Former GMA reporter Maria Bulaklak Ausente passes away

Former GMA News field correspondent Maria Bulaklak Ausente passed away on Wednesday, March 13.  She was 32.

The Igbaras-born journalist, who will be remembered for her brilliant storytelling, had been with the network since 2011.

She let go of her reporter duties after being diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease in 2012. Battling kidney failure, she received a transplant in 2016 but continued to need treatment.

All of this did not stop Maria from returning to the newsroom. Working from a wheelchair, she continued to serve as a news desk editor until early 2019.

The proud Kapuso opened up about her career and trials in an award-winning essay published in 2014.

Her colleagues and fellow reporters have shared their sympathies with the family. —Margaret Claire Layug/ LDF, GMA