Renato M. Alviar, Tutubi News Magazine columnist and former senior editor of Philippine News Agency, has died at the age of 74 after a prolonged illness.
Rene was a gifted writer, a brilliant and imaginative editor and a mentor to younger journalists. His final piece for Tutubi News published two weeks ago, was about regional economic development differences of Regions 4A and 4B.
Venus P. Funtanilla, the publisher of Tutubi News, said: “Rene was one of the finest journalists of his generation. He was an incredible reporter, full of curiosity and observational skill, and he was also a wonderful writer. Our readers loved him; there was no one like him.”
The president of Camp Vicente Lim Press Corps Roy Tomandao said Rene was a wonderful editor, adding: “I owe him so much.” Rene hired Tomandao to join the Manila Standard in 2015 – one of the many emerging talents he spotted as a news correspondent.
As his editor-in-chief for Tutubi News, I was so deeply saddened and shocked by the death of Rene, among the most admired journalists of my generation. It was a privilege to work with and for him, and to be able to call myself his friend.
Born in Makati City, Rene was a devoted father and husband, who worked hard to take care of his family. He was a renowned journalist with a storied career in journalism that began in 1976 as a reporter for the Philippine News Agency (PNA) where he quickly achieved senior reporter status through 1981. He took his talents to many different news outlets in different capacities that included Manila Evening Post, Bulletin Today, Malaya, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, and Manila Standard Today. He went back to PNA where he began his career to work as a Senior Editor for another 10 years, from 2008 to 2018. He unretired in 2021 to grace the pages of Tutubi News Magazine with his own brand of writing.
Rene is survived by children Rene Descartes, Kim Jasper, DC, Renesett and Xerxes.
He was preceded in death by wife,Teresa and his parents, Rosauro and Julieta Alviar.
Rene lies in state at their ancestral home in Brgy. Cuyab, San Pedro City in Laguna across from the Cuyab Catholic Church.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
