Alfredo Espinoza: Veteran journalist, incomparable father, passes on at 90

Veteran journalist, Alfredo Espinoza, has passed on. He was 90.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The late Alfredo Espinoza was a veteran journalist and a strong pillar in Cebu’s print media industry and to his family.

Marcelina Espinoza-Guerra, the fifth of Espinoza’s 11 children, said she would always remember her father as the man who  had excelled in so many things, but he had never forgotten to take care of his family.

“He was very good at many things. That is why idol ko siya. He was the business editor of Sunstar. He was helping Benson Dakay, one of his greatest friends, and he had a lot of project studies. He did all those to sustain the family,” Guerra recalled in an interview with CDN Digital at the wake of her father at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in Nivel Hills, Cebu City.

Guerra said that her father died due to pulmonary complications and passed on on Sunday, April 28, at 12:06 a.m.

He was 90 years old.

“Having lived for almost 91 years is good enough. He was already ready to reunite with his wife, my mother,” said Guerra.

Prior to Espinoza’s stint as business editor in Sun,Star Daily, the veteran journalist used to be connected with  J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency and eventually managed two radio stations in Tacloban City.

“The values that daddy instilled in us is incomparable. The love and care that he has bestowed upon us, his children, it will always remain in our hearts. We have reached this stage in our life successfully, and we attribute it to our dad’s good guidance,” Guerra said while holding back tears as she talked about her late father.

Guerra said that when her mother, Carmen, died in 1981 due to complications in the heart, her father never considered remarrying and instead spent his time nurturing the family.

“He took care of us. He would be reading Time Magazine while watching his grandchildren play basketball. We are always together. Even when we already have our own families, we make it a point that we always get together every Sunday,” said Guerra, a college professor who is now based in Angeles City, Pampanga.

“His legacy would be the value and service for the community. That is what my daddy is very good at. Everyone, whoever needs his help, he is ready to give his services, she said.

Espinoza will be laid to rest at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 5 at the Queen City Memorial Garden./dbs