Another Columnist of this Newspaper Dies

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

When I texted last January 26 fire and brimstone’s Preacher Arnel Montemayor, whose nom de plume in Northern Watch as columnist was Munting Isko, to send his column for our January 29 – February 5 issue, there was no response from him. His last op-ed article in the previous week was only two-paragraph where half of them were cornucopia of verses of the Bible.

His last post cum opinion at Facebook was livid against the secretary of Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Conrad Estrelle – his friend – whom (the young woman) he said shouted at him at the phone when he could not get the P20, 000 financial aid personally because he was bedridden in Villaflor Hospital in Dagupan City.

The late Northern Watch Newspaper's columnist Arnel Montemayor (extreme left) in one of our visits at the office of his friend the young Basista Mayor J. R Resuello (center).

“Begging for her favor to find a little time like five minutes for that bank thing, she instead shouted at me on the phone by saying: HINDI MO NA MAKUKUHA ITONG PERA! She would return it to my dear friend Secretary Conrad. This was an assailable grave abuse of discretion by an arrogant staff of a high government official – BASTOS!” this was the excerpt of the post of Arnel that was titled Open Letter to Sec. Conrad Estrella, III.

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In January 30, his former neighbor in Lingayen Silvester Rayos – who just arrived from California – messaged me in Facebook: Kuya Arnel died. He was 67 years old.

Arnel’s second wife Aurelia – a young beautiful public school teacher – told me in Messenger that “Pancreatic cancer na po. Kaya kahit gustong gusto po namin siya gumaling mismong siya gustong gusto gumaling, di na po kaya ng katawan niya. Wala po daw nagsusurvive sa pancreatic cancer sabi ng doctor,” she told me the caused of death of this newspaper’s op-ed writer who expired at  9: 05 a.m of January 30 at Villaflor Hospital in Dagupan City.

The family and Arnel did not know he had a cancer until the doctor in Villaflor discovered during that check-up two weeks ago that the Big C had metastasized to other parts of his body. 

His interment was held at 7 a.m in Salvacion Cemetery in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

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Arnel was introduced to me by Northern Watch Columnist Vir or Virgilio Maganes sometimes in year 2018 or 2019. Maganes as everybody knows survive his first assassination in November 7, 2016 but succumbed to the volley of bullets from the paid hitman in November 10, 2020 as he was entering the compound of his residence in Villasis, Pangasinan.

Although Arnel could be seen as zealot in defending the stocks of the Marcoses, a nemesis of the Corona Virus -19 vaccine he dubbed as creation of the 666 (darn, he remained unvaccinated till his death), and apologist of Pangasinan new governor Ramon “Monmon” Guico, III where he drew swords in a lengthy Facebook’s posts debate with those who disagreed with him either in politics or religion, Arnel was still an amiable friend to many like this author.

He would invite pals who visited the office of Vice Governor Mark Lambino whenever these guys – mostly media men – to have a free lunch at one of the canteens in the capitol in Lingayen charged to the office of Lambino. He was a consultant with a monthly pay in that office.

I was impressed about how he built those bonds with mayors and high officials like Estrella despite being plucked to the media industry for only a few years. He became the advisers and attack dog of these hizzoners and those candidates for the mayorships where he could easily ask them for sums that he would even deliver to the homes of these reporters.

I became friend of Aguilar Mayor Boyet Sagles in 2021 year--because I texted Arnel – my columnist already in Northern Watch Newspaper (I was its Editor-in-Chief) - to call the Mayor for an interview with him after I was done with my business transaction in Mangatarem. Later on, Mayor Sagles was on the phone while I was driving my car and told me he was waiting for my presence at his office.

Another young Mayor that I befriended told me that Arnel would be visiting his office with some media men in tow. The Hizzoner is known to be financially generous, acceded to the request of Prof. Arnel – as I called him – to have their beck wetted.

“He was generous. Even if he was cash strapped he still looked for ways to give a friend who was needy,” his widow Aurelia told me when I visited the wake at Heritage Chapel in Barangay Maniboc in Lingayen last Friday dusk.

(Send comments to totomortz@yahoo.com)