Filemon R. Balbastro Jr. (November 13, 1940 – February 2, 2008), better known as Billy Balbastro, was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

lawyer and entertainment columnist.

Early life

Balbastro was born in

Oton, Iloilo Oton, officially the Municipality of Oton (; krj, Banwa kang Oton, hil, Banwa sang Oton, tgl, Bayan ng Oton), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 98,509 p ...

. By the age of fifteen, Balbastro was covering the entertainment beat for the Philippine Free Press and the Kislap-Graphic. He graduated from the

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school i ...

in 1962, and worked for ten years in the Commission of Elections (COMELEC) with stints in Vigan and Romblon. His columns appeared in the ''Abante'' and ''Abante Tonight'' tabloids. From 1982 to 1985, Balbastro was the president of the Philippine Movie Press Club. Balbastro hosted a showbusiness-themed radio program, ''Showtime with Billy'', which aired over

DZMM DZMM (630 AM) Radyo Patrol was a commercial news/talk radio station broadcasting from Quezon City, Philippines, serving the Mega Manila market. It was the flagship station of the Radyo Patrol Network owned by ABS-CBN. The station's studio was l ...

. He also was a member of the Committee for Cinema of the

National Commission for Culture and the Arts The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyon para sa Kultura at mga Sining, ceb, Nasodnong Komisyon alang sa Budaya ug mga Arte) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. ...

Filmography

Radio

*Showtime With Billy (2000–2008;

)

TV Show

*Movie Magazine (1985–1992);

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network ( ...

) *Two for the Road (1979–1980;

) *Troika Tonite (1993–1995; ABC 5)

Movies

*Sinong Pipigil sa Pagpatak ng Ulan? (1979; publicity and promotions) *High School Circa '65 (1979; publicity staff) *Kaaway ng Batas (1990; public relations officer) *Lt. Madarang: Iginuhit sa Dugo (1993; publicity and promotions) *Lab Kita ... Bilib Ka Ba? (1994; publicity and promotions) *Costales (1995; publicist) *Tapatan ng Tapang (1997; publicity and promotions) *Tampisaw (2002; promotion and publicity) *Takaw-tingin (2004; promotion and publicity) *Anak ni Brocka (2005) *Kaleldo (2006; publicity and promotions) *Twilight Dancers - Mr. Big Judge (2006) *Troika (2007; publicist)

Death

Billy Balbastro died from lung cancer on February 2, 2008, in

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 689,992 people. It is ...

Notes

20th-century Filipino lawyers Filipino radio journalists Filipino LGBT writers Filipino LGBT lawyers People from Iloilo University of the Philippines alumni 1940 births 2008 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in the Philippines Visayan people 20th-century Filipino LGBT people 21st-century Filipino LGBT people {{Philippines-writer-stub