Ryan Leonardo Santiago, second of the three children of Randy Santiago, passed away last Sunday night, August 13.
Ryan was only 24 years old.
According to Reily Santiago, Ryan's uncle, his nephew suffered from a rare brain disease and multiple sclerosis that, according to Randy's statement below, Ryan battled for three years.
Apart from Ryan, Randy and his wife Marilou Coronel have two other children -- Raphael and Raiko.
An outpouring of condolences were offered by friends of the Santiago family after Ryan's passing.
Here are a few:
My condolences go out to Randy and Marilou Santiago in the passing of their son, Ryan. I'm so sorry for you loss.
— Paco Arespacochaga (@arespacochaga) August 13, 2017
My heart broke over the passing of Randy and Marilou Santiago's son Ryan. Gone way too soon. Couldn't stop crying when Gary & I prayed. ????????????????
— Angeli P Valenciano (@AngeliPV) August 13, 2017
Ryan's remains were cremated Monday morning a day after his death, August. 14.
"He was rushed to the hospital Sunday that night because of body pains, but he had already been battling with his disease for the past three years. Tanggap, pero mahirap… masakit. Lalo na kapag magulang, e. Pero siyempre, ang Panginoon, nandiyan para siguro...Baka may purpose Siya kung bakit he had to leave and he had to go at an early age, dahil siyempre hindi naman siguro patagalin pa yung sickness niya,” he told PEP.ph.
Randy, however, was thankful his son will no longer suffer from his illness. “Loving” and “gala” were words he used to describe his son. “Siya ang lagi kong kasama kapag may mga tour. Madali kasi imbitahin.”
He continued, “Malambing kasi, e, hindi lang sa mga tiyo, sa mga classmates, napakalambing din niya.”
Ryan's siblings, Rowell, Raymart, and Riley Santiago were at the wake as well as Bayani Agbayani, Jenny Miller, talent manager Noel Ferrer, and ABS-CBN executive Linggit Tan.
Ryan's remains will be at the La Salle Greenhills chapel in San Juan City until Thursday night, August 16.
This story originally appeared on Pep.ph.
* Minor edits, including the story's translation to English, have been made by the SmartParenting.com.ph editors.
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