January

Paquito Rivas, 79, legendary cyclist who won the 1979 Marlboro World Tour and was the four-time champion of the Burgos-to-Baguio ITT races, earning him the tagline “Eagle of the Mountain,” on January 4, of subdural hematoma, in Quezon City, Philippines.

Paquito Rivas *(Source; Expressweek/Facebook)*

Samuel T. Ramel, 86, former ambassador and permanent representative to the World Trade Organization, director general of the Foreign Service Institute, on January 6, in the Philippines.

Samuel T. Ramel *(Source: Foreign Service Institute/Facebook)*

Sara Jane Paez-Santiago, 57, beauty queen who represented the Philippines in the 1989 Miss Universe Pageant, on January 13, cause of death undisclosed, in Manila, Philippines.

Sara Jane Paez-Santiago *(Source: Facebook)*

Aniceto “Chito” Sobrepena, 73, former Metrobank Foundation President, leader and supporter of young Filipino artists, on January 15, in Manila, Philippines.

Aniceto “Chito” Sobrepeña *(Source: Wikipedia)*

Aida Rivera-Ford, 100, multi-awarded fictionist, playwright and educator, on January 17, in Davao, Philippines. She co-founded the Ford Academy of the Arts and helped establish the Davao Writers Guild.

Ethel Alikpala Ward, 91, former Education Specialist from the Hawaii Department of Education and former president of the Filipino Association of University Women, due to complications from Alzheimer’s, on January 21, in Kaneohe, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Ma. Pilar Preciosa N. Soliven-Novak, 61, topnotcher in the Philippine Nursing Board Exams, worked at the defunct Zamboanga General Hospital before migrating to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in New York, on January 21, in New Jersey, U.S.A. (Submitted by Joel Jong Clemente)

Dominador Tampadong aka Raul Aragon, 78, actor portraying villain roles in movies, on January 22, in Downey, California, U.S.A.

Raul Aragon *(Source Old Pinoy Movies/facebook)*

Lorenzo “Lor” Calma, 97, the celebrated and pioneering modernist architect, interior designer and multidisciplinary artist, on January 27, in Manila, Philippines.

Lorenzo “Lor” Calma *(Source: Instagram)*

Rev. Fr. Isabelo San Luis, SVD, 82, Catholic priest, television and media evangelizer, on January 28, of cardiac arrest, in Manila, Philippines.

Rev. Fr. Isabelo San Luis *(Source: Pintakai PH/Facebook)*

February

Joseph Sytangco, veteran actor and singer-songwriter who rose to prominence during the 1970s and early 1980s starring in films directed by Lino Brocka and Behn Cervantes, on February 8, in Manila, Philippines.

Jose de Venezia, Jr., 89, former Speaker of the House of Representatives who ran for president in the 1998 elections and lost, on February 10, in Manila, Philippines.

Jose De Venezia, Jr. *(Photo by Richard Madelo/Wikipedia)*

Vangie Labalan, 83, veteran cinema and television actress who received the Best Supporting Actress award for Ang Manananggal at the QCinema International Fil Festival 2016, on February 12, in Australia.

Vangie Labanan *(Source: QCinema/Instagram)*

Lullete Jane Ramilo-De Guzman, age unknown, public school teacher and former Miss Philippines Earth 2013 runner-up, shot inside her vehicle with her three children, on February 13, in San Manuel, Isabela, Philippines.

Lulette Jane Ramillo-De Guzman *(Source: Sunstar)*

Vicente Rafael, 70, professor of history at the University of Washington, scholar and author of Contracting Colonialism: Transition and Christian Conversion in Tagalog Society under Early Spanish Rule, on February 21, in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

Ed Roces, 76, credited with reviving Associated Broadcasting Corporation’s TV-5, on February 24, in Manila, Philippines.

Armand “Bim” Bacaltos, 76, visual artist and professor at the UP College of Fine Arts, on February 26, of undisclosed cause, in the Philippines.

Armand “Bim” Bacaltos (Source: Facebook)

Pepito Rodriguez, 83, veteran actor and one of the top stars of Sampaguita Pictures, of pneumonia, on February 26, in Manila, Philippines.

Pepito Rodriguez *(Source: Manila Standard)*

Jose Maria “Joey” Hofilena, 64, dean of the Ateneo Law School, due to health complications, on February 26, in Manila, Philippines.

Jose Maria “Joey” Hofilena *(Source: Rappler/Instagram)*

Alex Baluyut, 69, award-winning veteran photojournalist and co-founder of Art Relief Mobile Kitchen providing hot meals to victims of natural disasters, on February 27, in Manila, Philippines.

Alex Bayulut *(Source: Inquirer/Facebook)*

March

Mary Anne Velasquez De Vera, age unknown, caregiver, on March 1, hit by shrapnel while assisting her patient reach a bomb shelter in Israel during retaliation strikes against attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran.

Mary Anne Velasquez De Vera *(Source: Philippine News Agency)*

Robert Marzan, 54, Chief Warrant Officer Three, one of six U.S. service members killed when Iran struck a U.S. command post in Kuwait, on March 1, in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait.

Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan *(Source: U.S. Army)*

Francisco V. Del Rosario, 99, former ambassador to London, on March 2, in Manila, Philippines.

Ambassador Francisco V. Del Rosario *(Source: Baguio Country Club/Instagram)*

Alfredo “Alran” Bengzon, 90, former Health Minister and Secretary, neurologist, public servant, academic leader and activist, on March 2, in Manila, Philippines.

Dr. Alfredo “Alran” Bengzon *(Source: InsiderPH)*

Lualhati “Lu” Roque-Baylosis, 76, activist, revolutionary, NGO leader and fearless advocate for migrant workers, political prisoners and labor, on March 12, of a lingering illness, in Manila, Philippines.

Lualhati “Lu” Roque-Baylosis *(Source: Kilusanmayouno/Instagram)*

Lito Tacujan, 79, sports editor of The STAR for 32 years, of cardiac arrest on March 18, in Canlubang, Laguna, Philippines.

Joel Pablo Salud, 63, author and former editor-in-chief of the Philippines Graphic, the longest-running magazine of national circulation since 1927, on March 19, after suffering a mild heart attack, in Manila, Philippines.

Julito “Jaz” Diamante Calo, 49, reporter for DNN News FM based in Himalayan City, shot while tending to his garden at his home in Barangay Robles, La Castellana, Negros Occidental, Philippines, on March 20. He is the ninth journalist killed since President Marcos took office in 2022 according to Human Rights Watch.

Julito “Jaz” Diamante Calo *(Source: Facebook)*

Mila Medallon Kaahanui, 82, defender of immigrants, veterans and communities facing discrimination, former Director of the Municipal and Records Center, former Executive Director of Office of Community Service in the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, cause unknown, on March 24, in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Mila Medallon Kaahanui (Source: University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Dr. Cornelio G. Banaag, Jr., 91, recognized as the Father of Philippine Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, on March 27, in Manila, Philippines.

The Magazine

2026 In Memoriam (First Quarter)

January

February

March

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