PDI correspondent in Marinduque passes away at 38

Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau correspondent Gerald Querubin (1978-2013) FACEBOOK PHOTO

SAN PEDRO, Laguna – Gerald Querubin, Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau’s correspondent of eight years in Marinduque, died Saturday due to heart failure, his family said. He was 38.

Querubin underwent an angiogram early in June in a hospital in Manila due to a congenital heart condition, his sister Shiela said in a telephone interview.

“He went to bed early last night (Friday) because he had a fever. But he would not wake up anymore this morning,” Shiela said.

Querubin was rushed to the provincial hospital in Boac town but died on the way around at around 10 a.m., Shiela said.

Querubin, a Philosophy graduate from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, was an Inquirer correspondent since 2005 while teaching at the Marinduque State College and at the Sta. Cruz Institute in his hometown Sta. Cruz.

Known to his students as “Sir Toots,” Querubin in 2004 formed the Marinduque Youth Volunteer, a civic organization.

His sister recalled seeing sacks of noodles and canned goods in their home that Querubin had collected for donations to poor families in their community and to disaster victims.

Querubin took a leave of absence from the Inquirer to run for councilor in his hometown in the May 2013 elections but lost. His father, Yolando Querubin Sr., was a former provincial board member.

Sheila believed her brother, the second in a brood of four, never married to take care of their parents in Sta. Cruz.

“He was never a burden to his family even in his death. He died very quietly and peacefully,” Shiela said.

His remains now lie at his family home in Sta. Cruz.

Interment will be announced later as the family is still waiting for the arrival of a sister from Las Vegas, Shiela said.