Photojournalist Dennis Sabangan dies of heart illness

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Photojournalist Dennis Sabangan dies of heart illness

ROBERT GHEMENT

Kidnapped by the Taliban in Pakistan in 2001, Sabangan told the terrorists: 'You want Pepsi? The choice of the new generation.' Five minutes later, he and the other journalists were back in the car.

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Dennis M. Sabangan, European PressPhoto Agency (EPA) chief photographer in Manila, died Monday morning, June 29, after suffering cardiac arrest. He was dead on arrival at a Quezon City hospital.

Sabangan was 41. 

Before joining in EPA in 2003, Sabangan worked as a photographer for major Philippine newspapers: The Manila Times, TODAY, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer. From 2005 until 2007 he served as chairperson of the Photojournalism Center of the Philippines, which he also co-founded. 

Sabangan also taught photojournalism at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.

As a teacher, he narrated stories about his experiences in war zones in the Philippines and abroad, and the FIFA World Cup. He was known for encouraging students to break out of their comfort zones by assigning daring photo coverages, such as the annual Nazareno procession and the San Juan Festival. 

He would critique their photos in one-on-one sessions and class discussions while distributing Choc-nut, a popular local chocolate bar, to his students. Often, he would tell them, “Mag-enjoy lang kayo sa buhay.” (Just enjoy life.)

In 2001, Sabangan filed a leave from the Inquirer and went to Afghanistan during the height of the Taliban attacks. He was kidnapped by the rebel group along with Ed Lingao, Jim Libiran, Patrick Paez, and Val Cuenca.

Jim Libiran, a film director, narrates the story about them being hostaged by the Taliban during their coverage of Afghan war. They had hired a Pakistani driver to bring them to Kabul. They were asked by the Taliban to stop at the end of a highway and surrender their belongings.

Instead of giving them his equipment, Dennis cursed them in Filipino and offered them “Philippine dollars.” He offered, “You want Pepsi? The choice of the new generation,” referring to the softdrink’s slogan. Five minutes later, they were back in the car. 

Libiran added that it was Sabangan who would lighten the situation by cracking jokes in Filipino and making fun of their hostage-takers, telling them that “if you’re from Manila, this was normal.” 

Dennis covered such events as the 2004 Tsunami, the Myanmar Unrest, the US War Against Terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan, World Cup and Euro Cup soccer, the 2008 Olympics, the Australian Open and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. – Rappler.com

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