Maslog writes 30

PROCULO Maslog, one of the pillars of community journalism in this city died of Parkinson’s disease yesterday, a day after he celebrated his 76th birthday.

His daughter, Sydney-based book author, Kristyn Maslog-Levis, said her father died Monday afternoon while sleeping in their house in Barangay Patag, here.

“He just left us silently. We were thankful because the last few weeks were painful for him,” Levis said.

Levis said her father had been sick with Parkinson’s disease ― a brain condition that affects the nervous system ― for the past two years.

‘Sir Procs,’ as most students and colleagues were fond of calling him, served as an Editor-in-Chief of Mindanao Gold Star Daily, and as a sports editor in MindaNews.

Gold Star Daily’s Editor-in-Chief Cong B. Corrales said he held the distinction of being both Maslog’s Mass Communication student at Pilgrim Christian College and co-worker at the defunct SunStar Tribune at the same time.

“I remember he letting me off early from his class so I could report to the newsroom even if he would give the class a quiz. He told me I didn’t need to take the quiz because I am already a practicing media worker,” Corrales fondly recalled.

He became a chair of the Mass Communication Department and a former Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Pilgrim Christian College.

Maslog was also the Cagayan de Oro City public information officer during the administration of the late Mayor Pablo Magtajas in the 1990s.

In a statement, the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) said Maslog’s “contribution to journalism and the field of communication studies throughout his lifetime inspired a generation of media practitioners and communicators.”

“He is one of the pillars of community journalism in Cagayan de Oro City if not Mindanao,” the COPC statement reads in part.

‘Sir Procs’ is the younger brother of journalist, media scholar, and professor Dr. Crispin Maslog, founding member of the Asian Media Information and Communication Center.