"Verboten" anchor dies of heart failure

CEBU - Dr. Felimon Alberca, the man behind the popular “sex advice” radio program Verboten, succumbed to heart failure yesterday at his clinic in Cebu City. He was 67.

Alberca, according to his daughter Mayet, had a heart attack at his clinic at the Eustaquio Building around 3 p.m. yesterday and was rushed to the Perpetual Succour Hospital where he was confirmed dead past 8 last night.

His contemporary in the media Manuel “Manny” delos Santos Rabacal said that it was Mon (as he is fondly called) and his radio program “Verboten” which “made dyRB so popular in the Visayas”.

Verboten (German for “taboo”), which ran for almost three years in the 1980s, dramatized sex-related problems. Towards the end of the program, the anchor would advise the letter sender on how to deal with a particular sexual problem on the context of sexual health.

Rabacal said that Alberca was a politician, doctor, media personality, and a reproductive health advocate as well as a good friend, rolled into one.

While active in his media stint, Alberca was elected municipal councilor of Argao town. He ran for Congress against then congressman Crisologo Abines but lost.

In the last elections, Alberca sought a seat in the Provincial Board but also lost.

He was a national council member of the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines and founded the Media Association for Surgical Services for the Amelioration and Development of Society (Mass Ads).

Very recently, Alberca launched Oplan Emergency, a pet project of Radio Inc. which involves non-government organizations, civic groups and local government units, and helped in income-generating activities to raise funds to assist victims of calamities.

He is survived by his wife Lily and five daughters. — Ferliza C. Contratista/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)