Former Senator, television host and radio commentator Eddie Ilarde Ilarde passed away Tuesday, 04 August. He was 85.
His death was reported by radio DZBB, where he had a program before community quarantine get in the way in March to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Relatives of the “Napakasakit Kuya Eddie” fame said Ilarde died at around 11:40 a.m. of Tuesday in his home in Makati City. His remains will be cremated immediately.
Shortly after the announcement of his passing was posted online, sympathies and condolences for his loved ones poured in on social media.
Edgardo “Eddie” U. Ilarde (August 25, 1934 – August 4, 2020) was a Filipino radio and television host who was elected to one term in the Philippine Senate.
He also served one term each as a congressman and as an Assemblyman of the Interim Batasang Pambansa. On radio and television, he hosted such programs as Kahapon Lamang, Student Canteen, and Darigold Jamboree. His first office as a public servant was being a councilor of Pasay City in the early ’60s.
Early life
Ilarde was born in Iriga, Camarines Sur. After finishing high school, he migrated to Manila and worked as a bootblack and a newspaper vendor until his brother had him enroll in college.[1] He obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Far Eastern University.
Media personality
While in college, he had won in an oratorical contest and drew the notice of a radio executive.[1] He found work in various radio stations in Manila, and soon was among the most popular radio hosts of the 1950s. His shows during that period aired over DZBB, DZRH and the Lopez-owned DZXL.[1] From his advice program Kahapon Lamang were formed the popular catchphrases Dear Kuya Eddie (later, the title of one of Ilarde’s subsequent programs) and Napakasakit, Kuya Eddie (“Very painful, Brother Eddie”; later became the title of the theme song performed by Roel Cortez). Together with Bobby Ledesma and Leila Benitez-McCollum, Ilarde co-hosted on DZXL a noontime variety show, Student Canteen, which the threesome would continue to host when the program transferred to television in 1958.
