Sari Yap, founder of one of the longest-running fashion publications in the Philippines, Mega Magazine, died today after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer.
The nearly three-decade-old outlet confirmed their founding editor’s passing in a Facebook post early this morning.
“Just as the heavens are draped in an overcast of gray, with rains threatening to fall as if it were tears above, it is with a heavy heart [that] we mourn the passing of our founder and guiding light, Sari Yap, who peacefully joined our creator at 2:07 AM today, in the presence of her family who survives her,” the statement said.
Yap’s age at the time of her passing could not be immediately ascertained. Her interment will be held at Makati City’s Santuario de San Antonio Parish on Sept. 11 at 10am, Manila Bulletin reports.
Considered one of the vanguards of the local publishing industry, Yap earned a broadcast communications degree from the University of the Philippines, followed by graduate studies in media management at the University of Navarre in Spain. In a 2002 interview with the Philippine Star, Yap said Mega was an idea that was borne out of her master’s thesis.
In the same interview, Yap spoke about how she strove to treat local designers with fairness — even the ones she didn’t like.
“I never let my personal biases, which of course I have as a person, get in the way of reporting. I may not like certain designers, not because of their design, but I may not agree with [for example] the way they deal with suppliers. But if they do come up with a good show, I give them the exposure they deserve; [my opinion about them] never gets in the way,” she wrote.
One Mega Group, the company which Yap owned, is also the publisher of glossies such as Lifestyle Asia, Celebrity Mom, and Travel Now.
Tributes poured in from Yap’s celebrity friends, including actress Anne Curtis, who traveled to South America with Mega’s team to shoot the magazine’s September 2013 cover.
“[W]ill always treasure the memories we made in South America for Making Mega together,” she wrote.
Rest in Peace Madame Sari Yap. Will always treasure the memories we made in South America for Making Mega together ❤️💔
You will be missed. https://t.co/F4t0tZ1WGb— Anne Curtis-Smith (@annecurtissmith) September 9, 2019
Events host Tim Yap described the late editor as a “fighter.” He also divulged that the editor had been battling cancer for at least three years.
Movie producer Roselle Monteverde, of Regal Films, wrote: “I am saddened on the passing of a great and passionate friend, Ms. Sari Yap. Thank you for your contribution to Philippine media & the freindship [sic]. You will always be remembered.”
On behalf of Regal,
I am saddened on the passing of a great and passionate friend,Ms Sari Yap. Thank you for your contribution to Philippine media&the freindship. You will always be remembered. https://t.co/rkpjAYPggI— Roselle Monteverde (@RegalRoselle) September 9, 2019
“Rest in love, Sari.. Thank you so much for everything,” wrote television host Bianca Gonzalez.
Rest in love, Sari.. Thank you so much for everything. ❤🙏 pic.twitter.com/VXiDgDZsih
— Bianca Gonzalez (@iamsuperbianca) September 9, 2019
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