Manny Castañeda, the beloved actor and director, has died, according to media reports; ABS-CBN News cites Castañeda’s nephew, Michael Castañeda. The actor was 69.
The One of the Baes and Makiling actor was discovered dead in his apartment after one of his tenants raised the alarm. The tenant went to pay his rent but Castañeda did not respond. Castañeda’s sibling was contacted, and the heartbreaking finding was made.
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The cause of death is reported “to be congenital heart disease, chronic kidney disease and hypertension.” The ABS-CBN News report says he died on June 30; Pilipino Star Ngayon claims he was dead for three days before being found.
Filmmaker Joey Javier Reyes, a friend of the late Kailanman director who worked with him on Shake Rattle & Roll V, also confirmed Castañeda’s death with a Facebook tribute.
“We were eight years old when we met. We missed a number of years between the final years of grade school and high school.But we made such a big deal about how we found each other again at the canteen in De la Salle College then,” Reyes wrote. “And we were inseparable since that time, all throughout college … until we both ended up teaching then finding our place in the insane world of show business.
“We have been friends for sixty-one years … and how you have left. Honestly, I do not know how it is going to be without my best friend just sitting out there ready to bitch it out with me. We may have our differences in political beliefs, we may have our arguments but we were there for each other … all the way.
He went on to add, “I never told this you when you were around because I knew you would just cringe and tell me to shut up — but you are such a great part of my life because you are my irreplaceable BFF. I am going to miss you big time.”
The Sana’y Wala Nang Waka actor will be cremated with a funeral held at Sanctuarium Crematory in Quezon City, Philippines.
