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Recto Mercene, lensman behind iconic Ninoy assassination photo, passes away

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="RIGHT: Veteran journalist Recto Mercene. LEFT: A portion of the iconic shot that Mercene took at the Manila International Airport" s="" tarmac="" in="" showing="" Ninoy="" death.="" Photo="" courtesy="" of="" Recto="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/tvpatrol/09/12/ninoy.jpg"/><figcaption>RIGHT: Veteran journalist Recto Mercene. LEFT: A portion of the iconic shot that Mercene took at the Manila International Airport&#x27;s tarmac in 1983 showing Ninoy Aquino, Jr.&#x27;s death. Photo courtesy of Recto Mercene</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATE) - Veteran photojournalist and writer Recto Mercene passed away Saturday, his news organization <a href="https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/10/03/obituary-photojournalist-recto-mercene-soars-to-the-sky-with-no-limits/">BusinessMirror</a> reported Sunday as announced by his family. He was 77.Mercene shot the iconic photo after the assassination of Benigno &quot;Ninoy&quot; Aquino, Jr. at the Manila International Airport&#x27;s tarmac on Aug. 21, 1983.Doctors had found bleeding in Mercene&#x27;s brain after suffering from a fall, his daughter Danica earlier said. The photojournalist was admitted at the Asian Hospital in Alabang, Muntinlupa from Sep. 7.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/17/21/lensman-behind-iconic-ninoy-assassination-photo-needs-help">Help sought for photojournalist who took iconic Ninoy Aquino assassination photo</a></li></ul>Mercene also had comorbidities such as diabetes, asthma, and previously underwent brain surgery and heart bypass, according to Danica.According to BusinessMirror, doctors detected cancer spreading in Mercene&#x27;s bone marrow, but he was already being prepared for release from the hospital and just receive palliative care at home.Mercene, then a correspondent of Times Journal, was one of those who took photos of Aquino&#x27;s assassination at the Manila International&#x27;s Airport, which, some 4 years after, led to the EDSA People Power Revolution that spurred the fall of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The photos, used by different publications worldwide, showed the slain democracy icon being carried onto a van. In an interview on ABS-CBN News in 2018, Mercene narrated the day he took those photographs. He said he just shot the photos at the tarmac not thinking about anything, as the murder scene unfolded. &quot;Hindi mo na iniisip, may nakita kang nakabulagta, kinukunan mo na. In fact, nagtaka ako bakit dalawa ang nakabulagta... fleeting thought, and then, ang importante siyempre kinukunan mo na,&quot; he said. (You are no longer thinking about anything because you saw people dead. You are just taking photos. I was asking why 2 people were already dead. What&#x27;s important is you have the photos.)&quot;I ducked pero hindi ko binitawan yung shutter. Tuloy tuloy na lang ako hanggang naubos yung film... 34 shots ata.&quot;(I ducked but I still held the shutter. I continued shooting it until I consumed all the 34 shots available.)According to the BusinessMirror, Mercene was an air-traffic controller and private pilot for 18 years before becoming a journalist.He covered aviation, defense, Malacanang, the Senate and foreign affairs, it added.&quot;The man who spent nearly six decades soaring and roaming, in various incarnations of a traveler – first, as private pilot and air traffic controller, then as aviation reporter and photojournalist, and then as diplomatic and foreign affairs reporter – has gone on to the sky with no limits, where air traffic needs no controls and airplanes never have to take off or land,&quot; the BusinessMirror said in its obituary for Mercene.&quot;Fly high, idol, legend, role model for young journalists, friend of thousands, and advocate for ordinary folk – you are Philippine journalism’s irreplaceable treasure.&quot;<div>FROM THE ARCHIVES</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1426291" width="100%"></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>

Veteran photojournalist and writer Recto Mercene passed away Saturday, his news organization BusinessMirror reported Sunday as announced by his family.