Actor-singer Sonny Parsons, member of the all-male singing group Hagibis, died of a suspected heart attack caused by heatstroke yesterday in Tayabas, Quezon. He was 61 years old.
His son Jeff Parsons told ABS-CBN News that his father died between 10am to 1pm while he was participating in a charity event organized by his motorcycle club. Sonny was a Muslim royalty and his family has yet to finalize his cremation, his son said.
“We do not have complete details yet of his final moments,” Jeff said. “He was a datu and we will see how to carry out his wish to be cremated.”
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Manuel Rigor, a member of the 1970s pop band VST and Co, paid tribute to Sonny in a Facebook post where he wrote, “Ride free, Sonny Parsons. We had good, and bad times. Thank you for the memories. You will be missed. So sad.”
Born Jose Parsons Agliam Nabiula, Sonny was a former councilor of Marikina City and made his name as one of the members of Hagibis, responsible for the pop hits Legs, Babae (“Woman”), and Katawan (“Body”), which became famous because it was used as the theme song of the 1990s ABS-CBN sitcom Palibhasa Lalake (“Because He’s a Man”).
In 1997, he produced an action movie titled Bala Para sa Katarungan (“Bullet for Justice”) which he also starred in, Bandera reports. Sonny’s last television appearance was in the series Ang Probinsyano (“The Man from the Province”) in 2017 where he played a villain.
