MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 7) Press Secretary Cerge Remonde died at 11:51 a.m. Tuesday, according to a doctor from Makati Medical Center where he was rushed after he was found unconscious in his Makati residence earlier in the day.
“Cerge Remonde was brought at Makati Medical Center at 11:20 a.m. He was unconscious, not breathing. He expired at 11:51 a.m., said Doctor Eric Nubla, head of patient relations, who was in the emergency room when doctors tried but failed to revive Remonde.
But Nubla, who read the medical bulletin to media, did not state the cause of death of Remonde, 51.
“This is a sad day for all of us,” said press undersecretary Butch Junia who broke the news initially through a text to media waiting outside the hospital.
Junia, who was also in the emergency room, had quoted Nubla.
Executive Secretary Edaurdo Ermita expressed grief at Remonde’s death. “We’re all in grief at the passing away of our dear friend. The staff of Malacanang is doing everything to arrange for the funeral services at Heritage Park. We’re still waiting for Mrs. Remonde who is coming from Cebu.”
Also seen at the hospital were Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo, and election lawyer Romulo Macalintal.
Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said on radio that Remonde has had a “major heart incident.”
"Nagkaroon po ng major heart incident sa kanyang pamamahay sa [There was a major heart incident in his house in] Makati so he had been brought to the hospital at the Makati Medical where they are currently trying to revive him," Olivar said earlier on Tuesday.
A former radio reporter/commentator, Remonde first joined Arroyo’s administration in 2001 as press undersecretary in charge of broadcast.
He was among the first batch of appointees under the 2004 mandate of the President, when he was named head of the Government Mass Media Group (GMMG), overseeing various government-owned media entities, including NBN 4, RPN 9 and IBC 13; Bureau of Broadcast Services or Radyo ng Bayan; Bureau of Communication Services; and the Philippine News Agency, according to the official site of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS).
He also served as director general of the Presidential Management Staff.
In February, 2009, Remonde formally assumed his present post.
Aside from his Cabinet post, Remonde was also chairman of the Advertising Board of the Philippines, the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, and the Appeals Board of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).
He also served as Commissioner of the Communications Committee for Unesco.
Before joining the administration, Remonde served as anchor of the highly-rated DYLA Interaction, a primetime news and commentary program that set the benchmark for public affairs programming.
“He holds the distinction of being the first ever to rise from the ranks of provincial reporters to become the National Chairman of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), and the first KBP chair to be elected to a sixth term,” said the site.
“It was from there that he was plucked to join the government,”it further said.
His leadership in radio, television and print, the site said, has earned him many awards and distinctions, among them as the Most Outstanding Visayanian in the field of Mass Media in 1998 and, together with former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., the Most Outstanding Cebuano in 1999.
Remonde grew up in Argao, Cebu and obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, at the University of the Visayas (UV) there.
He took up Cooperation and Development Studies at the Afro-Asia Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1986. He also attended an International Visitors Program hosted by the US State Department in Washing DC in 1992.