Rustie Otico, 79
Photo illustration screengrabbed from Inquirer.net
JOURNALIST RUSTICO “Rustie” Otico died of a lingering illness on Wednesday, February 7 at his sister’s house in Belison, Antique. He was 79.
Regarded as a “stalwart of journalism,” Otico worked in multiple national publications throughout his decades-long career. He was desk editor at the Philippine Daily Inquirer from March 1992 to March 1999, associate editor at the Manila Standard, and copy editor and editorial consultant at the now defunct Newsbreak.
He also worked at the Manila Chronicle until its closure by the Marcos dictatorship. Before his national stint, Otico co-founded The Trail, a regional paper in Western Visayas.
In 1998, the Philippine Press Institute and the Philippine Press Council gave Otico the “Editors’ Choice Award for Journalism Excellence.”
Former Inquirer news editor Jun Engracia described Otico as “a meticulous editor, well-respected by both reporters, whose copy he painstakingly hammered to perfection, and his fellow editors, for whom he set a lofty standard for editorial craftmanship and integrity in the profession.” (“Desk editor’s editor saunters off into the night”)
Thanks a lot for this memorable accolades rendered to our beloved uncle Rusty Otico. May he find rest in the eternal abode of our Heavenly Father…