th Congress (2007-2010) was an academic achiever. He graduated valedictorian in both elementary and high-school at Ateneo de Davao University. He moved to Ateneo de Manila University in college where he also graduated with honors.
Nograles later studied at Ateneo de Manila’s College of Law and emerged as a bar topnotcher. He was second place in the 1971 bar examinations with a grade of 90.95%. As a lawyer, Nograles was known as a courageous fighter for human rights. He was named in 1986 as one of the country’s Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) for Justice and Human Rights.
The next year, 1987, Nograles was elected congressman of Davao City’s First District, a feat he repeated in 1995, 2001, 2004 and 2007. As a congressman, Nograles was credited for introducing massive infrastructure development, virtually changing the face of Davao City during his incumbency.
Nograles was then known for his landmark “Oplan K” projects such as Oplan Kalsada (roads), Oplan Kaalam (scholarship), Oplan Kahayag (street-lighting), Oplan Kabuhayan (livelihood), and Oplan Kalusugan (health care).
In 2004, while serving his fourth term as congressman, Nograles made Davao City proud when he became the first House Majority Leader. In his next and final term, Nograles capped his career by becoming the first House Speaker from Mindanao. Boy Nogie retired from politics in 2010 just when his eldest son, Atty. Karlo Nograles, won the first of his 3 terms as congressman of Davao City’s First District.