Joel Pablo Salud, 62

JOURNALIST AND author Joel Pablo Salud passed away on March 19, 2026 after suffering a heart attack. He was 62.

Salud studied psychology at the University of Santo Tomas and began his journalistic career at the Manila Standard and The Manila Times. He published political and investigative pieces, including literary reviews, in numerous magazines and broadsheets. CMFR recognized his series on children in conflict with the law published in BusinessMirror in 2016, choosing Salud as a member of the panel for the Jaime V. Ongpin Journalism Seminar that same year. 

Salud was editor-in-chief of Philippines Graphic, the country’s longest-running newsweekly and literary magazine, for 11 years. He left the position and the publication in 2020. He was a senior desk editor at Rappler from 2021 to 2022. Salud also wrote columns for LiCAS News Philippines, Philippine-Canadian News and Philstar Life.

Salud authored many books, including his collections of fiction and political essays. His last book, “View from the Foxhole: Shaping the Political into the Personal”, won the Hilarion and Esther Vibal Prize for Best Book in Journalism in the National Book Awards in 2024. 

Salud was also a member of the Manila Critics Circle. He served as juror for several literary awards including the National Book Awards, the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, and the Nick Joaquin Awards for Short Fiction. He was a former board member of PEN Philippines — the local chapter of the association of writers PEN International — and was chair of its Writers in Prison Committee. Salud was also a member of the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas. 

Joel lectured about journalism and ethics across colleges and universities in the Philippines, as well as in regional student press conferences.

Journalist and colleague Inday Espina Varona recalls first meeting Salud when he was applying for a job at Philippines Graphic, describing him as a “voracious reader” and “a prolific writer, at one point churning out essays several times a week — passionate discussions on political events, often peppered with allusions to the works of great authors.” Alma Anonas-Carpio, Salud’s co-editor at the Graphic, describes him as “one of the rare breed of journalists who kept plugging away at social issues even after he was no longer working for a publication, finding alternative means to traditional publication to get his messages out.” In the weeks before his death, Salud had been writing online about pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening medical emergency triggered by type 1 diabetes. His eleven-year-old daughter was only diagnosed after being rushed to the emergency department, and survived the hospital ordeal.

Anonas-Carpio notes, “He was drumming up support for this T1 awareness campaign he’d embarked on when he had to be rushed to the hospital because of his heart attack. His physical heart may have succumbed, but his heart for service through writing never died.”

Salud is survived by his wife, journalist and author Che Sarigumba, and their daughter Likha. He was laid to rest at the Holy Trinity Memorial Chapels on March 25, 2026.