ABS-CBN’s veteran entertainment journalist Mario Dumaual has passed away.
ABS-CBN has confirmed the heartbreaking news in a social media post Wednesday afternoon. He would have turned 65 on July 31.
“Pumanaw na ang batikang entertainment reporter ng ABS-CBN News na si Mario Dumaual, ayon sa kaniyang pamilya.
“Paalam at maraming salamat, Kapamilya.”
The news came a month after the TV journalist suffered a heart attack on June 5.
In official statement, the bereaved family said Mario died at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, July 5, due to septic shock.
“He had been battling a severe fungal infection, a complication during his recovery from a heart attack. He was confined for a month at the Philippine Heart Center,” read their statement.
“Papa was strong, he kept fighting on, overcoming the heart attack then a cardiac arrest. He would always say he wanted to go home because he missed us, his family. But the infection overwhelmed his body’s ability to recover.”
They continued, “Papa was our rock, we depended much on him. But he also nurtured us to become strong and able and to be the best version of ourselves.
“Beyond us his family, we’d like to think he also left a legacy in entertainment journalism. He made us proud as Mario Dumaual, the reporter, but ultimately more so as a devoted husband, father, granddad.”
Mario is survived by his wife Cherie and children Luigi, Miguel, Maxine, William, and Thessa and his grandchildren Sky, Alonzoe, and Tali.
According to a social media post last month by Mario’s son, ABS-CBN News Digital editor Miguel Dumaual, the late broadcaster was brought to the intensive care unit after suffering a heart attack.
“Papa’s never once been confined in my 32 years, so this experience has been overwhelming. But us family have kept each other anchored (love you Ma Cherie); our relatives too have been a solid source of strength (thank you Carl for helping align so to save Papa’s life),” Miguel said in a Facebook post showing their family’s conversation during the patriarch’s isolation in the hospital.
Miguel also expressed gratitude for the “constant stream of messages and well wishes” for his father, while he sought prayers for his full recovery.
In a health update on June 18, coinciding with Father’s Day, Miguel related his father was resuscitated following a cardiac arrest a week after his heart attack.
At the time, Miguel said his father was no longer intubated and no longer in critical condition but “his heart needs to be strong again”.
“On behalf of our family, I’d like to say our deepest thanks to Papa’s colleagues, school mates, and long-time friends who have reached out with messages of love and well wishes and compassion. Grateful isn’t a sufficient word to express our appreciation to you, for being present for our family and for Papa during this trying time. You have given us comfort, ” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Mario’s colleagues in the industry, including Ganiel Krishnan, Jing Castaneda, Marc Logan, and MJ Marfori, were among those who reposted a social media post that called for donations for vital treatments needed by the late journalist
According to a Pep report, Mario started out as a writer at the Journal Group of Companies in 1982 before launching his career at ABS-CBN’s News Department in 1987.
Mario received the Joe Quirino Award at the 5th EDDYS Awards in November 2022 in recognition of his contributions in the film and television industry.
