Roberto Coloma: Peter Mackler was my first mentor in AFP.

From Roberto Coloma, bureau chief, Singapore:

Peter Mackler was my first mentor in AFP. In some ways, I never stopped learning from him.

Like a deft sushi chef (who never stopped chatting and giving orders) he sliced the fat off my copy and taught me firmly but patiently how to write a proper lead -- clean, tight and punchy -- soon after I started out as a reporter at the AFP Manila bureau in the early 80s.

We later did summits, coup attempts and disasters together and eventually, I got his old job in Singapore.

I always kept track of Peter's career -- not a difficult thing to do because there were always stories filtering back from colleagues about his exploits in the Gulf, Paris, Sydney, Washington.

The last time we were in touch was when he confirmed Washington was going to send a special correspondent to a security summit in Singapore earlier this month, and we exchanged the usual pleasantries.

So like everyone else, I was stunned to learn of his passing when a phone call from Param -- another Mackler pupil -- woke me up in a cold and dark hotel room in Bangkok with the sad news that Peter had died. Just like that. Just like that!

Some saw Peter as a general but to me he was a benign typhoon that cleaned out all the debris in its path and left only the sturdy trees -- the details that mattered -- standing after he went through your copy.

Peter invented multi-tasking long before the concept had a name. No one could talk, type and think at the same time as Peter did, and he probably could have juggled a dozen balls and knives while he was at it. He always left people awed (and sometimes seething) after a long, intense day at work, and then he'd start all over again after younger people had slumped in exhaustion.

All the story impacts and bylines in the world meant nothing compared to a word of praise or encouragement from Peter.

I'm afraid I failed Peter in one respect. He always told me to "Learn French, Bobby, learn French!" if I wanted to go anywhere in AFP.

But Peter made that unnecessary -- by elevating the English service to what it is today, he made all of us feel right at home in AFP.

RC