| He was mostly known as a “terror” professor in literature and writing classes. But what he teaches the most to his students is the discipline of learning and gives them kind words to persevere in their endeavors. Visitors thus poured in the wake of Prof. Rene Villanueva of the Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas (DFPP).
He passed away on December 5, at 1:57pm. He was 53.
Villanueva had a stroke last Sunday and was rushed to the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) at around 7pm from a writers’ workshop he attended in Quezon City. He was announced clinically dead at the PHC but was shortly revived by the medical staff. He stayed in comatose until Wednesday.
His remains lie in state at the Sanctuarium at Araneta Avenue, Quezon City.
Prof. Joey Baquiran, a poet in Filipino and a colleague of Villanueva in the DFPP, expressed his sadness upon losing “one of the pillars of Philippine literature.”
“Kahit na may sakit na siya, tumuloy pa rin siya sa workshop,” says Baquiran, emphasizing Villanueva’s eagerness to guide budding student writers.
Villanueva finished AB History in the Lyceum of the Philippines in 1976. He started his writing career upon joining Galian sa Arte at Tula in the same year while completing his master’s degree at UP.
He is a well-known playwright and children’s story writer. His plays tackle pressing social issues during his time. His play “May Isang Sundalo” is about the militarization in the countryside. “Sigwa” reminisces the First Quarter Storm of 1970. “Watawat,” meanwhile, takes on the country’s political system a few years after Edsa 1.
Villanueva’s stories for children differ from the usual happy themes. His story “Nemo, Ang Batang Papel” is about poverty in the urban city. “Ang Batang Ayaw Gumising” deals with incest.
In an earlier Collegian interview, he described writing as “an important tool to help society deal with its problems.” “Hindi ka lang nagsusulat para ipaalam sa buong mundo ang mga taghiyawat o mga dumi sa pusod mo.”
He was one of the first batch to be included in the Hall of Fame roster of the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. He was also named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in 1989 and The Outstanding Young Persons of the World in 1992.
Villanueva served as Creative Director and writer of Batibot, an educational and value-laden children’s show popular during the 1980s to the 1990s. He also travelled abroad to speak about literature, drama, and children’s television.
Villanueva’s books of personal essays, Personal and (Im)Personal, are critically acclaimed, with the former winning the National Book Award in 2000.
He is survived by his wife Anna Marie Hilado and their four daughters.
# Philippine Collegian
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