Following is the message of UNFPA Country Representative Klaus Beck on the passing of former Commission on Population (POPCOM) Executive Director Tomas Osias.

On behalf of the United Nations Population Fund, it is with great sadness that we extend our deepest sympathies on the passing of our beloved friend Tomas Osias.

UNFPA will always remember Mr. Osias as a tireless champion of reproductive health and rights who advocated for family planning as a key component of population management long before many of us came around to rally for the RH Law. He did his job despite the many challenges of working on reproductive health. 

Aside from the passage of the RH Law, there were other major milestones that POPCOM achieved under the leadership of Mr. Osias which supported the work of UNFPA in the Philippines. In 2004, through a vigorous advocacy by POPCOM, Filipino Muslim Religious Leaders came together to endorse a national Fatwah on Reproductive Health and Family Planning for Muslim couples to have deeper understanding of reproductive health in the context of their religion. 

Shortly before Mr. Osias’ retirement, POPCOM, through the support of UNFPA, was able to successfully rollout the South-South Cooperation between the Philippines and Indonesia, which is a platform for an exchange of ideas, experiences and lessons learned to achieve the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development. It was Mr. Osias who planted the seed of this initiative and, three years later, the SSC has become one of the more sustainable government-led cooperation programmes in the country. 

Even when he was physically weak, Mr. Osias showed all of us who are strong and healthy that when you do something from your heart, nothing can stop you from accomplishing your goal. In retirement, he only left his office but his work for the upliftment of the lives of Filipino families continued.

Mr. Osias will be missed but his indefatigable spirit will definitely remain with us and continue to inspire us.