Atty. Jose Sison, veteran host of ‘Ipaglaban Mo,’ dies at 88

MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer and long-time host of television show “Ipaglaban Mo” Attorney Jose Sison died on Thursday at the age of 88, his son confirmed. “This morning, July 23, 2026, our Papa Ping peacefully joined our Creator,” his son Jopet, who is also a lawyer, wrote in a Facebook post. “We are comforted that he lived a full life as a lawyer, a husband to Josie, a father to his six children, and a grandfather to his sixteen grandchildren,” Jopet noted. The son also said that his father’s wake will be held at Ascension Chapel in The Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao in Quezon City starting Friday afternoon. The interment will be at Heavens Gate 1 Memorial Park in Antipolo City on Tuesday, July 28. “Ipaglaban Mo” is a drama anthology which featured real life legal cases brought before the Supreme Court. Hosted by the elder Sison, it first aired on IBC-13 in 1988 until it was transferred to ABS-CBN in 1992 until its last episode in 1999. The award-winning show returned to television under the ABS-CBN in June 2014 with both Jose and Jopet as hosts. Meanwhile, recent social media posts claimed that Jose is the father of Vice President Sara Duterte’s lead defense counsel Sheila Sison. However, Atty. Jose Sison, in his column, mentioned having an “only daughter” named Joyce. In his column published by Philstar in 2012, Jose remembered the death anniversary of his daughter Joyce who died. He wrote: “Tomorrow, our family will be commemorating one such event which happened nine years ago. This is the death anniversary of our beloved and only daughter Joyce.” In another Philstar column published in 2024, Jose mentioned his six children namely Joyce, Jopet, Joel, Jay, Jolly and Jaybee. /apl Atty. Jose Sison, long-time host of television show “Ipaglaban Mo” passes away on July 23, 2026. (Photo by Jopet Sison/Facebook) Information Source: Inquirer NewsInfo