Max Limpag — a pioneering Cebu-based technology journalist, digital media entrepreneur, and startup founder — passed away on Nov. 18 due to a heart attack. He was 49.
Known for his rare blend of journalistic depth, technical skill, and entrepreneurial grit, Limpag helped shape Cebu’s digital media landscape long before “new media” became industry vocabulary.
For nearly three decades, he reported, edited, built apps, founded niche platforms, mentored younger journalists, and chronicled the intersections of technology, culture, and community life in the Visayas.
Limpag’s body of work spanned business, technology, religion, culture, heritage, and investigative reporting.
One of his last major pieces was a special investigative report for Rappler on a Cebu-based scam that targeted self-published authors in the United States — a deeply researched story that showcased his skill in unpacking a complex digital fraud scheme.
He also wrote extensively about church heritage and religious communities. His most-read cultural story for Rappler — on the recovery of missing Boljoon church panels and their reappearance at a National Museum exhibit — reflected the same care and historical sensitivity that defined his broader approach to local heritage reporting.
A long-time newsroom leader, Limpag served as reporter and editor for various local and national publications.
For 16 years, he was Sun.Star Cebu’s business editor, online editor, and technology columnist — roles through which he helped guide the region’s journalism through the early waves of digital transformation.
Beyond the newsroom, Limpag stood at the forefront of digital experimentation.
He co-founded InnoPub Media, the startup behind the Digital Tourism project with Smart Communications — a groundbreaking partnership that used QR codes, mobile guides, and interactive e-publications to make local tourism and heritage sites accessible through smartphones.
He was also co-founder of MyCebu.ph, a hyperlocal digital platform, and the creator of the running website CebuRunning, which won Best Sports Blog in the 2011 Philippine Blog Awards. Earlier, in 2007, his personal blog won the inaugural PBA Best Technology Blog award.
Limpag was not just a writer reporting on technology; he was a developer who built apps and websites himself — rare at a time when the lines between journalism and tech were still rigid.
Born in Polomolok, South Cotabato, Limpag studied political science at the University of the Philippines Diliman and later pursued journalism training at the Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism at Ateneo de Manila University.
He began his career at The Freeman as a City Hall reporter before moving on to Today, The Independent Post, and eventually Sun.Star Cebu, where he became one of the region’s most respected editors.
At the time of his passing, he was an Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow 2024 at Rappler, continuing to immerse himself in longform and investigative work.
Colleagues remember Limpag as soft-spoken but incisive, a patient mentor, and someone who always looked for ways to modernize storytelling — whether through data journalism, mobile content, or developing digital tools that made information easier to access.
He championed Cebu’s creative and tech communities, frequently collaborating with developers, historians, local governments, and civic groups. His work on digital tourism now lives on in QR-tagged heritage sites across Cebu, a legacy of accessible information that future generations will continue to benefit from.
Limpag leaves behind a rich and varied body of work — stories that protected readers from scams, preserved heritage, explained technology, and contextualized Cebu’s growth. He also leaves behind projects, platforms, and digital tools that remain in active use today.
