MANILA, Philippines—Jaime “Jimmy” B. Perez, former police and sports reporter for Ang Pahayagang Malaya and the broadsheet daily Today, died early Wednesday at Novaliches District Hospital where he had been confined for a lingering illness. He was 55.
He is survived by his wife, Melissa; children Camille Bobbie Kae, April Joy, Jaimee Lissa and Jaime Jr.; grandson Yohann James; brothers Rafael and Eduardo; and sisters Preciosa, Mariam and Rosario.
His cremated remains lie at Funeraria Paz on Araneta Avenue in Quezon City. The wake will be held until Friday night, when necrological services are also scheduled after the 7 p.m. Mass.
Perez’s links with the campus press as a staffer of the University of the East Dawn paved the way for his joining the mainstream media. In February 1984, at the height of protests against the Marcos regime, Perez resigned from the Times Journal as a sportswriter and joined the Philippine News Agency. He later joined Joe Burgos Jr.’s Malaya.
Perez resigned from Malaya in 1994 and later joined Today. Outside of journalism, he also worked with the government as information officer for an antismuggling unit.