An outpouring of grief flooded social media on March 26 when news that veteran character actor Domingo “Menggie” Cobarrubias had passed away from complications of pneumonia. Five days later, his test results came out positive for the dreaded coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Cobarrubias was 68 years old.
As friends and family mourned his demise, colleagues in film, television and theater paid tribute to the highly respected actor who had always been noted for his immense versatility.
Director Kip Oebanda (“Liway,” 2018) took off his hat to the prolific actor, tweeting, “Goodbye, Sir Menggie Cobarrubias. RIP. The film industry is mourning the loss of one of our finest veteran actors.”
Another filmmaker, Dan Villegas (“Exes Baggage,” 2018) also posted, “RIP Tito Menggie Cobarrubias. You were a generous man. Salamat sa lahat;” while poet and actor Juan Miguel Severo wrote, “RIP Meggie Cobarrubias who was all about the craft.”
From family, his wife Gina Jorge Cobarrubias achingly sent him off with the words, “Goodbye my love. Thank you for the 30 wonderful years. I love you. Dear God please give me the strength to be able to face this very difficult moment of my life.”
His niece Patricia Prudo also posted, “Rest in peace, Tito Menggie! We love you! Thank you for being a father, a lawyer, a general and a whole lot more roles to Philippine cinema. You will surely be missed. Please pray for our loved one’s soul and his family.”
The night before he died, Cobarrubias was still able to post a message on Facebook, which simply said, “Good bye.”
Decades’ long career
The long-active character actor was noted for his versatility whether on stage or the movies and TV. News of his death greatly saddened many directors and fellow artists who were unanimous in saying the country has lost one of its finest actors.
Cobarrubias’ first screen exposure was in the 1976 drama movie “Sakada,” using his first screen name, Dom Cobarrubias. Since then, the prolific actor was cast in over 170 roles on TV and the movies, with his final appearance in an episode of the GMA Network prime time series “Beautiful Justice” as President Ricardo San Jose.
He received critical acclaim when he won the Gawad Urian for Best Supporting Actor in the 1979 Lino Brocka film “Jaguar,” where he was also nominated for a Famas award in the same category. The crime drama starred Phillip Salvador and Amy Austria and was screened at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. Cobarrubias played Salvador’s rich and callous boss, Sonny Gaston, in a piece that illustrated the power of rich over the poor in the Philippines.
On TV, Cobarrubias was best known as Don Manuel Aguilar in the 2010 Precious Hearts Romances series “Impostor,” which was top billed by Maja Salvador, Melai Cantiveros, and Sam Milby.
Other recent and notable screen credits include “The Killer Bride,” “Wagas,” “Signal Rock” and the Cinemalaya 2018 Best Film awardee, “Kung Paano Hinihintay ang Dapithapon” where he played one of the leads alongside Dante Rivero and Perla Bautista.