Angelo Ylagan Castro Jr. (6 March 1945 – 5 April 2012) was a Filipino broadcast journalist and actor. He was a

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

for ''

The World Tonight ''The World Tonight'' is a British current affairs radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4, every weekday evening, which started out as an extension of the 10 pm news. It is produced by BBC News and features news, analysis and comment on domes ...

'', the flagship news program of

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company under ...

and

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

. He anchored several

and ANC news and current events programs for the past 25 years. Castro is a recipient of the Ka Doroy Broadcaster of the Year award from the ''

Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP; en, Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines) is a broadcast media organization in the Philippines which provides its members broadcasting standards. The KBP was organized on April 27, 19 ...

''. Castro died at age 67 after succumbing to lung cancer. Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Castro's death marks the "end of an era of gentlemanly broadcasting."

Early life and career

Castro studied at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 2008 ...

, where he joined the

Upsilon Sigma Phi The Upsilon Sigma Phi () is the oldest Greek-letter organization and fraternity in Asia. Founded in 1918, it is also the oldest student organization in continuous existence in the University of the Philippines. It has two chapters — a single ch ...

Acting career

Before becoming a journalist, Castro had a flourishing television and film career. He was cast as Bong in ''Baltic and Co.'', broadcast over the GMA-7 network during the mid-1970s. Castro was nominated in the 1982 FAMAS Awards as Best Supporting Actor for ''Kumander Alibasbas''.

Broadcasting

Castro joined ABS-CBN when it reopened in 1986 after the

EDSA Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

and became its news manager. He created ''

TV Patrol ''TV Patrol'' is a Philippine television newscast produced by ABS-CBN News. It premiered on March 2, 1987, at the former ABS-CBN television network, replacing ''Balita Ngayon''. ''TV Patrol'' is the flagship national newscast of the network a ...

'', the longest-running Filipino newscast. Castro anchored ''The World Tonight'' in 1986 with

Loren Legarda Lorna Regina "Loren" Bautista Legarda (born January 28, 1960) is a Filipina politician, environmentalist, cultural worker, and former journalist who is currently serving as a Senator and the president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippin ...

. In 2000, Castro became ABS-CBN's senior vice-president for news and current affairs. He left that post a year later but continued to anchor ''The World Tonight''. He also hosted the travel show ''Las Islas Filipinas'' on ANC. Castro retired in September 2009, but returned as news anchor on ''The World Tonight'' in November 2011. He was joined by

Tina Monzon-Palma María Cristina Mapa Monzón-Palma (born María Cristina Mapa Monzón on March 29, 1951 in Manila), popularly known as Tina Monzón-Palma (), is a Filipina broadcast journalist and anchorwoman. She is best known as a late night news presenter ...

and Teddyboy Locsin. He finally left the show for the last time when his health continued to deteriorate.

Personal life

He was the son of Angelo Castro Sr, a broadcaster, former Philippine Information attaché to San Francisco, and former Press Undersecretary. He was married to fellow actress-broadcaster June Keithley (1947–2013), and is the father of actor-broadcaster Diego Castro III, Gabriella, and Angelica. Castro is also the uncle of musicians Kenneth Ilagan and Mondo Castro.

Health and death

In 2008, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and given three months to live. Castro outlived this prognosis by three years, dying on 5 April 2012, a month after his 67th birthday, at

St. Luke's Medical Center St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC) is a private non-profit health care institution based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines which operates two hospitals of the same name in Quezon City and Taguig. Founded by the American missionary Ch ...

, Quezon City. ;Aftermath Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said after it was announced that Castro had died:

Awards and nominations

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

Nominee, FAMAS Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Kumander Alibasbas'' (1981)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Angelo Jr. 1945 births 2012 deaths People from Manila Filipino male film actors Deaths from lung cancer in the Philippines ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs people Filipino television news anchors Filipino male television actors