Members of the local media in Negros Oriental mourn the untimely death of Press Secretary Cerge Remonde.
The late Secretary Remonde was declared dead 11:51 a.m. Tuesday at the Makati Medical Center after he succumbed to heart attack. He was 51.
The publisher of Metropost and local NBN chief Alex Pal said "Cerge" as he was fondly known to many was a very good and vital asset in the Arroyo administration. He was a friend to all journalists and he did a very good job as press secretary and in his previous other assignments.
Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP)-Negros Oriental chapter president Roy Bustillo said Remonde's death is a big loss to the industry as he is called the Big Bro of the KBP and the media.
"A very approachable and humble secretary. He is the best press secretary so far in the country. Journalists in the Philippines would surely miss him," he said.
"A big loss not just to government but to the media as well. He was somebody we in the media and Visayans should be proud of," said Dumaguete Bureau Chief of the Philippines News Agency, Mary Judaline Flores-Partlow.
Remonde traced his roots to Argao in nearby Cebu province.
A press statement released by the Dumaguete Press Club Inc. through the chairman emiritus and owner/publisher of Negros Chronicle and DYEM-FM Ely Dejaresco said the passing of Press Sec. Remonde, a true blue Cebuano, has never come so untimely as when he left at a time when he was most needed not only by the President but by the nation. He died with his boots on, during the thick of the election season.
Remonde was just seen in full attendance to Sunday's Sinulog de Cebu. Most mediamen in Cebu were surprised to see Remonde in almost all Sinulog activities in Cebu and even met with Cebuano media and gave them black t-shirts as souvenir from the Office of the Press Secretary, the statement said.
Known as the golden boy of Malacañang, Press Sec. Remonde was the trusted media propagator of Malacañang who precisely would know how and when to answer issues, which are raised for or against the administration.
He was the dream of any president as press secretary because Remonde was himself a practicing journalist and broadcaster who was easily able to blend into the media psyche.
His last great stand for the administration was when he stepped out of the gates of Malacañang to meet journalists who were protesting the Maguindanao massacre. Remonde was there both to defend the administration and empathized with the cause of media, the Dumaguete Press Club statement said.
He was long time president and chairman of the national KBP and that was how he was able to gain foothold and goodwill from the print and broadcast industry.
Admittedly, media is the hardest industry to organize. But for almost one decade as KBP chairman, Remonde was able to stand tall in upholding the tenets of a true broadcaster and journalist, the statement further said.
Remonde has virtually become an instant icon in the government and private media, both in upholding as well as maintaining a balanced press secretariat and even before as a private broadcaster and labor-oriented radio commentator who has given the journalism profession a mighty booster in gaining a high sense of moral duty and dedication to the service of the people, the statement added. (PNA)
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