Melo Acuna (From his Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — Condolences are pouring in for the family of veteran journalist Melo Acuña, 64, who passed away early morning Friday due to COVID-19.
READ: Veteran journo Melo Acuna writes 30
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) offered their condolences to the family upon hearing about Acuña’s passing.
DFA’s Office of the Public and Cultural Diplomacy (OPCD) said Acuña always upheld the “highest standards of journalism through his professionalism.”
“The DFA-OPCD will miss his partnership and support throughout the years, as well as his warmth and integrity,” they added.
FOCAP, where Acuña served as a former board member and active member until his death, said he “shared the Filipino story to the world.”
“His fellow journalists fondly remember him for his generosity and for his expertise in covering the Catholic Church,” FOCAP said.
“Up until the other day, he was active in our Viber group and was still helping out a colleague with a work-related query,” it added.
Among other things, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said Acuña “devoted his life to journalism.”
“He was someone who was frank and straightforward, never one to shy away from asking questions that needed to be asked,” Andanar said.
“A reporter through and through, he continued his work of delivering news while already confined at the Quezon City General Hospital,” Andanar said.
“He was a media man until his very last breath,” he added.