Esteemed entertainment writer, editor and film critic Mario Bautista died Saturday morning at the age of 77, according to his family.
Hani Bee, Bautista’s daughter, posted the news on Facebook, writing, “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 am. I am going to miss starting my day like that,” she added.
Bautista met an accident last December and was in the ICU until his passing.
“Just when we thought all his vitals are 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,” said Hani.
Bautista carved a stalwart presence in local showbiz as a film critic (he was once a member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, the film critics’ group) and as an entertainment journalist, writing a prolific output of reports, commentary and film reviews in print, and later on online, for some four decades.
He began his career as a film critic in 1976, when he wrote film reviews for TV Guide. Later on, his popular byline would grace entertainment stories in other news publications such as People’s Tonite, People’s Journal, Times Journal and The Daily Express, as well as many showbiz magazines and even tabloids.
He forayed into TV, too, once joining producer Armida Siguion Reyna and director Behn Cervantes in co-hosting the show Let’s Talk Movies, where he brought his insightful assessments of films to a broader audience.
In 1985, he joined the Philippine Movie Press Club, actively contributing to the Star Awards for Movies. And “In 1987, I was instrumental in putting up the Star Awards for Television,” he proudly wrote in his blog Showbiz Portal.
When he put up the blog in 2010, Bautista wrote: “I decided to focus on just a few outlets now that I’m a widower. My late wife, Victoria Arcega-Bautista, who was the Vice Chancellor of the UP Open University, passed in February 2008. I now prefer spending more time with my three grandchildren.”
In the family’s announcement of Bautista’s passing, Hani said: “I believe Dad got his wish because he has always said he wanted to go peacefully in his sleep. And now he also gets his other fervent wish, and that is to be with my mother.”