Personalities who passed away this year

By Noel Orsal & Nerisa Almo

(Clockwise, from left) Talent Manager

Douglas Quijano, former President Cory
Aquino, King of Pop Michael Jackson, and
Pinoy Master Rapper Francis Magalona—all
had contributed a lot to their respective
fields, which is why many Filipinos felt a
great sense of loss when they passed away
this year.

Filipinos have been through a lot this 2009

—there's the global recession, natural
disasters topped by typhoons Ondoy and
Pepeng that caused great floods in the
country, and most recently the Maguindanao
massacre that ended the lives of several
media practitioners and civilians.

This year was also marked by the unexpected deaths of prominent personalities. So,
before we say goodbye to all the negativity of 2009 and welcome the New Year, PEP
recalls the people whose passing many Filipinos mourned for.

Francis Magalona. Many got curious when all the hosts of Eat... Bulaga! appeared on
stage looking sad after a commercial break. It took a while before Vic Sotto, who was at
the center leading the group, got the courage to deliver the bad news to avid fans and
viewers of the noontime show—the passing of their "dabarkads" Francis Magalona.

The Pinoy Master Rapper fought a "happy battle" with leukemia for nearly seven months
before his body finally gave up on March 6. Francis was very open about his illness
which he updated on his blog as often as he could, including photos of his
chemotherapies, facts about leukemia, and, of course, fun moments with his wife Pia and
their eight children.

Francis is considered a great loss to the music industry. He was able to share his love of
country through his songs such as "Mga Kababayan," "Tayo'y Mga Pinoy," and "Man
From Manila."

Following his death were special tributes from different music artists including the
second set of Eraserhead's reunion concert last March. Francis was supposed to guest on
the concert for the song number "Super Proxy," which he had performed in a duet with
former frontman Ely Buendia in the band's 2005 album.
 Douglas Quijano. Local celebrities lost not only a respected talent manager but also a
good friend when Douglas Quijano passed away last June 13. He was found lifeless in
his room at his Lucban, Quezon home. Later reports said that he died of a heart attack.

The 64-year-old talent manager was responsible for the showbiz careers of some of the
big names in Philippine entertainment, like Richard Gomez and wife Lucy Torres-
Gomez, Joey Marquez, John Estrada, brothers Anjo Yllana and Jomari Yllana, and sisters
Janice de Belen and Gelli de Belen, to name a few.

He also had a hand in discovering other popular stars like Claudine Barretto, Carmina
Villaroel, Nadia Montenegro and Eric Fructuoso.

Douglas, or Tito Dougs to his close friends and talents, also contributed his talent to the
movie industry by writing the screenplays of Isang Gabi, Tatlong Babae (1975) and
Zoom, Zoom, Superman! (1973). He also put up his own movie production outfit named
MAQ Productions. He was also credited as executive producer, line producer, and
project coordinator for many movies of Regal Films, owned by Mother Lily Monteverde,
and other film outfits.

Michael Jackson. Less than two weeks after the passing of Douglas, the entertainment
industry was slammed again with another shocking news—the death of King of Pop
Michael Jackson.

Jackson was slated to have his most-awaited comeback concert in July. But he died of
cardiac arrest on June 25 at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

It took more than two months before his remains were finally laid to rest. His family had
to wait until an autopsy was done. This was after reports came out saying that his
personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, allegedly administered a powerful anesthetic to
the King of Pop shortly before he died.

Although Jackson had passed away, fans still had the chance to watch their idol for the
last time in This Is It last October. This docu-film, which was shown for only two weeks
around the world, showed footages of the rehearsals for the supposed final concert of the
international pop singer.

Cory Aquino. Filipinos lost their Mother of Democracy on August 1. Former President
Corazon Aquino, who fought colon cancer for several months, died of cardio-respiratory
arrest at the Makati Medical Center. She was surrounded by her five children—Ballsy
Aquino-Cruz, Pinky Aquino-Abellada, Noynoy Aquino, Viel Aquino-Dee, and Kris
Aquino-Yap—and other close relatives and friends when she passed away

Hundreds of thousands of Pinoys patiently lined up at La Salle Greenhills in San Juan

City and the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila, to pay their last respects to the
country's former leader. On its way to the Manila Cathedral, Pres. Cory's funeral cortege
passed by Ayala Avenue, Makati City, and stopped beside her husband Ninoy Aquino's
statue.

Pres. Cory's wake was also visited by aspiring senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Imee
Marcos, children of the late Martial Law president Ferdinand Marcos. Pres. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo also paid her last respects to Pres. Aquino.

The funeral procession took more than eight hours to reach the Manila Memorial Park in
Parañaque City because of the many Filipinos who waited on the streets where her
cortege would pass by to pay their last respects to the enduring symbol of People Power.

Bernard Bonnin. Veteran actor Bernard Bonnin died on November 21, one week after
his confinement at the hospital due to stroke.

The 70-year-old actor had been dubbed as the "Palos ng Pinilakang Tabing." He used to
play "pretty boy" roles before he got his break to play the lead character in LVN's movie
adaptation of the komiks novel Alyas Palos, which he would reprise eight times.

The veteran actor also played superheroes in such films as Gagamba (1962) and Captain
Karate (1965). His other action films included Dakpin si Pedro Navarro (1963), Tagisan
ng Agimat (1965), Hijack (1966), at Philcag in Vietnam (1967).

Bonnin is the father of beauty queen Charlene Gonzalez and '90s actor Richard Bonnin.

Johnny Delgado. PEP learned of the passing of veteran actor Johnny Delgado through
the networking site Twitter. Actor Ping Medina wrote in his Twitter account, "Mr.
Johnny Delgado has passed away :( Mabuhay ka sir. Have your rest. Your legacy will
live on."

This was later confirmed by director Laurenti Dyogi, who posted in his account, "Tatang
johnny delgado passed away at 1:20pm, let's pray for hs eternal repose.I worked wd him
in kay tagal kang hinintay. Wonderful person."

The former Goin' Bananas actor died of lymphoma, which was first diagnosed in 2008.
He was admitted to the St. Luke's Medical Center on November 15 after he vomited
blood. However, he requested to go home a couple of days later, where he spent his last
days with his wife, filmmaker and actress Laurice Guillen, and their daughters, opera
singer and theater actress Ana Feleo and TV and film actress Ina Feleo.

Delgado was a multi-awarded actor who was often featured in films directed by critically
acclaimed directors such as Lino Brocka, Mike de Leon and Ishmael Bernal. His movies
included Kakabakaba Ka Ba? (1980), which won him the Best Supporting Actor award,
and Tanging Yaman (2000), which earned him the FAMAS Best Actor award.

Delgado's last project was the short film Labing Labing, which Ina wrote and directed. In
this film, he teamed up with wife Laurice to play a married couple.

Chris Daluz. Not many were aware of it, but earlier this year, the industry lost a good
character actor and radio reporter with the passing of Chris Daluz.

Daluz was in Olongapo City shooting scenes for his Korean film when he suffered a
mild stroke.

The 74-year-old actor once worked as a radio reporter for dzMM. He also starred in
several movies including CNN's Best Asian Film in History Himala (1982), Bagong
Buwan (2001), Sukob (2006), and Katas ng Saudi (2007).

However, his notable project as an actor was the hit television series Pangako Sa 'Yo,
where he played Isko Macaspac, the adoptive father of Yna Macaspac (played by Kristine
Hermosa).

Susan Fernandez. Political activists lost a great friend when singer Susan Fernandez
succumbed to cancer on July 2.

"The Nightingale of the Philippine Progressive Political Movement" became famous after
she recorded her Metro Pop award-winning song "Babae Ka," a tribute to women power
and feminism. This advocacy was also reflected in her other songs to raise awareness on
the important role of women in society.

Fernandez used to host one of the longest-running cultural shows on television, Concert
at the Park.

Alexis Tioseco. A tragic incident ended the lives of Filipino-Canadian film critic Alexis
Tioseco and his Slovenian girlfriend Nika Bohinc. They were both shot by robbers in
their Quezon City home on September 1.

Tioseco was the founder and editor-in-chief of Criticine, an online journal of Southeast
Asian cinema. He was also a regular contributor to several magazines and top
newspapers.

Thai Film Journal mentioned in its blog that the slain film critic was also one of the
founding programmers of the S-Express program series of Southeast Asian and Asian
films that travels to film festivals in the region and around the world.
 Trinidad Etong. She was not a household name but she made headlines in death
because initial suspicions fell on her husband, ABS-CBN broadcaster Ted Failon, for
allegedly being involved in her tragic demise on April 16.

The 45-year-old Etong sustained a gunshot wound to the head in an incident that was
investigated by police. While some speculated that Failon's wife was killed by another
person, his camp claimed that she committed suicide.

The bathroon at Failon's house, which was reportedly the scene of the incident, was
cleaned up by his house helpers. The same thing was done to the vehicle that was used to
bring Etong to the hospital. The gun used in the shooting incident reportedly passed
hands.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) findings later showed that Etong committed
suicide.

Eraño Manalo. Hundreds of thousands of Pinoy followers of the Iglesia Ni Cristo

mourned as one when Ka Eraño "Erdy" Manalo passed away due to cardiopulmonary
arrest on August 31.

For a long time as the executive minister, Ka Erdy had guided his religious group in
maintaining the tightness of their church. He had also influenced his fellow believers in
choosing political leaders, one notable trait of the Iglesia Ni Cristo.

Ka Erdy's funeral was attended not only by INC members but also by prominent
personalities from different sectors, including ex-President Joseph Estrada and President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who were both were supported by the INC during their
respective terms.