By NOEL D. FERRER
Entertainment journalist Mario Bautista passed away in his sleep on January 13, just six days shy of his 78th birthday. His children, Mario Miguel and Hannah, announced his passing on social media last Saturday.
“No more pain, Dad. I don’t want to write something like this at all, but it would be a disservice to him if I didn’t because he loved updating people. He loved words so much he made a career out of it. Daddy is the first person to send me a daily greeting at 5 a.m. I am going to miss starting my day like that,” wrote Hannah Wabe on Facebook.
“Thank you all for storming heaven with prayers for Dad’s healing, but it is not meant to be. Just when we thought all his vitals were stable, Daddy died in his sleep this morning. The Lord has other plans. Dad always taught us, God is in the driver’s seat, and we as passengers have to follow and accept because He always leads us where we are meant to be,” she said.
Mario wrote the column “Dream Factory” for Malaya Business Insight for more than two decades. He had encyclopedic knowledge of films and remembered little-known details about the movies that would oftentimes surprise the stars and the directors of such films themselves.
A seasoned entertainment journalist, “Tito” Mario had been with the entertainment industry for over four decades.
According to the Showbiz Portal that he co-founded with his daughter-in-law Shirleen, Tito Mario began his professional career at Channel 5, the carrier station of the Manila Times, in 1965. He was part of the film programming department, screening old movies, both local and foreign, before airing on shows like “Million Dollar Movies,” “Sinagtala,” and “Bahaghari.” He also contributed to the production of TV shows like “Magmahal ay Langit,” directed by Celso Ad. Castillo, and “Pamilya Kontra-Partido,” a sitcom. The station closed down in September 1972 during Martial Law, and he was already heading the film programming department at that time.
In 1976, he started writing film reviews for “TV Guide,” edited by Rod Reyes, and became a member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, which awarded the Urian Awards.
Newspapers invited him to write entertainment columns and reviews for them, including People’s Tonite, People’s Journal, Times Journal, and Daily Express. Later, he also contributed columns to Ang Masa, The Manila Chronicle, and The Manila Bulletin. He wrote regular columns for several magazines, including Jingle Extra Hot, Movie Flash, Intrigue, Expose, Fame, Hot Copy, Parade, People’s, and others.
On TV, he co-hosted with Armida Siguion Reyna and Behn Cervantes in “Let’s Talk Movies” and did film reviews on air for “The Big, Big Show.” In 1985, he became a member of the Philippine Movie Press Club that awarded the Star Awards for Movies. In 1987, he played a crucial role in establishing the Star Awards for Television.
When the Manila Times resumed publication in 1999, then-publisher Katrina Legarda invited him to be its entertainment editor.
Before his passing, Tito Mario wrote regular columns for People’s Journal and Malaya, and for the Japanese-based fortnightly, Pinoy Gazette. With the advent of the internet, Showbiz Portal.Com was born.
Until his death, he focused on just a few writing outlets. His late wife, Victoria Arcega-Bautista, who was the Vice Chancellor of the UP Open University, passed in February 2008. As a widower, he chose to spend more time with his children and five grandchildren.
He was not only a good husband, father, and lolo but also a man of wisdom for the entertainment industry. People valued his opinions on issues and creative outputs. His reviews were sought after, and his presence in press conferences and events was welcomed and highly anticipated.
Among friends, Tito Mario knew how to have fun. From playful comments on social media posts to witty remarks on anything and everything, you could count on him to elicit a reaction.
We approached Tito Mario about publishing his comprehensive year-enders and film reviews as a book. He was grateful that his writings were appreciated but content with where his articles were, especially with Showbiz Portal.
We also asked him to be the media representative in the First Summer Metro Manila Film Festival where Dolly de Leon was the Jury Chair, and he gladly obliged. He enjoyed watching the films, was very active in the deliberation and judging process, and even wrote critiques on the film entries, providing a comprehensive assessment of the festival, which, for me, was definitive Mario Bautista: smart, prolific, thorough, witty, fun, and a truly happy soul.
Mario Bautista’s remains lie in state at the Loyola Memorial Chapels on Don Mariano Marcos Avenue corner Damayan St., Commonwealth, Quezon City. Cremation will be on Friday, January 19, at 9 a.m.
