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Mely Tagasa, 'Iskul Bukol's' Miss Tapia, dies at 82

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/03/24/mely-tagasa.jpg"/><figcaption>Mely Tagasa reprised her role as Miss Tapia in the 2008 big-screen sequel of &#x27;Iskul Bukol.&#x27; <em>Screenshot/OctoArts/M-Zet/APT</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Mely Tagasa, best remembered for her decade-long role as the strict but endearing professor Miss Tapia in &quot;Iskul Bukol,&quot; has passed away, her family announced Saturday morning.</p><p>The screen veteran, who would have turned 83 on April 16, had been comatose for a week after suffering a stroke. She was &quot;weaned off her respirator&quot; Thursday, according to her daughter Gina, in a &quot;tough and painful decision&quot; for their family.</p><p>&quot;We accept,&quot; Gina wrote in a personal Facebook post prior to Tagasa&#x27;s passing, cited here with permission. &quot;We leave everything to the good Lord. If He wills her to continue enjoying a quality life at 83, then a miracle is bound to happen. If He decides to take Mommy home with Him, Eternal Life in Heaven awaits.&quot;</p><p>Gina is one of Tagasa&#x27;s four children.</p><p>Becoming Miss Tapia was &quot;serendipitous&quot; for Tagasa, she told Inquirer in a 2017 interview. A scriptwriter prior to &quot;Iskul Bukol,&quot; Tagasa had originally intended to submit her work to an agency, which happened to be auditioning, at that time, a role for a TV adaptation of the comic strip &quot;Baltic and Co.&quot;.</p><p>With her hair in a bun and wearing glasses, she was instantly recognized by the comic strip creator, Roni Santiago, as the love-lorn and often-angry professor Miss Tapia who would complete the cast. In a stroke of luck for Santiago, Tagasa already had prior experience as an actress -- a radio talent to be exact, starting when she was 17.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DmAxww_EUsc?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>In 1977, Miss Tapia&#x27;s crossover appearance from &quot;Baltic and Co.&quot; to the just-launched sitcom &quot;Iskul Bukol&quot; became a hit, and since then she had been a regular character in the series.</p><p>Tagasa became a staple on Philippine television for 15 years, as &quot;Iskul Bukol&quot; enjoyed one of the longest runs of a local sitcom. That series, starring the now-iconic trio of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon, also spawned four films -- most recently the 2008 reunion flick that re-visited the lives of Wanbol University graduates.</p><p>Fittingly, that film was one of Tagasa&#x27;s last onscreen appearances -- a swan song of sorts with the same character she&#x27;d mastered for over a decade and made a household name.</p><p>Following her well-loved portrayal of Miss Tapia, Tagasa continued working in showbiz -- behind-the-scenes. She carried on her past work as a writer, and later as a producer.</p>

<p>Mely Tagasa, best remembered for her decade-long role as the strict but endearing professor Miss Tapia in "Iskul Bukol," has passed away, her family announced Saturday morning.</p>

Mely Tagasa, best remembered for her decade-long role as the strict but endearing professor Miss Tapia in "Iskul Bukol," has passed away, her family announced Saturday morning.