A male staff member of Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. has died due to the deadly coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection on Sunday, the senator said.

“I lost my staff and friend of almost 30 years to COVID-19 this afternoon,” Revilla said in a statement.

The senator did not identify the staff member.

“Everything was so fast and sudden. He has been with me mula sa pag-aartista—through the ups and downs, the thick and thin—tapos ngayon wala na siya,” said Revilla.

The senator earlier announced that the staff member had been confined at a hospital in Imus, Cavite since March 22.

The senator said the initial diagnosis was pneumonia.

The staff member had no history of travel or exposure to known COVID-19 cases.

The staff member was last seen at the Senate on March 16 when he returned to claim his salary.

“Napakabilis ka namang kinuha sa amin, at ni huling pamamaalam, hindi namin puwedeng ibigay sa’yo. Napakasakit,” Revilla said.

Revilla called on the public to stay at home to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19, which has so far claimed 71 lives and infected over 1,400 people in the country.

“Mga kababayan, napakabagsik ng sakit na ito. At sa pagdapo nito kung kanino, daig pa ang napakatalas na punglo na babaon sa puso ng mga nagmamahal sa’yo,” Revilla also said./Stacy Ang