In a nation rich with artists and artistry (the pantheon of National Artists that students study number eighty-six as of today), we have lost one of our best.

There are many of us who claimed, within his lifetime, that Floy Quintos (director, playwright, and above all, a wonderful human being) is/ was well deserving of the greatest honor our cultural institutions can bestow.

Others have enumerated his legendary accomplishments, but perhaps the crowning feature of Sir Floy’s was his all-consuming passion for the Motherland. It is a love that goes beyond politics, beyond color, transcending team loyalty of fellow Filipinos manipulated by the social media machine to hate one another… a plague of pettiness manufactured by Facebook and Tiktok trolls.

When our country hosted the SEA games back in 2019, Sir Floy openly did not agree with the political administration at that time. However, when Inang Bayan needed him, he heeded the call to direct its opening ceremony.

I still remember the whiplash on social media … how netizens kept clamoring over the shame of organizational hiccups (lack of transportation/food/housing for athlete-guests, etc.) the first few days. 

His directing of the stunning opening ceremony changed everything.

All of a sudden, the curses turned to choruses of alleluias for such a staggeringly beautiful opening ceremony, turning what could have been a tedious affair into an artistic triumph of such magnitude that all who watched it felt ennobled somehow. It was that rare vision that all Filipinos could take pride in.

What was a mere program became an artistic tapestry of past and present glory, showcasing Philippine history in song and dance, overwhelming even those who watched through tiny screens with the pomp and splendor. Such care and thought went into that programming, with that singular vision capable of uniting such a diverse people such as ours.  Sir Floy knew the power of spectacle, and wielded it most spectacularly. 

His plays reflect that patriotism of his. But it wasn’t the “come what may” brand of blind loyalists. His was the ever-questioning love of Jose Rizal casting a critical gaze on the cancers of society, and Sir Floy’s plays were scalpels carving out our social tumors and presenting it to the audience for self-inspection, to change ourselves as we saw fit.

Plays are propaganda, to some extent, but Sir Floy’s plays were unusual in that they would present both sides of an argument, and sometimes, more than two sides. They are not clear-cut, black-and-white, good- versus-evil morality plays, for Sir Floy wrote the “villains” with the same humanity as the “heroes,” forcing the audience to choose whom to side with.

His union of profundity and comedy was unmatched, inspiring other playwrights to emulate him (with a lesser degree of success, as his openhearted, generous humor and depth and breadth of understanding were his alone). His plays were enjoyed by both intellectuals and casual viewers, revealing a universality that is a hallmark of great art. 

We mourn a flame bearer for truth, for artistic integrity, whose light went out too early. Yet we rejoice that his plays remain, so that his words may be writ upon both heart and soul of Filipinos today and tomorrow.

And may we be inspired, as Sir Floy did, to always give the very best of ourselves to our country, no matter our politics or religion.

~Written by Gabriela Francisco

(Gabi Francisco (@teacher.gabi.reads)

[The reviewer bought the two separate volumes in various bookstores: National Bookstore in SM Sucat and F. Sionil Jose’s Solidaridad Bookshop. They are also available (currently as e-books) from Ateneo University Press for P450.00 each, and copies have also been spotted at Ayala Museum.]