State honors to Tomás Gabriel Altamirano Duque during his funeral held at the Iglesia del Carmen.

The National Government paid State honors to Don Tomás Gabriel Altamirano Duque, former vice president and in charge of the Presidency of the Republic, during the funeral services held this afternoon in the Iglesia del Carmen with the assistance of the three organs of the State, former presidents of the Republic, family and special guests.
 

Escorted by the presidential Guard of Honor, the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, who was accompanied by his wife, Yazmín Colón de Cortizo, handed over the national flag to Sonia, the widow of Altamirano, as a token of honor and respect for who was his husband.

The religious ceremony, presided over by the metropolitan archbishop, José Domingo Ulloa, was also attended by the president of the National Assembly, Marcos Castillero; Magistrate Carlos Vásquez, representing the Supreme Court of Justice. In addition, former presidents Aristides Royo, Ernesto Pérez Balladares, Martín Torrijos and Ricardo Martinelli.

In the homily, Monsignor Ulloa exhorted to serve the country from the difficult position of politics doing it well, "just as Tomás Gabriel Altamirano Duque did, being a religious virtue."

Monsignor Ulloa stressed that no one will hesitate to recognize the "obsession" with which Altamirano Duque gave himself to work to make Panama great, forgetting even his own life.