A devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother,

colleague, and friend, Rogelio passed away peacefully on September 9, 2026, at

the age of 93.

Rogelio Bautista Espiritu was born on March 22, 1933, in Imus, Cavite,

Philippines, the third of nine children raised by Belen and Arsenio Espiritu. As

one of the elder siblings, he became a mentor, instrumental in shaping the lives

of his younger brothers and sisters. He grew up in Imus, Cavite, and Baguio City,

and later made his home in Anak Bayan and Fairview in Quezon City, then

immigrated to the United States after retirement, never forgetting the country

where he came from.

Rogelio built a long and respected career as a CPA, with more than 44 years

of government service, rising from the ranks of an Auditor to Manager, up to a

Commissioner position of the Commission on Audit (COA), the Philippine

equivalent of the US Government Accountability Office, in the 1990s. From

COA, he was appointed as Chairman of the Philippine National Construction

Corporation (PNCC), and consultant to other government agencies thereafter.

He is remembered by his peers as a good friend and a motivator, someone who

believed every person has a talent. Comm RBE, as better known to COAns,

believed in teamwork, was fatherly, and was able to bring out the best in his staff,

teaching them integrity and humility, reminding them never to abuse power in

whatever way. He was a respectable man of integrity, who was the driving force

behind the success of every employee he mentored. To those whose lives he

touched, he was one of the best, if not the best, Commissioner COA ever had.

Rogelio was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Carmen Espiritu, whom

he cherished through 67 years of marriage until her passing on April 3, 2025.

Together they raised five children, Maribel, Reynaldo, Carmela, Rosanna, and

Arsenio, and built a family that grew to include 13 grandchildren and 5 great-

grandchildren, all of whom he loved unconditionally and without measure. He

immigrated to give them opportunities he had worked so hard to earn by himself,

and that quiet act of sacrifice became the foundation of everything the family

built after him.

Rogelio and Carmen traveled the world together, from Switzerland, which he

considered the most beautiful place he ever saw, to a pilgrimage to Our Lady of

Lourdes in Paris and Fatima in Portugal with their grandchildren, to the beaches

of the Philippines with the whole family in tow. Yet after seeing so much of the

world, Rogelio said he had never seen anything quite like Bryce Canyon, Utah,

on a road trip with the entire family.

His faith was woven through everyday life. He drove a red Volkswagen Beetle

in his early family life, and well into his eighties, even drove an SUV with his

wife to daily Mass, appointments, and grandchildren’s school. He prayed the

rosary every day with Carmen and read from his daily spiritual book without fail.

For their golden wedding anniversary, Rogelio and Carmen chose to mark it with

a Catholic pilgrimage with family, a fitting tribute to a marriage built on faith as

much as love.

Rogelio was soft-spoken in the truest sense, the kind of person no one could

recall ever raising his voice, generous by nature, always ready to treat the family

to buffets and bring everyone together for family lunches. To his nieces and

nephews, he was known simply as Tito Roger. Having weekends and sleepovers

with his family in Fairview were a favorite tradition during their teenage years;

even on the rare occasions the kids got a little up to no good, he stayed calm and

steady.

Grandchildren remember him grabbing their hands to dance them around the

living room, a small joy that captured just how gentle and present he always was.

At home, he was just as happy in the kitchen, cooking up nilaga stew and chicken

corn soup for the people he loved. His family inherited many of his tastes: a

love of corn, vinegar, bacon and egg, nuts, chicharon, kare-kare, bulalo, lang

lang, Imus longganiza, seafood, steak, and a love for cooking. He also loved

watching movies and basketball games with his wife, children, and

grandchildren, and spent many quiet hours reading spy and adventure novels.

Rogelio's legacy was the family he built and the example he set for them, the

strength he carried from Imus to Baguio, to Quezon City, to a new life in

America, with a marriage and a love that lasted a lifetime. He will be deeply

missed and remembered for his warmth, love, and care, integrity, humility, and

the reminder he leaves behind: “to keep the faith, and always remember where

you came from”.

May Rogelio rest in peace, now reunited with his beloved wife Carmen, in God's loving arms,

both now will be guardian angels to the family they left behind.