MANILA — The respondents in the high-profile case of Christine Dacera’s death are mourning the death of music icon Claire dela Fuente, who had helped them through the legal ordeal.

Dela Fuente died early Tuesday morning due to cardiac arrest. She was 63.

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Dela Fuente’s son, Gigo de Guzman, who announced the news of the singer’s passing, is among the respondents in the Dacera case, along with his friends Rommel Galido, Valentine Rosales, Clark Rapinan, and JP dela Serna.

Dela Fuente had made headlines in January when she publicly came to defend of her son against accusations involving Dacera’s death.

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She had also been helping de Guzman’s co-accused, a number of whom could not afford lawyers, according to ABS-CBN News’ Karen Davila.

On their respective social media pages, de Guzman’s friends each paid tribute to dela Fuente, whom they endearingly called “Mama Claire,” as they mourned her sudden passing.

“I love you so much,” wrote Rosales. “You’ve been my second mom and it breaks my heart you had to leave us so soon.”

He then assured de Guzman, “We will always be here for you.”

Rapinan, meanwhile, thanked dela Fuente for “always taking care of us, joining us [in] all of our meetings, for guiding us all the way.”

“Our hearts are broken,” Rapinan added. “Thank you, Tita, for letting us stay in your humble home. No more stressful nights. No more pain.”

“You will always be in our hearts. We love you, Mama Claire.”

In his latest post grieving his mother, de Guzman shared his longing for dela Fuente.

“Ma, I tried calling your phone again. I still can’t believe you won’t ever answer it again. I can’t believe I won’t get to have another argument with you, or cook for you, or just talk to you again,” he wrote.

“I love you so much, Ma. I will miss you so much.”