CJ De Silva Passes Away

PHOTO BY Facebook / Wincy Ong

(SPOT.ph)Popular creative Christiana Jade de Silva-Ong passed away on the morning of Tuesday, June 18. The 36-year-old suffered two strokes while in the ICU, said her husband Wincy Ong in a Facebook post on June 19.

Better known as CJ, the director and artist made a name for herself in both the advertising and arts scene of the Philippines and beyond. She is survived by her husband, their cats Andres and Max, and her parents and uncle. "Behind that tough and take-charge person you may know is such a sweet, caring girl. I will always remember her for the kindness she brought to people," wrote her husband filmmaker Wincy Ong. A memorial service will be held at the Heritage Park in Taguig until June 22.

Silva suffered an aneurysm on June 4 and had been in the ICU since. "She fought to the very end," said her husband.

Former Promil Kid CJ de Silva passes away

De Silva first landed on popular media early on as one of the gifted children in commercials by formula milk brand Promil in the '90s. "Most of you would remember her as a Promil Gifted Child in those commercials in the nineties, but from the many people who visited the hospital or sent a message or two, I learned that CJ was a gift to herself to the people who came to know her," said her husband.

Her commercial showed the then around 10-year-old De Silva painting on a massive canvas. She was one of the children featured alongside other young creatives and geniuses who are now a big part of mainstream media like photographer Shaira Luna and chess master Wesley So.

De Silva eventually graduated from the College of Fine Arts in UP Diliman and continued to be a painter alongside her awarded work in advertising. She has exhibited her works in Metro Manila shows and also has a popular Instagram account dedicated to her art. Her and her husband also had a podcast called Telebabad Tapes.

Fellow Promil Kid Francis Galura, who was featured for his poetry in the commercials, wrote "I remember watching her ad as a kid and being in awe of her talent, then meeting her at a few events for Promil later in life and admiring how kind, unassuming, and driven she is. Lucky to have a shared history with you Cj," in a message on Facebook.

Shaira Luna also sent her condolences on the platform. "Whenever people would mistake us for each other in the industry, I always say how funny it is that we actually have yet to meet again, or work together as adults! I’m sure we would have had plenty of things to talk about (especially as former Promil kids, hahaha)."