Veteran actress Vangie Labalan has passed away at the age of 83, her son Carlo confirmed on social media on Thursday, February 12.
“She passed away today in Australia due to illness,” Carlo wrote on Facebook. “To everyone who [knew] her, [loved] her, and was touched by her kindness, we extend our deepest gratitude. She is deeply loved and will be dearly missed by her family, friends, and all whose lives she touched.”
Her niece Van-van Aligam said in her own post that the actress “passed peacefully, surrounded by family.”
Labalan, born Ma. Christina Bonghanoy, active in the entertainment business from the 1960s until her passing on January 20, 1943, was a prominent figure. She’s known for supporting roles in three Shake, Rattle, and Roll films, Ishmael Bernal’s Manila by Night, Himala, the 1990 romance fantasy Dyesebel, the Wuthering Heights adaptation, Hihintayin Kita sa Langit, Olivia Lamasan’s Maalala Mo Kaya: The Movie, and the Sharon Cuneta drama, Madrasta.
Among more recent movies in her extensive filmography are It Takes a Man and a Woman, Four Sisters and a Wedding, Isa Pa with Feelings, and Mallari.
On TV, Labalan appeared in shows such as Encantadia, Bakekang, Ang Probinsyano, and Batang Quiapo.
In a 2013 interview, cult Filmmaker Elwood Perez, who directed the actress in the film Otso, said, “[Labalan] was always engaging, even in the smallest of roles, proving to all that ‘there are no small roles, only small actors.’”
