Veteran broadcaster Angelo Castro Jr. passes away at 67

MANILA, Philippines—Veteran broadcast journalist Angelo Castro Jr. succumbed to lung cancer Thursday. He was 67 years old.

Reports said Castro Jr., ABS CBN News Channel’s (ANC) “The World Tonight” anchor, died at the St. Luke’s Medical Center after many years of battling lung cancer.

His death was confirmed at the official Twitter account of ANC.

He is survived by his wife, June Keithley, and son Diego, among other children.

In a statement posted at www.gov.ph, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said, “We mourn the passing of Angelo Castro Jr. For many years he was a calm and reassuring presence in the late evening news. His passing marks the closing of an era of gentlemanly broadcasting, where erudition and dignity were the hallmarks of news and current affairs.”

Castro was known for being the main anchor of “The World Tonight” when it returned on air on ABS-CBN in 1986, after the People Power Revolution.

He was behind TV Patrol, said to be the longest-running newscast in Filipino. When he became ABS-CBN’s senior vice president for news and current affairs in 2000, he continued to be an anchor of The World Tonight.

Castro was given three months to live after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008. After taking a hiatus of almost three years, he returned to ANC as an anchor in 2011.

Before he became a broadcast journalist, Castro was an actor, and even got nominated for a Famas [Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences] award as Best Supporting Actor for Kumander Alibasbas in the ’80s.

Originally posted: 4:13 pm | Thursday, April 5th, 2012