Legendary cinematographer Romy Vitug dies at 86

Romy Vitug, the award-winning cinematographer, has died. He was 86.

His death was confirmed on Facebook by his daughter, Dana Vitug-Taylor.

According to Dana, Romy passed away on January 18.  She did not name a cause of death, but posted a photo of Romy with what looks like an oxygen mask over his mouth.

“This morning at 6:11pm Philippine time, my TATAY, Romy V Vitug, passed away,” she said.

“He was known as the Legendary Cinematographer in the Philippines world of cinema but we have known him as our Dearly Beloved TATAY!” She added.

Dana asked for prayers for the family as they grieve and mourn the loss of Romy.

Before ending her post, Dana told her father, “TATAY, we will surely miss you. We love you so much! This is not a goodbye but rather until we meet again!”

Romy was given the lifetime achievement awards by the Cinemanila International Filmfest in 2000 and Gawad Urian in 2016. He was inducted by Metro Manila Film Festival into their hall of fame in 2019.

According to IMDB, the cinema veteran has worked on 116 films and television series as a cinematographer and director and photography. He is best known for “Bakit May Kahapon Pa?” “The Flor Contemplacion Story,” “Anghel na Walang Langit,” “Bituing Walang Ningning,” and many more.

— Nika Roque/LA, GMA Integrated News