InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
Broadcast journalist Angelo Castro Jr. has lost a long battle with lung cancer, his home network, ABS-CBN, announced on Maundy Thursday, April 5. A pillar in the revival of ABS-CBN after the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986, Castro anchored the network's main news programs and was a key part of the network's revival after it had been shuttered by the Marcos regime, and the regaining of its dominance of Philippine airwaves.
"ABS-CBN News anchor Angelo Castro Jr. passed away today at 67. My colleagues & I mourn his passing,” Castro's fellow newscaster Tony Velasquez earlier announced on Twitter. Minutes after Velasquez’s announcement, Castro's death was confirmed by the Twitter account of ABS-CBN.
Angelo Castro Jr. was an anchor of The World Tonight, an evening news show that was shuttered after ABS-CBN was closed down when martial law was declared in September 1972.
The show was resurrected in September 1986 with Castro as anchor, together with now senator Loren Legarda. Although Castro retired in September 2009, he returned as news anchor in November last year. He was joined by fellow broadcast journalist Tina Monzon-Palma and InterAksyon columnist Teddyboy Locsin.
TV5's head of news and information, Luchi Cruz Valdez, on Thursday called Castro's death a "great loss to Philippine broadcast journalism." TV5, she said, "condoles with Angelo Castro's family, and with our colleagues at ABS-CBN."
Diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008, ACJ was given 3 months to live. After taking a hiatus for over two years, he returned to ANC in 2011
ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), tweeting as @ANCALERTS, reminded followers and fans of Castro's pivotal role in the resurgence of ABS-CBN. "ACJ became News Manager when ABS-CBN reopened in 1986. He created TV Patrol making it the country's longest-running newscast in Filipino," ANC noted. Castro became the network's senior vice president for News & Current Affairs in 2000. "He eventually left the post but continued anchoring The World Tonight," another ANC tweet said.
Less known to most, ANCALERTS said, "Angelo Castro Jr. was nominated as FAMAS Best supporting actor for Kumander Alibasbas in the 80's...Before becoming a journalist, (he) had a flourishing TV & film career. He played the role of "Bong" in Baltic & Co. in the 70s."
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