Inquirer regional correspondent succumbs to heart attack

TACLOBAN CITY—Victoria “Vicky” Arnaiz, a correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer based in this city succumbed to a massive heart attack on Wednesday night. She was 54.

Arnaiz was survived by her seven siblings and four children—John Paul, Vanessa, James, and Joshua.

Prior to this, Arnaiz was confined at the RTR Hospital in Tacloban City, Leyte, on Dec. 22.

She died at 5:40 p.m. on Dec.27.

Aside from being a correspondent of the Inquirer, Arnaiz was also known for her other activities here.

She was a board of director of the Philippine Red Cross-Leyte chapter and worked with the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Tacloban.

Arnaiz, a survivor of supertyphoon “Yolanda,” spoke before a world gathering on climate change in Istanbul, Turkey last May 23, 2016.

She was also the president of the Police Regional Office in Eastern Visayas (PRO-8) Press Corps and vice president of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Tacloban Chapter.

Arnaiz was the daughter of the late Agustin “Gus” Arnaiz, considered the “dean” of journalists in Eastern Visayas and founder of The Reporter, one of the first regional papers.

Her brother, Jani, now runs the online edition of The Reporter and is also a correspondent of Inquirer based in Maasin City.

Her body was brought to St. Peter’s Memorial on Real Street in Tacloban for an overnight vigil before she would be brought home to Maasin City, Southern Leyte, on Friday where she would be buried on Dec. 31. /jpv