MANILA (UPDATE) - Former senator Maria Teresa Aquino-Oreta, sister of the late senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., has passed away, her son, Malabon Mayor Antolin "Len Len" A. Oreta lll said Friday.

She was 75.

"On behalf of my family, it is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my mom at 10:48 p.m. of May 14. Former Senator Tessie Aquino-Oreta was a public servant who devoted her life to the country and her adopted hometown of Malabon," the mayor said in a Facebook post.

"She was a loving grandmother, mother, and wife and a friend to those whose lives she touched."

Born June 28, 1944, Aquino-Oreta was the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture in the 11th Congress.

She finished her primary school at the College of Holy Spirit in Mendiola and finished high school at Assumption College. She then took up Literature and history at the Assumption Convent and received her International Studies degree in Cuidad Ducal, Avila, Spain. She became a Lieutenant Colonel (Reserved) in the Philippine Air Force after earning a Master’s Degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines.

Before being elected to the Senate in 1998, she represented the district of Malabon City-Navotas at the House of Representatives for three consecutive terms, from 1987-1998.

In the 2000 impeachment trial of former president Joseph Estrada, she voted against the opening of a second envelop allegedly containing information against Estrada. Estrada was later ousted as president in a four-day bloodless revolt.