Celebration: An Anthology to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Silliman University National Writers Workshop Sands and Coral, 2011-2013
Silliman University, 2013
Reuben Rabe Canoy was a fictionist, poet, screenwriter, film producer, radio host, lawyer, politician, and staunch advocate for Mindanao independence and federalism. He was born on 6 June 1929 in Cagayan de Oro City. He graduated with an AA degree from Silliman University in 1952, after spending his collegiate years in Dumaguete City pursuing the literary life: he was a huge part of Silliman's post-World War II generation of writers who went on to great critical acclaim in the mid-1950s, together with Edilberto Tiempo, Edith Tiempo, Aida Rivera Ford, Ricaredo Demetillo, Eddie Romero, and Cesar Jalandoni Amigo. He was editor-in-chief of the 1952 edition of πππππ πππ πΆππππ, the university's literary journal, for which he was also known for contributing its now iconic emblem of a nude figure swimming underwater and gathering sand in their hands, which he designed in 1948. He published his fiction and poetry widely in national papers and magazines as well. In 1981, Leopoldo Y. Yabes would include his short story "Deep River" in the landmark anthology, πβππππππππ πβπππ‘ ππ‘πππππ 1941-1955, published by the University of the Philippines Press.
After graduating with a law degree from UP, he dabbled in two different worlds: cinema and politics. In 1966, he was appointed Undersecretary for the Department of Public Information under the Presidency of Ferdinand E. Marcos, and also provided the story for fellow Sillimanian Eddie Romero's πβπ πππ π πππππ‘π ππ‘πππππππ , which is a film noir set in Dumaguete. He would later write the screenplay for Romero's B-movie horror film πππ π·πππ‘ππ ππ π΅ππππ πΌπ ππππ [1968], where he was billed as Ruben Canoy, and for Amigo's π΅ππππ π π πΏππππ ππ πππππππ [1976], which he also produced under his film outfit Ruben Canoy Productions. He also went on to write and produce Amigo's ππ π·π’ππ ππ πΎπππ [1977].
While making headway into local film, he would become a member of the Marcos-era Batasan Pambansa. He would later run for mayor of Cagayan de Oro City, a position he held from 1971 to 1976. Together with fellow Mindanaoan politicians Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Homobono Adaza, he formed the Mindanao Alliance during the Marcos years, and the three became known for being outspoken critics of the Martial Law regime. Of the three, it was Canoy who first hogged the national limelight when he emerged as the lone opposition candidate in Northern Mindanao to win in the 1978 Batasan polls. [At that time, Batasan members were elected on a regional basis.] In 1981, however, the three allies parted ways because of political differences, and Canoy would go on to form the Social Democratic Party of the Philippines with 14 members of various opposition groups, hoping to begin building a unified opposition to the then 16-year-old rule of Marcos.
He used his knowledge from his early association with Marcos to write a book on Martial Law, titled πβπ πΆππ’ππ‘ππππππ‘ π ππ£πππ’π‘πππ: πβπ πβπππππππππ ππππ ππππ‘πππ πΏππ€ π‘π π‘βπ π΄ππ’πππ π΄π π ππ π ππππ‘πππ [1984], which many took as Canoy's diatribe against π ππ£πππ’π‘πππ ππππ π‘βπ πΆπππ‘ππ [1978], a book in which Marcos touted the ideological foundation of his authoritarian rule. Of this tome, the late National Artist F. Sionil Jose noted: "Canoy ... has first-hand knowledge of the Marcos regime because he was Undersecretary of Information, Presidential Action Officer, and Chairman of the Southern Philippines Development Authority. As a writer in the early days of the Martial Law regime, Canoy was privy to the machinations and backdoor dealings in the Palace. His book is not only authoritative but also illustrates how power operates and how it also fails. He called the Marcos dictatorship a counterfeit revolution because like most intellectuals in the fringes of power he realized soon enough the shortcomings of a presidency surrounded by relatives and cronies who profited from that dictatorship."
Canoy also wrote πβπ ππ’ππ π‘ πππ ππππππππ πΌπππππππππππ [1989], where he began touting his dream for that island's political independence from the Philippines. He would also turn his attention to the issue of federalism, and once described the current unitary government as βa legacy of colonialism, whose centralized power suppresses democratic governance, thwarts local development and impedes nationalist progress.β
Canoy would continue writing even when he was deeply enmeshed in politics. He had a regular column for πβπ πβπππππππππ π»πππππ. He also wrote two novels: πΌπ ππππ ππ πΉπππ [1987], which is about an armed band roaming the countryside, posing as communist guerillas and terrorizing the rural folk, who are in reality members of an operation supported by American agents, high-ranking military officials, and right-wing businessmen; and ππππππ ππ πππππππ π [2006, co-written with his brother Nestor R. Canoy], which is about a good American caught in the webs of deceit by a dictator and the nefarious activities of the CIA.
He would run for President against Marcos in 1986, and in 1990 he was arrested and detained without warrant by the military for his alleged involvement in a coup staged in Northern Mindanao led by Col. Alexander Noble.
He was also a long-time radio personality. In 1952, he convinced his brother Henry to turn his fledgling radio station in CDO into a more powerful network. This became Radio Mindanao Network. Until his later years, Canoy would host an early morning radio program, βPerspective,β which ran for 64 years on RMN. In 1971, for his contributions to mass media, he would be conferred the Outstanding Sillimanian Award.
In 2013, he made a brief return to film when he was announced as one of the winners of the Genre Film Scriptwriting Competition organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines, for his unproduced screenplay βThe Unbelievers.β
He married Solona Torralba in 1953, with whom he had four children, Rhona, Chet, Marc, and Don.
He died on 5 July 2022.
For many of his avid radio listeners, he was known for his trademark sign-off: "Ang lungsod nga nasayod maoy makahatag og kusog sa demokrasya. Apan ang lungsod nga mapasagaron, maoy makapukan sa atong kagawasan. [The city that values knowledge is what gives strength to democracy. But the city that is foolhardy is what will destroy our freedom.]"
4:55 PM |
Ang Sugilanon sa Kasakit ni Epefania, Radio Play
Of my stories, "Old Movies" and "Things You Don't Know" are anthologized more often and taught in schools, but "The Sugilanon of Epefania's Heartbreak" is the one that's always being adapted into something else. It has become a comic book. It has become a stage play [presented as part of the Virgin Labfest and staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines]. And it has become fodder for many classroom projects. Somebody did a whole shadow play of the story. And now it's also a radio drama titled "Ang Sugilanon sa Kasakit ni Epefania." This one's produced and performed by Diza Apple Rubio, Andrea Maglipac, Carl Joseph Carazo Laraβ, Isabel Geronimo, Krystel Mae Santisteban, and Shane De Guzman, in J Marie Maxinoβ's senior high class. Thank you, guys! "The Sugilanon of Epefaniaβs Heartbreak" is special to me because it is the story of my family and their past in Bayawan [which used to be called Tolong]. So every time somebody creates something new out of this story, I think of it as a chance to pay respect to my ancestors, because it is making them alive.
I have to post this article, "We Were a Nation of Citizen Journalists That Night," written by Pam Pastor for the Philippine Daily Inquirer's YOU Section. It's about RockEd's Gang Badoy, one of the bestest people I know, simply because she radiates a fine sense of advocacy in whatever she does. (And I love the way we just keep bumping into each other. "Oh, andito ka pala sa Dumaguete?" I told her a few months ago when we bumped in Hayahay after last seeing her in Cubao X. She laughed, and then we got to talk a little bit...)
Here's an excerpt from Pam's article:
[T]he night βOndoyβ struck, the Rock Ed founder set aside her grief and did what she does best β try to make a difference.
βI tried driving out to Eastwood to pick up the core group of Rock Ed volunteers who were there early for our Girl Code event. We drove around for over two hours trying to get to Eastwood from Ortigas Center. We never got to them. Finally, at around 3:30 p.m., I decided to go back home and go online.β
Gang soon realized that so many Twitter and Facebook users were posting useful information about the typhoon. But she knew a lot of people had already lost electric power and most likely no longer had access to the Internet. They had only their mobile phones which gave them access only to FM stations and not AM radio.
Gang felt she had to do something. βI said, Iβll go on air!β
But Gang isnβt a DJ on Jam 88.3. She hosts Rock Ed Radio, a two-hour talk show Wednesday nights.
She walked to the studio in Ortigas Center to get hold of the station manager. βBut he lived in an affected area and was managing things at home. So I just barged into the dark empty studio.β
She told the guard, the only one around, βYou must help me stop the auto-broadcast and I need to go on air. He was very hesitant because he didnβt know me and wasnβt sure if I knew how to operate the board. He was right, I didnβt. But I insisted and said, βMalaking tulong ang may radyo na nagbobroadcast ng info, bumabaha na sa labas, parang malaki βto, sir.β We stared at each other for a time, with me determined to go on air even if I had to force my way through the board buttons.β
4:51 AM |
Reuben R. Canoy, 1929~2022
Here's an excerpt from Pam's article: