“He was a loving and caring friend. He was never too shy to say ‘mahal kita‘ when we speak to each other on the phone,” a close friend said of movie and television director Wenn V. Deramas who passed away on Monday due to cardiac arrest.
“We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember,” the director’s talent manager and friend, June Rufino, said. “I will miss the times when he would crack jokes and tease me because I was always the last one to understand them.”
Rufino described her relationship with Deramas as “very open.” She explained: “He would call me when something displeases him—at home and at work.”
Deramas’ massive heart attack could have been triggered by his reaction to the death of his younger sister, Deramas’ talent manager told the Inquirer. He was 49.
Doctors at the Capitol Medical Center in Quezon City declared Deramas’ death at 6:15 a.m. “This could have been a reaction of his body to his sister’s passing. The doctors tried to revive her in front of Wenn,” Rufino told the Inquirer by phone on Monday.
Deramas’ sister died on February 28 due to complications of diabetes. She also underwent kidney dialysis for a long time, Rufino said.
Deramas had a stroke and underwent angioplasty in November 2015. “We talked often but he never mentioned feeling any physical pain,” Rufino recalled. “I got a call from Cory Vidanes at 4 a.m. demanding that I go to the hospital immediately. He was already being revived then.” Vidanes is the chief operating officer of ABS-CBN, where Deramas was a talent contract artist. She was with comedian and Deramas’ friend Vice Ganda at the hospital.
Rufino added that Deramas went to the hospital on Sunday at 9 p.m. to check on his sister, who died shortly. He had his heart attack at 2 a.m. “Cory and his sisters in the United States talked on the phone. They insisted that doctors revive him, but they did not hear a single heart beat anymore. From Paranaque where I live, I arrived there at 5a.m,” she recalled.
Rufino said she was in contact with Deramas’ sisters, who authorized her to make arrangements for the director’s wake and burial. Deramas’ remains will lie at the Arlington Memorial in Quezon City. Interment will be announced later.
Deramas first worked as a production assistant in the TV show “Tatak Pilipino” in 1990. He was also a writer for the show “Teysi ng Tahanan” and an executive producer of “Calvento Files.” His film “The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin” was the highest-grossing Filipino film in 2011, after earning P300 million in the box-office. In 2012, the record was surpassed with yet another Deramas movie, the Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Sisterakas,” which earned P350 million.
He is also the director of the successful “Tanging Ina” franchise that made comedienne Ai-Ai deals Alas a household name. Deramas’ last film was the action comedy flick “Beauty and the Bestie,” which was an official entry to the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival and featured Vice Ganda and Coco Martin.
Actress-TV host Kris Aquino, star of “Sisterakas” posted this on her Instagram account about Deremas: “He made being a creative, ratings and box-office genius in both television and film seem effortless and easy.” She described Deramas as a loving father and a co-worker who was always happy and easy to work with. “[He was] a generous and caring mentor… A true inspiration.”
READ: Wenn Deramas’ ‘muses’ Kris, Claudine, Ai-ai, Vice Ganda grieve his death
Aquino’s son, James Yap Jr., was part of the “Praybeyt Benjamin” hit franchise.
“I can’t even celebrate and enjoy the 88th Oscars because I’m so devastated and shocked,” Ruffa Gutierrez posted on Twitter about Deremas. “I will miss you so much. Why did you leave us so soon?” The 2016 Academy Awards aired on Monday morning (Manila time).
“I’m in utter shock as I’ve just heard the sad news that director Wenn has passed on,” said Dawn Zulueta who worked with Deramas in the 2010 teleserye remake of “Mula sa Puso.” “I’ve grown so fond of him. I loved his wry sense of humor. He always made me laugh… Working with him always felt more like play. It was pure joy with Wenn.”
Zulueta added: “I loved how generous he was with his friends and family. He shared everything he earned with them—he had a golden heart…We will see each other soon, and I will again get stomachaches for laughing so hard at your jokes. Many are crying right now, and I am one of them.”
Broadcaster Christine Bersola-Babao said she had a chance to chat with the director only recently. “He was full of life, but death comes like a thief in the night. RIP Direk Wenn.”
Comedian Michael V, who worked with Deramas in the programs “Ready, Get Set, Go!” and “Teysie ng Tahanan,” sent his condolences to the director’s family. “I will miss his infectious laugh,” he said.
Anne Curtis said the “saddening news” broke her heart. “Paalam ‘Nay. I mss you and love you so much Direk Wenn.”
“Isang napaka lungkot na araw. Sagad hanggang buto ang lungkot. Paalam Direk Wenn. Mahal na mahal kita,” said Vice Ganda. This was followed by another post, a broken heart icon. JE