Charlie Cojuangco

Carlos "Charlie" Oppen Cojuangco was a Filipino politician who served in the Philippine House of Representatives for two different districts: Tarlac's 1st district and Negros Occidental's 4th district.

Political career

Cojuangco served in the Philippine House of Representatives as congressman of Negros Occidental's 4th district from 1998 to 2007, and then as congressman of Tarlac's 1st district from 2016 until his death, when he replaced his uncle Henry Cojuangco, who died in 2015 and did not finish his term. Both were members of the Nationalist People's Coalition.
He was supposed to run for a third consecutive term, but he suffered an untimely death on February 2022. Due to his passing, his son Jaime Cojuangco substituted for him, and subsequently won in the elections.

Personal life

Cojuangco was the son of business magnate and NPC founder Danding Cojuangco and brother of another congressman Mark Cojuangco. He married former Eat Bulaga! co-host Rio Diaz, but she died in 2004. He then married China Jocson, a media personality and former government official, in October 2021. He also had a previous relationship with actress Sharon Cuneta.
On October 2021, while driving at the Clark International Speedway race track in Pampanga province, he suffered a brain aneurysm and underwent emergency surgery to which he never recovered. He eventually died on February 22, 2022, although the exact cause of his death was not disclosed.