RIP, Alexis Tioseco

There are just too many good people passing away this year.

This morning, I woke up with my usual routing. Turning on my laptop. Checking facebook and twitter. I found it strange seeing Gang's status with just Alexis Tioseco's name. It was too cryptic, so I looked at the tweets from different online newspapers to see if there was any report about him.

And there it was. He was shot dead in his own home by robbers.

I do not him personally, though I wish I did. But he was part of my mornings in Davao when 'Breakfast' still aired on Studio 23. He would be a weekly (or was it bi-weekly) guest on the show, and he would talk about films. It was interesting how this Ingliserong Amboy from Canada (Amboy, pero Canada? ano yun?! haha! but you know what I mean) had so much passion for the local film industry. Most of the time, he discussed about independent films or old classics that should be revived.

He was clearly an advocate for the film industry as an art. I could sense his frustration when he would talk about lost films of the old greats. It was also interesting how he tackled the issue on National Artists. More than lobbying for Caparas not to receive the award, he was clamoring for the NCCA to actually set aside a budget to educate the people about the arts. So no one can claim that it is for the elite. I did not think of it that way. Such a philosophical, deep thinker.

I came across an article he wrote for Rogue Magazine. It showed how much he loved his girlfriend (who along with him was also murdered) and how much he loved the local film industry. It's a beautiful piece.

And he also wrote a piece about his wishful thinking for Philippine Cinema. This guy is did not just love the film industry, he was in-love with it.

It's sad that such a passionate advocate is gone. And gone the way he did. It is so wrong on so many levels.

I don't know if I have the right to feel this way not having known him. It was also just recently that I got re-acquainted with his work because of the National Artists brouhaha. But I feel I lost my voice with his passing.

Thank you, Alexis Tioseco. I pray that justice will be served.