Carmelo “Melo” Acuña was a veteran journalist and one of PressOne.ph’s pioneer correspondents. (from Acuña’s Facebook account)
Veteran journalist and PressOne.PH senior correspondent Carmelo “Melo” Acuña passed away on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, due to Covid-19. He was 64.
He succumbed to the dreaded disease at 2:30 a.m. on Friday at Quezon City General Hospital. His wife of 37 years, Ma. Jhona, who was also confined due to Covid-19, made the announcement on her husband’s Facebook page.
Acuña was born on Feb. 8, 1957 in Alabat, Quezon.
He finished psychology and mass communication at Ateneo de Manila University and the Luzonian University Foundation.
A campus journalist in high school and college, Acuña landed his first job at DWCW – GTV Lucena as a reporter.
Acuña later passed his KBP accreditation exams and transferred to DWGW-IBC in Legazpi City. He became a stringer for Reuters and a correspondent for Manila Bulletin from 1980 to 1994.
He moved to Manila in 1994 to join DZRV-Radyo Veritas as a correspondent covering various beats. He became the anchor of the Catholic radio station’s “Mano-Mano sa Veritas,” “Veritas Metro,” “Saklolo Abogado” and “Pulis ng Pilipino.”
In 2004, he was promoted to station manager and served post until 2008.
After his Radyo Veritas stint, Acuña joined the CBCP Media Office in 2008 as a correspondent.
He became the director of the Media Office’s CBCP Online Radio and hosted the weekly media forums “Tapatan sa Aristocrat” and “Wednesday Roundtable at Lido.”
Acuña was the Philippine correspondent for China Radio International from 2010 to 2018.
He then started writing for Asia Pacific Daily in 2018, covering the defense, foreign affairs, business and trade, health, and energy beats.
In 2019, Acuña joined PressOne.PH as senior correspondent.
Acuña is survived by his wife and his son, JP. – Rommel F. Lopez