Hard-hitting journalist Ninez Cacho-Olivares succumbs to cancer

MANILA, Philippines — Veteran journalist Ninez Cacho-Olivares has succumbed to cancer. She was 78.

Olivares was the founder, former publisher and editor-in-chief of The Daily Tribune.

"Our mother died peacefully this morning. She is survived by her children Peter, Bambina, Michael and Pixie, her children-in-law Tweety Quintero, Xandra Barretto and Jay Fonacier, and her grandchildren Carlo, Iñigo, Isabella and Enrique Olivares, Samantha and Jessica Wise, Julio Olivares and Noelle Fonacier," the family said in an official statement sent to Philstar.com by The Daily Tribune.

The wake will begin on Saturday, January 4, at the Capilla de la Virgen of Santuario de San Antonio along McKinley Road, Forbes Park, from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. Mass will be held by 5 p.m. The funeral mass will take place on Monday, January 6 at Santuario de San Antonio around 9:30 a.m. 

Cacho-Olivares started The Daily Tribune in 1999 before selling the publication to the Concept and Information Group in June 2018.

Despite tons of libel cases hurled against her in her decades-old career, Olivares continued to write on her column “Frontline” after selling the company. Her last column, "'Nuff said," was published on Jan. 3, 2020.

Olivares was known for her hard-hitting commentaries against government officials. She was a staunch critic of the Liberal Party, former President Benigno Aquino III and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In February 2006, The Daily Tribune office was raided by the police at the height of the State of Emergency imposed by then President Arroyo. Despite the raid and harassment, the paper continued to publish critical stories under Olivares' leadership.

Prior to leading The Daily Tribune, Olivares was a feature writer and political columnist for the Bulletin Today, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Business Day and Business World.