This has got to be the very first time that I am writing my weekly column with a heavy heart. While this is not going to be my first obituary piece, this one actually strikes closest to home. The subject is somebody I consider as a really close family member, a mom or a tita, having been one of my true mentors in the broadcast industry. Her passing is something that is being mourned for not just by her family and friends but by an entire industry of broadcast journalists, which, because of her, includes even me.
Bai Arlene Fatimah Gardner Sinsuat-De Castro, more commonly known as Tita Arlene to her colleagues and numerous mentees, passed away from cardiac arrest early Saturday morning. She was 66.
Her contributions to the lives of many include the production of innumerable news and public affairs programs on television, including the widely-followed, multi-awarded and very memorable “Magandang Gabi…Bayan,” which aired on ABS-CBN for many years. Her countless achievements in producing top-rating “info-tainment” programs including Junior TV Patrol, Dong Puno Live and even Ces Drilon’s Pipol, led to her appointment as ABS-CBN’s Vice President for Current Affairs, a position she held until her retirement in 2004.
Learning about the former executive’s demise, Drilon said: “I mourn the passing of Tita Arlene. As Head of Current Affairs, she was my boss when I did shows like Usapang Business, Pipol and The Correspondents. She will sorely be missed.”
She also became President of her very own Bayan Productions, which continued to air highly-informative and entertaining offerings such as “Kabuhayang Swak na Swak” and the erstwhile late-night favorite “Trip na Trip.” Overall, her career in broadcasting spanned four decades, spent across different television networks.
Myrna dela Torre, one of her most trusted media colleagues and producers, had this to say about her long-time friend and boss: “Maalaga sya sa mga staff niya. Motherly. She sees to it na kumpleto ang needs ng mga reporters and producers. She makes sure nap ag may coverage, safe ang reporters.”
Apart from her achievements on television, she was also known as the modest, simple but supportive better half of broadcaster and former Vice President of the Philippines, Noli de Castro, as she was mostly seen quietly on the side of her husband in public events during his term.
Tita Arlene is survived by her loving husband, Kabayang Noli de Castro, their two daughters: Katherine Chloe and Manueli; and son: Shamier, along with their partners and children.
Her legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of everyone she interacted with especially those whose lives she touched in a very personal way. Her daughter, People’s Television (PTV) General Manager Kat de Castro expressed gratitude to the outpouring of love and condolences that people. from all walks of life, have been extending to their family since her mother’s passing: “We are grateful for the many comforting messages that our family has been receiving from people whose lives was able to touch. In the many years she spent in TV production, she’s been a mom, a sister, a tita to many because, even in the workplace, she truly cared for them and would always prioritize their welfare and well-being. I love my mommy so much and we will miss her everyday.”
In a facebook post I published more than two years ago, I credited Tita Arlene for being the first person to have given me my big break in television. That post was made after a chance encounter in Resorts World Manila where she was then shooting an episode of one of her programs. It was then that she told me just how proud she was of how far I’ve come as a communicator. We took photos and then had a lot of laughs recalling our past experiences in Magandang Gabi Bayan. Little did I know, that meeting was going to be our last, in this lifetime. Allow me to re-post what I wrote on social media about her, just to pay tribute to one of those who first believed in me. Tita Arlene, Salamat po!
PASASALAMAT: THE PERSON WHO GAVE ME MY FIRST TV BREAK. When he first met me for a job interview, Kabayang Noli de Castro didn’t approve of my hiring as he found me to be “inglesero.” It was his wife, who was then the Executive Producer of “Magandang Gabi Bayan (MGB),” who insisted that I be taken in as she saw potential in me to be a communicator. It must have been hard to see that at that time since I was in fact a business school graduate from UP—but she did see some promise. Initially hired as a Researcher/Writer, her guidance made it easy for me to grow in an industry that is known to be harsh to newbies. My job in MGB led to numerous other positions in broadcasting and media, in general, until I landed newscasting positions in various TV networks. Those positions eventually became my tickets to the corporate world and then led me to my present post as a corporate communications executive. Indeed, she’s right. I am cut out to be a communicator! Then again, who am I to doubt her eye for talent? She is, after all, the same person who has shaped the career of one of this country’s Vice Presidents; hers are the hands that rocked the cradle of one of the present government’s most trusted leaders; hers was the vision that built the current affairs team of the country’s biggest network. Thank you, Tita Arlene S. de Castro. It was nice seeing you again today. Thank you for believing that I could go far. Thank you for getting me started in my career journey. I truly owe a lot to you. (Posted November 19, 2018)