Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

LOS ANGELES – When Fil-Am Haidee Villar-Poquiz heard that Michael Jackson passed away on Thursday, she was in disbelief.

Like thousands of Jackson fans, she followed the news and continued to refresh Internet news story about the King of Pop. When she read that his body was transported to the Ronald Reagan Medical Center at UCLA, she had to go and pay her last respects.

"I was just so sad parang it actually dawned on me that ‘Oh my God not with such a talent like that’ because I just feel so sad," said Villar-Poquiz, a 40-year-old Human Resource manager in Santa Monica. "I just kept telling my friends I have to be there, I have to be there. I know his body is still there."

Villar-Poquiz joined hundreds of fans at UCLA medical center mourning Jackson’s death. Many stood in front of makeshift memorials. One woman sat on the ground and wept openly clutching a pink pillow with Jackson’s face on it.

Standing in front of Jackson’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star, Fil-Am Liza David paid her respects Thursday night.

"I think Michael Jackson’s passing is kind of our generations Elvis passing," she said to the Asian Journal. "I grew up during the Thriller era and I remember the Motown concert when he first did the moonwalk. Everyone just went crazy and he just blew up after that."

Jackson, referred to as the King of Pop, passed away on June 25 after collapsing in his rented home in Holmby Hills.

According to a UCLA statement, it is believed that the 50-year-old Jackson suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are released.

"His personal physician, who was with him at the time, attempted to resuscitate Jackson, as did paramedics who transported him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center," said the King of Pop’s brother Jermaine Jackson during a press conference. "Upon arriving at the hospital at approximately 1:14pm, a team of doctors, including emergency physicians and cardiologists, attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour but were unsuccessful."

Doctors at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center pronounced the pop superstar dead at 2:26 pm. He was 50 years old.

Jackson was an extremely popular musician in the Philippines. More than 50,000 Filipinos attended Jackson’s HIStory concert tour in Manila in 1996. It was his only visit to the Philippines.

Former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, cried when she heard the news.

"Michael Jackson enriched our lives, made us happy," Marcos said in a statement. "The accusations, the persecution caused him so much financial and mental anguish. He was vindicated in court, but the battle took his life. There is probably a lesson here for all of us."