Pegeen Sararaña, 24

CEBU-BASED digital journalist Pegeen Sararaña passed away on March 13 after suffering head injuries in a road accident on March 12. She was 24.

Sararaña was on board a friend’s motorcycle when an Elf truck hit their vehicle in Barangay Tampi, San Jose, Negros Oriental. The couple was immediately rushed to the Negros Polymedic Hospital in the Municipality of Sibulan.

Sararaña was working as multimedia reporter for Cebu Daily News Digital (CDN) at the time of her death. She was in Negros Oriental covering the Pamplona massacre, which took the lives of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and eight others. She was on her way back to Cebu after the week-long coverage of the massacre when the accident happened. 

In CDN Digital’s tribute last March 19, colleagues paid homage to her memory. 

Decemay Padilla of Super Radyo DySS described Sararaña as a co-worker: “Sweet, understanding ug buotan gyud kaayo si Pegeen…dako og na help si Pegeen in making my life easier.” (She’s sweet, understanding, and kind…Pegeen helped a lot in making my life easier.)

Iris Hazel Mascardo, a close friend and former workmate of Pegeen, recalled Sararaña’s thoughtfulness. On Mascardo’s 22^nd birthday, “she brought a cake with her na iya pa gipa-bake sa iyang ate. Naa sya’y dala’ng balloons na 22. And suddenly, living isn’t so lonely anymore…her thoughtfulness is her I.D.” (She brought a cake with her that she had her elder sister bake. She brought the balloons formed number 22. And suddenly, living wasn’t so lonely anymore…her thoughtfulness was her I.D.)

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) – Cebu chapter released a statement last March 14 saying Sararaña was known and loved for her generosity, kindness, and her dedication to her craft. The NUJP said her untimely death as a great loss to the industry. 

Pegeen will be laid to rest on Saturday, March 25 in her hometown in Carcar City, Cebu. Her death is a collective loss for the press community all over the country. CMFR joins others in extending sympathy and prayers to her family, her co-workers, and friends in Cebu media.