MANILA, PHILIPPINES — CJ de Silva-Ong passed away yesterday, June 18, due to complications following an aneurysm, with her loving husband, Wincy Ong, sharing the sad news via Facebook this morning. “She fought to the very end,” he wrote, followed by a brief tribute to his wife of 11 years. With her passing, the Filipino creative community has lost one of its brightest young voices, and adobo Magazine has lost a cherished friend.
CJ first entered the public consciousness in 1998 as one of several gifted children featured in Promil’s “Promil Kids” campaign. Early on, she had shown an innate talent for visual art and grew to be an outstanding artist and illustrator. She entered the advertising industry in 2008, joining TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno as an Art Director. She would spend her entire professional career with the agency, rising through the ranks to earn the position of Executive Creative Director for TBWA\SMP – JUICE in 2022.
In that time, adobo Magazine developed a relationship with the rising young star, who had always been generous with her time, energy, and kindness in giving back to the creative community. In 2017, CJ lent her discerning eye to the adobo Design Awards, becoming a first-time jury member that year. She joined the jury of the adobo LIA Young Creatives Competition in 2018 and was instrumental in determining which Filipino creatives would get an opportunity to step on the international stage that year.
Her passion for nurturing young talents returned her to the competition’s jury in 2023. That same year, CJ would also join the design jury for the Cannes Young Lions Competition, sharing her insights from her experiences working with international creatives.
Adobo Magazine most recently caught up with CJ at the 2024 Kidlat Awards, where she happily participated in the frenetic Kidlat Interview Challenge with her fellow jurors.
CJ was a stellar talent, with her work having won multiple awards in local and international competitions, including AdFest, Cannes Lions, Clio, D&AD, and Spikes Asia. Outside of advertising, she continued to work as an illustrator — including the cover for the Palanca Award-winning children’s book, Ang Ikaklit sa Aming Hardin by Bernadette Villanueva — and co-hosted the Telebabad Tapes podcast with her husband, Wincy.
With the creative community at large, adobo Magazine mourns the passing of an incredible talent, a wonderful person, and a dear friend. We extend our condolences to everyone whose life CJ has touched.
For those who wish to pay their respects, Wincy has shared the following details for CJ’s wake:
Location: The Heritage Park, Taguig
Date: June 20, Thursday to June 22, Saturday; cremation service will be on June 23, Sunday.
