MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Jejomar Binay praised the “unconquerable spirit” of anti-apartheid icon and South Africa’s late president Nelson Mandela.
“Nelson Mandela embodied the unconquerable spirit and the healing power of forgiveness,” Binay said in a statement Friday following the death of Mandela at the age of 95 after a prolonged battles with a lung illness.
“His life inspires us to strive for a world where freedom, equality, tolerance and understanding reign,” he said.
Mandela was an anti-apartheid revolutionary who was imprisoned for 27 years before being elected as South Africa’s first black president in 1994 to 1999.
He died on Thursday in his home in Johannesburg.
South African president Jacob Zuma announced Mandela’s death saying “We’ve lost our greatest son.”
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