Manila, Jan. 20 -- Veteran journalism and communications Prof. Iluminado M. Varela, better known as Jun Varela or JV to his former colleagues and students, died of a lingering illness on Jan. 18, 2021 at the Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center in Barangay Greater Lagro, Novaliches, Quezon City.
Varela, a widower who would have been 82 years old this coming April 20, retired in 2004 as executive editor of the government-run Philippine News Agency or PNA.
Before he assumed the PNA's top post, he was the features editor of the agency for several years.
Also a former professor of journalism and communications at the Far Eastern University (FEU), he is survived by his two children -- Portia and Friedrich -- and seven grandchildren.
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