Jose Andres Ramirez "Ping" Duenas (October 17, 1930 - August 31, 2009) was a

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

anian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. Duenas served as a Senator in the

Legislature of Guam The Legislature of Guam () is the law-making body for the United States territory of Guam. The unicameral legislative branch consists of fifteen senators, each serving for a two-year term. All members of the legislature are elected at-large with ...

from 1971 to 1978 and was a candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Guam The Guamanian self-governing government consists of a locally elected List of Governors of Guam, governor, List of current United States lieutenant governors, lieutenant governor and a fifteen-member Legislature of Guam, Legislature. The first p ...

in 1990.

Early life

Duenas was born on October 17, 1930. He resided in

Dededo Dededo (; Spanish: ) is the most populated village in the United States territory of Guam. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dededo's population was just under 45,000 in 2020. The village is located on the coral plateau of Northern Guam. The gr ...

, Guam.

Career

In 1962, Duenas became a founding member of the Guam Employees Federal Credit Union (GGEFCU). That year, Duenas and 18 other Guam government employees deposited a total of $250

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

to establish the new

credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

. The GGEFCU has grown substantially in terms of assets since 1962. Duenas served Guam as a public servant and politician for twenty-eight years. He worked in the Department of Administration as the

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

and chief

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

. He also served as the

chairman of the board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the Guam Housing Corporation and the

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of financial affairs for the

University of Guam University of Guam () (U.O.G.) is a public university, public land-grant university in Mangilao, Guam. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and offers thirty-four degree programs at the undergraduate level and ele ...

. Duenas, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

in the

Guam Legislature The Legislature of Guam () is the law-making body for the United States territory of Guam. The unicameral legislative branch consists of fifteen senators, each serving for a two-year term. All members of the legislature are elected at-large with ...

, where he served from 1971 until 1978. While in the legislature, he became the minority leader of the 14th Guam Legislature. During this time, he wrote a series of monthly columns detailing pressing social and political problems facing the island. Duenas became the chairman of the Democratic Party of Guam for three years during the 1980s. In 1990, Duenas unsuccessfully ran for

Lt. Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

as the

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

Madeleine Bordallo Madeleine Mary Zeien Bordallo (; born May 31, 1933) is an American-Guamanian politician who served as the delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for from January 3, 2003, to January 3, 2019. She is the first woman ever to serve as Guam' ...

in the

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

election. He also worked as the campaign

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

for Guam Senator Frank Aguon Jr.

Death

Ping Duenas was hospitalized in

Guam Memorial Hospital Guam Memorial Hospital is a rural general hospital located in Tamuning, Guam and is the only public hospital serving the island of Guam. The hospital has 161 licensed acute care beds, plus 40 beds at its off-site, long-term care Skilled Nursing F ...

for a week in August 2009. A decision was made to transport him to a medical facility in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, for medical treatment. Duenas suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

approximately an hour before the plane was scheduled to land in Anaheim on the flight from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

on August 31, 2009. He died on the plane en route to Anaheim at the age of 78. His wife, Ling Duenas; son, Tommy; and brother, Dr. Vicente Duenas; were with him at the time. Duenas' family informed the Speaker of the Guam Legislature,

Judith Won Pat Judith Teresita Perez Won Pat (born December 6, 1949), also known as Judi Won Pat, is a Guamanian politician, teacher, and school administrator who served as the speaker of the Guam Legislature from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party ...

, that Duenas did not want a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

. His viewing and funeral

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

were held at the Santa Barbara Catholic Church in Dededo. He was buried at the Guam Memorial Park in

Barrigada Barrigada () is a village in the United States territory of Guam. A largely residential municipality, its main village is located south of the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport near the intersections of Routes 8, 10, and 16. The communi ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Duenas, Ping 1930 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American legislators Chamorro people Guamanian Democrats Members of the Legislature of Guam People from Dededo, Guam