Jimmy Gil's family, GMA colleagues pay tribute to the late Kapuso broadcaster

The family and colleagues of Jimmy Gil honored his memory, remembering the late Kapuso broadcaster as a dedicated newsman, a generous mentor, and a loving family man.

While his decades-long career no doubt left a lasting mark on Philippine journalism, for his daughter, Margaret Gil, Jimmy was first and foremost a devoted father who always put family above all else.

“Our Papa was a cool dad. He was very supportive, loving, playful and affectionate. He was very prayerful. A very hard-working man,” Margaret told GMA News Online.

Margaret said her father possessed an unwavering love for the country and lived by the values he preached.

“He would always say that you should help when you are in the position to do so. I admire how much he prioritized family over everything,” she said, further describing him as generous, forgiving, principled, and kind even in difficult situations.

Among her fondest memories were their Sunday family gatherings and the pasalubong he would bring home after anchoring the evening news.

“I hope people remember his kindness, generosity and love for the country,” she added.

Photo: Unang Balita

Former colleagues meanwhile will remember Gil as a respected journalist whose professionalism and work ethic earned the admiration of generations of reporters.

Award-winning broadcast journalist Jessica Soho said Gil was a respected colleague during their years together in the newsroom.

“I don't have a lot of memories kasi usually 'pag sa work na alam mo 'yan, magkikita na lang kami doon and then we would both be busy typing our stories, putting our stories together,” Soho said, adding that she affectionately called him “Jimmy Jill.”

She credited Gil for indirectly giving her her first overseas assignment after he turned down coverage of Aquino’s state visit to Singapore and Indonesia, which was then assigned to her.

“I owe him my first out of the country trip, my first overseas assignment. Ito 'yung... Ito 'yung first state visit by Cory when she was president to Singapore and Indonesia. Kasi he turned it down,” Soho shared.

Soho also recalled one of the few pieces of advice Gil gave her early in her career: “You have to watch out for betrayal in this kind of job and career.”

Remembering him as calm, cool, and approachable despite sometimes appearing reserved, Soho said she never had any bad memories of him.

Her final conversation with Gil remained one of her most emotional memories. After learning of the death of GMA News cameraman Boy Sonsa, Gil called her while struggling to speak due to illness.

“But he was crying the whole time and then trying to speak and crying at the same time. It was heartbreaking kasi hindi hindi ko siya maintindihan and he was calling me because you know he was so affected,” she said.

Former GMA News and Public Affairs Senior Vice President, Marissa L. Flores, described Gil as “a straightforward, no-frills kind of guy who got things done.”

“He had the old-school kind of newsman discipline — nandiyan pag kailangan, gagawin ang trabaho, magsu-submit ng story on time,” Flores said. “Newsman till the end.”

Flores also highlighted one of Gil’s most significant contributions to Philippine journalism: the question he asked former President Corazon Aquino before the 1986 elections.

“He asked Cory Aquino, ‘What would make you run?’ Aquino’s answer: ‘One million signatures.’ The rest is history,” she recalled.

Despite initially finding him “suplado,” Flores later discovered a lighter side to Gil, remembering their playful exchanges in the newsroom that continued through the years.

Former Kapuso journalist Malou Talosig Bartolome recalled meeting Gil when she was still new in the GMA newsroom.

“He was already THE JIMMY GIL,” she wrote in a social media post, fondly remembering how he would jokingly respond, “Na-fax na ang script, Miss Beauty,” whenever newsroom staff followed up on his stories.

“Napakabait,” she said. “Thanks for your service, Ka Igme.”

GMA News Online Managing Editor Raffy Jimenez, who met Gil as a rookie reporter covering the Intramuros beat in 1994, remembered him as a welcoming senior colleague who never made younger reporters feel out of place.

“Together with Tata Nap, his cameraman at the time, Tata Jim was very accommodating to a youngster like me,” Jimenez said, recalling how Gil would often let him hitch rides to press conferences and share stories during out-of-town assignments.

For veteran broadcaster Arnold Clavio, Gil was among the first reporters he met after joining GMA in 1989.

Clavio remembered Gil’s distinctive white hair and mestizo looks, joking that while others compared him to actor Richard Gere, he saw him as a local version of Beatles member John Lennon.

He also recalled Gil’s signature light blue polo shirts and khaki pants, as well as his years covering the police and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) beats.

“Salamat sa mga itinuro mo sa akin sa pangangalap ng istorya sa lansangan,” Clavio said. “Hindi ka mawawala sa alaala ng marami.”

Kelly Baños-Vergel de Dios, former Assistant Vice President, Administrative Division of News and Public Affairs, also paid tribute to Gil in a Facebook post, remembering him not only as a colleague but as a dear friend.

“Goodbye, ‘Gemini.’ old friend. It was a privilege working alongside you from 1983 until your retirement in 2007,” she wrote.

She also shared how the veteran broadcaster once helped her get home after a debilitating back injury in 1984.

“I never forgot how you half-carried me home in 1984 when my back gave out, even if i scared you out of your wits and made you jump from your chair as i crawled to your desk from the vtr room, to ask for help because i could no longer get up off the floor on my own,” Vergel de Dios wrote.

She bid farewell to Gil by imagining him reunited in heaven with fellow journalists who had gone before him, adding, “Vaya con Dios, mi hermano Jimmy Gil. You will be missed.”

Photo: Unang Balita

Gil passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 79.

Born Jaime Frederico Gil, Jimmy joined GMA Network's Super Radyo dzBB as a news writer in 1979 and later became a TV reporter in 1982 covering the Western Police District (now Manila Police District), Manila City Hall, Commission on Elections, Bureau of Immigration, and general assignments until his retirement.

He co-anchored "The Saturday & Sunday Evening Report" with the late Raffy Marcelo and occasionally co-anchored "News at Seven" with Tina Monzon Palma in the '80s and early '90s.

The Kapuso broadcaster continued his evening radio program, "Jimmy Gil Live!", until shortly before his death.

Jimmy is survived by wife Anna Katrina Sy, four daughters, two sons, and 11 grandchildren. —JCB, GMA News