Writer and poet Pablo Tariman passes away

Writer and poet Pablo Tariman has passed away.

The sad news was confirmed to GMA News Online by his grandson, Emmanuel Acosta.

"He died yesterday at around 1pm at Rizal Medical Center," Emman said in an SMS message. 

Tariman was 76 years old, his wife Merlita Lorena-Tariman said on Facebook Messenger.

“As to cause of death, I can’t say exactly in medical terms but the doctors were able to trace the cause of his failing internal organs to a certain pancreatic malignancy,” she added.

As written in his about section for The Diarist, Tariman was a freelance journalist who loved film, theater, and classical music.

In December 2020, his poem “Ode to Frontliners” was immortalized as a marker at Plaza Familia in Pasig City, which was unveiled by Mayor Vico Sotto. 

His first poetry collection, “Love, Life and Loss: Poems During the Pandemic," was released in December 2021. 

He was also among 160 Asian poets featured in the Singapore-published anthology "The Best Asian Poetry 2021–22." 

In August 2025, Tariman was bestowed his first Graphic Salute Award for Fiction and his third for Poetry at the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards.

Tariman is also the father of Kerima Lorena “Ka Ella” Tariman, a revolutionary artist, writer, and poet who was killed in an encounter in 2021. 

Through his social media posts, poetry, concerts, and essays, the elder Tariman continued to honor his daughter's memory and advocacy.

In one of his 2023 reflections, he wrote, “We lived and breathed poetry. She happens to be the better poet and a revolutionary in the true sense of the word.”

—Carby Rose Basina/CDC/LA, GMA Integrated News