Veteran writer Ma. Enrique “Ike” Suarez, who was part of the pioneering set of reporters who covered the emerging field of IT journalism in the early ‘90s, has died at the age of 67.
His death, which was due to complications from diabetes, was announced on Facebook by his sister, lawyer Ma. Victoria Suarez. His remains were cremated on Tuesday, April 23, but a memorial service will be held on April 27 from 3pm to 9pm at the Loyola Memorial chapels along Highway 2000 in Taytay, Rizal.
Suarez was hospitalized twice late last year – at the Cainta Municipal Hospital and at the Capitol Medical Center – after getting a large wound on his right foot. He made a slight recovery and went home, but his condition worsened soon after. He died just two weeks after his older brother, Pedro Suarez, passed away for still unknown reasons.
Known in the local tech circles as a hard-driving and tenacious reporter who asked the tough questions during press events, Suarez stayed true to his chosen vocation till the end. His last engagement as a tech reporter was with Newsbytes.PH, but he had his final writing gig as one of the writers of the books on the Battle of Marawi for the Philippine Army.
Prior to becoming a tech journalist, Suarez was a member of the “mosquito press” that fought the Marcos dictatorship in the mid-’80s – a fact that he was particularly proud of. He then started his career in tech journalism by joining the Roces family-owned Metropolitan Computer Times, the country’s first IT publication.
He eventually transferred to another computer trade publication, Philippine IT Update, where he served as its associate editor. He also wrote for the IT section of The Manila Times and contributed to a number of print and online publications.
Born on November 8, 1951, Suarez had two brothers and a sister. Both of his parents were lawyers. He went to Ateneo de Manila University for his basic education, graduating from high school in 1970.
For college, he enrolled at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman where he became an active member of the Scintilla Juris fraternity. He was a proud alumnus of UP but was also a military buff.
Friends and colleagues in the media and PR industries paid tribute upon learning of his death:
