June Keithley-Castro (10 March 1947 – 24 November 2013) was a

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

and

broadcast journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

Early life

Castro was born to a Cebuano mother and an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

father. She studied at St. Paul College, where she was mentored by James B. Reuter. She married broadcaster Angelo Castro, Jr. in 1973 and the couple had three children: Diego, an actor and anchor of

UNTV UNTV, formally known as UNTV News and Rescue and UNTV Public Service, is the flagship Philippine television network of the Progressive Broadcasting Corporation (known on air as UNTV-PBC), together with Breakthrough and Milestones Productions ...

, Gabriella, and Angelica.

Acting career

Prior to becoming a journalist, Castro had a television and film career. She was part of the cast in the defunct

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

comedy-gag show ''

Super Laff-In ''Super Laff-In'' is a Philippine sketch comedy television show that originally aired on ABS-CBN network from February 1, 1969, to September 16, 1972, and patterned after the ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' television series from the United State ...

'' from 1969 until 1972. She appeared in several films, including ''Durog'' (1971), and ''Lunes, Martes, Miyerkules, Huwebes, Biyernes, Sabado, Linggo'' (1976).

People Power Revolution

At the height of People Power Revolution of 1986, Castro was working at Radyo Bandido and called on the Filipino people to come to

EDSA Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, ...

Illness and death

In 2009, Castro was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

and told she had three years to live. She died, aged 66, on 24 November 2013, at St. Luke's Medical Center,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

. Presidential spokesperson

Edwin Lacierda Edwin Lacierda () is a Filipino lawyer and technology entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of the online payments company, PayMongo. He was a member of the Philippine Cabinet and Presidential Spokesperson of President Benigno S. Aquino III. Prior t ...

issued a statement announcing her death on Philippine television.

Affiliations

Castro hosted a religious program called "''The Woman Clothed with the Sun''".

Awards

During the administration of

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

, Castro was conferred the

Philippine Legion of Honor The Philippine Legion of Honor ( fil, Lehiyong Pandangal ng Pilipinas; es, Legion de Honor Filipino) was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honor was patterne ...

, becoming a

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

in the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...

with the rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

. In 2013, she and Reuter were given a plaque of recognition and the Spirit of EDSA award during the 27th year commemoration of the EDSA People Power Revolution.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keithley, June 1947 births 2013 deaths People from Manila Filipino film actresses Filipino people of American descent Filipino television actresses Filipino television journalists Deaths from cancer in the Philippines Deaths from breast cancer Roman Catholic activists Burials at the Loyola Memorial Park Women television journalists