Melo Acuna (From his Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — Veteran journalist Melo Acuna passed away early Friday morning, his wife announced.
“My husband Melo Acuna joined his creator today at 2:30 a.m.,” Melo’s wife, Ma. Jhona Acuna announced on his Facebook page. “Please pray for the eternal repose of his soul.”
“Please also pray for me that I will have complete healing,” she added.
Acuna on August 24 posted on his Facebook page that he and his wife got infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. On Thursday night, Jhona said her husband turned critical while in the hospital.
The veteran journalist started his career as a full-time reporter at DWGW-IBC in Legazpi City and became a stringer for Reuters and a correspondent for the Manila Bulletin from 1980 onward, according to his official website.
In 1994, Acuna joined DZRV-Radio Veritas and became its station manager in 2004.
He joined the media office of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in 2007 and became a correspondent for China Radio International from 2010 to 2018.
At the time of his death, Acuna was an accredited broadcast journalist of the Kapisanan Ng Mga Brodkaster Ng Pilipinas (KBP) and was a member of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP).