Goodbye, Mac Roller

MANILA, Philippines - I’ll miss saying “Coming up next is the most good-looking DJ of RJ 100.3 FM.” I’ll miss hearing what his escapade was the past night. I’ll miss the humor and the cheeky jokes. I’ll miss Mac Roller.

I met Mac when he was Emmanuel Reyes in 1962. I sat beside him for two years during my freshman and sophomore years at San Beda College. He was a funny guy. He made fun of our teacher, my classmates and mostly of me and we’d always laugh when we were punished by the teacher. After I left San Beda, I didn’t see him till another decade. It turns out he was living in Baguio and visited Manila to apply at the radio station I worked at. He got accepted and by the time I knew it, we were laughing and reminiscing our high school days before our programs at DZLM and DZBM — both AM pop stations. One day, Manny resigned to pursue greener pastures at another AM station-DWIZ. I lost contact with him for another odd 20 years. The next time he appeared was a few years ago when he joined RJ 100.3 FM. He has matured a lot but his humor and charm not to mention his cheeky cliches were still intact. We reminisced and laughed about our San Beda years almost every day because he came early for his program which was after mine. He even convinced me to attend our homecoming last year which I have never attended. I’m so glad I did.

Mac has amazed me at the number of listeners he had at RJ 100.3 FM to a point of envy. He hasn’t lost the magic to charm his listeners despite being absent from the airwaves for over two decades. When he fell in love again after being loveless for ages, I sensed the verve that has energized a new chapter in his life. We DJs at RJ 100.3 FM suggested that he got hitched because he had a different glow. The kind of glow that spelled “I’ve finally found my true love.” 

That’s me (second from right) with (from left) Mac Roller, Mike Enriquez, Baby Enriquez and Long Tall Howard

Countless times, he would invite us for dinner at his lady love’s restaurant in Tagaytay. They were inseparable until one morning when he announced the relationship was over. His shoulders drooped and I could read from his eyes he was trying to put up a brave front to hide the pain. Although he started socializing again after a few months, the glow never returned. The last time I saw him I sensed something was wrong. He didn’t show up for work for at least two weeks which worried us. We wanted to bring him to a hospital but refused and insisted he’ll get better soon. That never happened. A few mornings ago, Renen de Guia woke me up with a text message Mac died at 5 a.m. I felt numb and shed tears. My friend, co-DJ and classmate has gone to Rock and Roll heaven. Goodbye, Mac Roller. We will all miss you.