Behn Cervantes dies, confuses colleagues, media with unusual request

CEBU, Philippines - Theater and film director and activist Benjamin “Behn” Cervantes died due to complications from pneumonia on Thursday, two weeks after he was admitted for treatment at the Asian Hospital in Alabang and 11 days before his 75th birthday.

Except the public was not supposed to know until one week later.

News of his death was immediately followed by denials from certain colleagues. Actress, writer and director Bibeth Orteza initially refuted the story after news site rappler.com broke it around noon.

“Just spoke to Rovi, his niece. Behn is still with us. Critical but stable,” Orteza, a pioneering member of Cervantes’ campus theater group UP Repertory Company, told InterAksyon in a text message at 1:12PM.

However, another colleague, theater professor and director Anton Juan, insisted on Facebook that the report was true while citing the same source — Behn’s niece Rovi. By this time, both InterAksyon and Rappler had momentarily unpublished their story due to the confusion.

The Facebook page of the UP Repertory Company was also overrun with vehement denials of his death.

InterAksyon received another message from Orteza at 1:23PM. “Got this text from his sister, just now: ‘Bibeth, Rovi tried to follow Behn’s request of announcing his death after a week, but I have decided to confirm but request for 3 days family mourning. He will be cremated this afternoon to comply with his other wish. Thanks, Leleng.”

Orteza confirmed that Leleng is Cervantes’s sister.

About an hour later, Rovi herself confirmed the ruse in a Facebook post: “Tito Behn asked me to tell his friends about his death one week later and I was just following his wishes but since somebody spilled the beans, I will ask you all to please allow us three days to mourn as a family. I hope you will all understand my actions. God bless u all. Rovi”

A renowned activist who was jailed during Martial Law alongside his friend, the late National Artist for Film Lino Brocka, Cervantes was a leading figure in Philippine theater, both as director and actor.

From the 1970s through the late 1980s, the mercurial Cervantes staged numerous political plays with the student actors of UP Repertory.

He was also acclaimed for directing the landmark political film “Sakada”. (InterAksyon) (FREEMAN)