'Student Canteen host' Leila Benitez dies due to COVID-19

Television and radio icon Leila Benitez has passed away due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). She was 89 years old.

Her former "Student Canteen" co-host Eddie Ilarde confirmed that she died on April 9 in New York, according to DZBB.

FLASH REPORT:Pumanaw na ang isa sa mga host ng kilalang programang Student Canteen na si Leila Benitez kahapon,6 PM New York time. 89-taong gulang siya at matagal nang may karamdaman.Ang pagpanaw ni Benitez ay kinumpirma ng isa sa mga co-host niya na si Eddie Ilarde ng DZBB

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) April 9, 2020

He also said she has been suffering from an illness for some time now.

Benitez is famous for co-hosting "Student Canteen," a talent show in the 1960s, with Ilarde, Pepe Pimentel, and Bobby Ledesma. Her hosting talent earned her the title of "First Lady of Philippine Television."

She also had her own program called "The Leila Benitez Celebrity Hour," where she was able to speak to Hollywood stars such as Harry Belafonte, Neil Sedaka and Ann-Margaret.

When her program was canceled due to Martial Law, Leila had fled to the United States where she became the anchor of "Voice of America."

She settled in New York City and had a family there.

New York has become America's coronavirus epicenter. On Friday, the city recorded a new single-day high of 799 COVID-19 deaths but Governor Andrew Cuomo said the rate of hospitalizations continued to fall.

COVID-19 has killed more than 14,800 people in the US, and the number of confirmed cases has grown to more than 432,000, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University.

—with inputs from Jannielyn Ann Bigtas/JCB, GMA News