[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE ANTONIO CRUZ CRUZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 10, 1999

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, January 29, 1999, the island 
of Guam lost one of its most prominent legislators. The Honorable 
Antonio Cruz Cruz passed away at the age of 86.
  A member of the House of Assembly during the days of the Guam 
Congress and an eight-term member of the Guam Legislature, the late 
Senator Cruz was one of the most honored and active members of the 
Democratic Party on Guam. Better known as ``Ton Gaga,'' he was born in 
the city of Hagatna on May 21, 1912--the son of Maria Perez Cruz and 
Vicente Iglesias Franquez.
  He attended the Guam Public High School and later worked as a clerk 
messenger for the Naval Government's Department of Public Works and the 
Bank of Guam in the late 1920's and early 1930's. After holding on the 
position of bookkeeper at the Bank of Guam for several years in the 
1930's, he gained employment with the government serving in 
administrative capacities for a Refugee Camp in the mid-1940's, the 
Land Claims Commission, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and the 
Federal Housing Administration.
  Prior to being elected to the Guam Legislature, Senator Cruz served 
as a member of the pre-Organic Act Guam Congress and House of Assembly, 
serving from 1946 to 1950. He was elected to the Guam Legislature 
serving in the First through the Sixth legislatures. At the conclusion 
of the First Session of the Sixth Legislature, Senator Cruz opted to 
resign in order to fill the post of chief of the Department of Labor 
and Personnel's Retirement Division. Later that year, he was named 
assistant Director of the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority. He 
also served in the Ninth and Tenth Legislatures.
  In the eight terms that he served in the Legislature, the late 
senator introduced and co-sponsored numerous bills focused on the 
issues of education. He was instrumental in establishing a student loan 
program, developing the Government of Guam retirement system, enhancing 
personnel benefits for government employees, and funding a number of 
community projects.
  Taking time off his official duties, the former senator always made 
it a point to be an active member in the village of Barrigada. He 
served as Secretary for the Barrigada Democratic Party of Guam 
Precinct. In addition, he also served as Vice-President and Treasurer 
of the Holy Name Society at San Vicente Catholic Church.
  The legacy he leaves behind includes over three decades of government 
service, of which twenty years were spent as Assemblyman and senator. I 
join his widow, the former Mercedes Garrido Camacho, and their children 
Julia, Joseph, David, John, Frank, and Edward in celebrating his 
accomplishment and mourning the loss of a dutiful husband, a loving 
father and fellow legislator. Adios Senator Cruz.

                          ____________________