Avoiding Vice Mayor Aimee Paz’s ‘second death’

By Alex P. Vidal

“The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there’s no risk of accident for someone who’s dead.” — Albert Einstein

JUDGING from the way colleagues in public service, constituents in Duenas, Iloilo and prominent Iloilo leaders described her as a public servant and friend, we can conclude that the late Vice Mayor Aimee Paz Lamasan was a quality human being.

Twenty-two days before her untimely death on December 30, 2025, Lamasan wished for peace for her constituents in Duenas during the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 2025.

Although Lamasan left the physical world in a rather freaky manner, her good deeds while serving the people of Duenas and its environs were enough to compare her physical death to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Having been “preserved” by God’s special grace from all stain of original sin like the Blessed Virgin Mary in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, made the well-loved Lamasan also free from from concupiscence (the inclination to sin); she, too, was not subject to the dominion of death as a punishment for sin.

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With her legacy and quality, Lamasan shouldn’t die twice. Voltaire said, “On meurt deux fois, je le vois bien: Cesser d’aimer & d’être aimable, C’est une insupportable mort; Cesser de vivre ce n’est rien” (We die twice, I see well: To stop loving & being loved, Is an unbearable death; To stop living is nothing).

Lamasan’s first death from a bullet wound, officially ruled by the La Paz Police Station as accidental, was physical, the biological end of her life, when her heart stopped and her brain ceased to function.

Like many of those who joined our Creator, Lamasan could also suffer from so-called “oblivion” or the second death.

It’s the Catholic doctrine of a dead person’s final fading from memory and history, when the good vice mayor’s name would no longer be celebrated, remembered, uttered, read, or thought of.

Those who truly love Lamasan can prevent the second death by continuing to share her many interesting stories, honor her good memories, and speak her name to keep her essence alive.

After all, Lamasan had helped and touched so many lives in one way or the other in her brief stint as public servant and friend of many people in Iloilo.

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WHY FRIENDS SHOULDN’T LET FRIENDS EXERCISE SOLO. Natalie Gingerich says that working out a deux can make a tough routine feel easier. A University of Oxford study found that exercisers tolerated discomfort better when working out in a group, compared with doing it alone. Researchers believe partner workouts may heighten levels of hormones such as endorphins that boost mood and block pain signals.

CAREFUL, DEAR STUDENTS: Education can make you lonely. Academics are single more often than people without degrees. The reason: They often spend their evenings working overtime.

HEART DISEASE AND DIABETES. Lack of sleep is associated with higher levels of stress hormones that may raise blood pressure and affect glucose metabolism. A new study found that the risk for high blood pressure among insomniacs who slept less than 5 hours per night was 500 times greater than those who logged more than 6 hours.

SLEEP! IT’S NON-NEGOTIABLE. I was bed-ridden because of colds as a result of less sleep these past weeks. I just learned from Health News & Trends that a good night’s sleep isn’t just about hitting the ground running in the morning. If we get 7 to 9 hours experts advise, we can expect these added benefits, said Catherine Winters.

WOMEN NEED TO SAVE MORE FOR RETIREMENT THAN MEN. Reason: After retirement, women live an average of 22 years, compared with 19 for men. Women must save an additional 2 percent a year for 30 years to make up for that difference.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)