GONE TOO SOON. The late Central Mindanao broadcast journalist Malu Cadeliña–Manar, 52, dies from cardiac arrest on Sunday night (Nov. 15, 2020) in Kidapawan City. The multi-awarded journalist worked for various news outlets that included the Philippine News Agency in the past. (Photo courtesy of Rommel Collena)
KIDAPAWAN CITY – Journalists from North Cotabato and the rest of the Soccsksargen Region mourned the passing of veteran and multi-awarded radio and print journalist Malu Cadeliña-Manar on Sunday evening. She was 52.
The 52-year-old Manar was pronounced dead on arrival at Kidapawan City Medical Specialist Hospital.
Her husband, Rey, rushed her to the Kidapawan Medical Specialist Hospital after complaining of chest pain. She breathed her last at about 6:10 p.m. Manar has long been suffering from rheumatic heart disease.
Her sudden demise saddened the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP-Kidapawan) chapter.
“Our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and we encourage everyone to join us as we pray for the eternal repose of her soul. Rest in our God’s bosom,” Mark Anthony Tayco, NUJP-Kidapawan president.
Manar served as NUJP-Kidapawan president in the past.
In a separate statement, the Bureau of Public Information of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BPI-BARMM) also expressed sadness on her death.
“It is with profound sadness to lose a pillar and mentor in the field of broadcast journalism, especially at a time when the cooperation between the government and the media has to be strengthened as we continue to face this global pandemic,” the BPI-BARMM said.
Manar was manager and public affairs anchorperson of Ronda FM in Kidapawan City and correspondent of online news portal www.mindanews.com, Manila Bulletin national newspaper, GMA News, and Mindanao Cross at the time of her demise.
Manar also wrote for the Philippine News Agency as a stringer from 1999 to 2001.
Hailed by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) and Catholic Mass Media Award as an outstanding journalist, the multi-awarded broadcaster and writer had been with the Notre Dame Broadcasting Corporation for 25 years.
She received numerous awards as a radio personality and training overseas as a print journalist. A very credible broadcast journalist, she fought hard attacks against colleagues on the Fourth Estate.
She retired from NDBC in March 2019 to try her luck in local politics but failed in her bid for a city council seat. She returned to her "first love," hosting a daily morning public affairs program over Ronda FM in Kidapawan City shortly thereafter. (PNA)
