ORMOC CITY, Leyte, Philippines — Januario “Jani” Arnaiz, a former Inquirer correspondent in Maasin City in Southern Leyte, succumbed to lung cancer on Aug. 26. He was 66.
Arnaiz wrote for Inquirer from 1996 to 2016. His sister, Vicky, was also an Inquirer correspondent until her death in 2017.
Both Jani and Vicky were children of Agustin “Gus” Arnaiz Sr., a veteran journalist who was regarded as mentor to many journalists who are now part of the Eastern Visayas press corps.
Jani Arnaiz was diagnosed with lung cancer last February and underwent chemotherapy in a private hospital, but his condition only worsened until he was bedridden.
Jani won a Catholic Mass Media Award for his 2006 story on the landslide that buried Barangay Guinsaugon in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte that killed 1,126.
He was also a former correspondent of the now-defunct Cebu Daily News and a stringer of GMA Network.
Arnaiz was the founder and president of Associated Media of Southern Leyte which held a weekly press conference with different guests.
Jani’s wife Helen and children Nikki and Janus are holding a wake for Jani at their ancestral home in Barangay Mantahan in Maasin City.
—ROBERT DEJON AND JOEY GABIETA
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