A photo for my column tribute to Mario Dumaual who was almost my batchmate in ABS-CBN. Here we were in an old 1996 photo with some of our colleagues. Mario was the one sitting beside the girl in black (Timi Nubla) and the guy with glasses (JV Villar). I’m the one wearing a tie and sitting beside Pia Hontiveros.
“I can’t even start to mourn. Ang bigat sa dibdib. Bawal ako umiyak, it will lead to my nosebleed. Pero tumutulo luha ko. Sorry guys, kuya ko yun.” This was all I could tell my Newport World Resorts Corporate Communications Team when I tearfully walked out of my room at noon today after reading the news on social media about my former ABS-CBN colleague, Mario Dumaual. Mario (Kuya Mario, as I would fondly call him), at 64, is gone. Both as a tribute and as a way to release the heavy feelings I now have in my heart, I decided to write this short article about how I have gotten to know the man who was not only one of the country’s most respected entertainment journalists but also a good friend to a lot of people, including myself. Since I am not in the best of health at this point, I’ll have to write this piece with emotional caution lest I’d also put myself at risk of a possible medical attack. I got the chance to go up close and personal with Mario in 1996, when I joined ABSCBN’s news team as a Malacanang reporter (we had a big news team then, which included Julius Babao, Erwin Tulfo, Pia Hontiveros, Carmelita Valdez, Gilbert Remulla and with the likes of Gigi Grande, Timi Nubla as cadet reporters). He was then already thriving in the entertainment beat and our paths would rarely cross since he mostly covered stories during evenings as I covered the President’s activities mostly at daytime. However, every time we would bump into each other for the daily editorial meetings, he’d always have stories for me about my favorite celebrities at that time, since I’ve always been curious (chismoso!) about the goings on in the entertainment field. When I left the media for the corporate world in 1998, he was among those who tried to tell me I should stay and see how my career would progress in the network. Seeing that I was already intent on leaving, he wished me well and we promised to just see each other outside of ABSCBN. Through the years that we’ve journeyed through different roads, we did manage to still keep in touch and have remained good friends. As I ventured into the world of Corporate Communications and PR, he would always be just a phone call away for my special requests for coverage and features. From formerly doing banking to the stuff that I now do for an integrated resort, he would always exhaust all means to get my stories on air, finding the most editorially legitimate angles for them. Outside of work, one thing he loved covering and something that I am also very much into bonded us even tighter: beauty pageants. Even in the midst of publicly restricted selection and panel deliberations for different competitions (which only allows access to the media), he always had advanced information for me so that I may know exactly how the girls I trained were faring inside the competition area. Whether behind or ahead of their competition, the candidates I fielded were also given special treatment by Mario by trying to include them in his event features. The last time I saw Mario was last March 31, during the highly-controversial Vanessa Hudgens press conference at the Manila House in BGC. He was there to cover for ABS-CBN (naturally!) and I for the government network, PTV (I made a TV comeback in 2020, side-by-side my corporate position at NWR). At the height of the controversial scene where only a few networks were allowed to do one-on-one interviews with the Hollywood Star (although ALL OF US were promised to have our chance), Mario was the last to be called for a sit down with Hudgens. As the scene was turning crazy, I used my friendship card with Mario to at least have my questions for Vanessa asked on camera. In the midst of some raised voices filling the small room we were in, I gently whispered to him (knowing that I wouldn’t have my chance): “Kuya, pakitanong questions ko please!” Mario obliged and I got my story angle in the bag. I don’t think another station’s reporter will do that for a competitor if there was no friendship involved in their relationship. When that coverage ended, we both had to head to Newport World Resorts for different reasons. Mario, to cover the press conference for Ang Huling El Bimbo, and I, to run the said event. As we were both running late, it was his turn to ask me a small favor. He said: “Joee, may power ka naman dun. Paki-delay yung start ng presscon. Huwag nyo muna simulan hanggang wala pa ako.” Of course, I assured him that we will wait for him. As promised, the presscon only started when we both arrived in the theater some 15 minutes after the media call time. The next thing I heard about him was about his hospitalization. Then, this. As I am now coming to the end of this recollection of my friendship with THE Mario Dumaual, I sense that my heart remains heavy—with grief. I lost not just a colleague, a friend, but a brother. A true Kapamilya. As you did many years ago when I left ABS-CBN, Kuya, it is now my turn to wish you well and say that we’ll be seeing each other again someday.