''Student Canteen'' is a

Philippine television Television in the Philippines was introduced in October 1953 upon the first commercial broadcast made by Alto Broadcasting System (now ABS-CBN), making the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country and the second in Asia to do so. Even ...

variety show broadcast by

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

from 1958 to 1965, GMA Radio-Television Arts from 1975 to 1986, and

Radio Philippines Network Radio Philippines Network, Inc. (RPN) is a Philippine Media of the Philippines, television and radio company based in Quezon City. It is currently owned through majority share by Nine Media Corporation of the ALC Group of Companies; along wi ...

from 1989 to 1990.

History

DZXL

''Student Canteen'' was originally a radio show on

DZXL DZXL News (558 AM) is a radio station owned and operated by the Radio Mindanao Network. The station's studio is located at the RMN Broadcast Center, Unit 809, 8th Floor, Atlanta Centre, #31 Annapolis Street, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Man ...

hosted by

Eddie Ilarde Edgar Ubalde Ilarde (August 25, 1934 – August 4, 2020) was a Filipino radio and television host. On radio and television, he hosted programs such as ''Kahapon Lamang'', '' Student Canteen'' and ''Darigold Jamboree''. His first position as a ...

, Bobby Ledesma, Bobby de Veyra and

Leila Benitez Leila Benitez-McCollum (October 5, 1930 – April 9, 2020) was a Filipino-born American radio and television host, presenter, journalist and broadcaster. Benitez, who was nicknamed the "first lady of Philippine television", became a household nam ...

, entitled ''CBN Canteen''. The noontime show was aired on the canteen of the old

Manila Chronicle The ''Manila Chronicle'' was a newspaper in the Philippines founded in 1945. Its founding newspapermen sold it to Eugenio López, Sr. It was closed down when martial law was imposed by Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. It was published daily by the Ma ...

Building in Aduana,

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. It was later renamed ''Student Canteen'' after it became a hit with students.

Chronicle Broadcasting Network/ABS-CBN (1958–65)

In July 1958, DZXL Channel 9, then owned by the Chronicle Broadcasting Network, started broadcast operations. ''Student Canteen'' was brought to television that same year. The noontime show ended in 1965 when Eddie Ilarde went into politics. Prior to that however, the set of hosts for the show was replaced after main hosts Bobby Ledesma and

walked out of the program along with Eddie following a dispute. Pete Roa, then production manager of

, handpicked his wife

Boots Anson-Roa Maria Elisa Cristobal Anson-Rodrigo (née Anson; born January 30, 1945), better known as Boots Anson-Roa, is a Filipina actress, columnist, editor, and lecturer. Early life and education Anson-Roa, a Bicolana, is the eldest daughter of post- ...

, Ben Aniceto,

Pepe Pimentel José "Pepe" Gonzáles Pimentel, Sr. (April 27, 1930 – January 24, 2013) was a Filipino game show host, television personality, actor, and singer. He gained fame as the first champion of the original television reality competition show ''Tawag ...

and Nelda Navarro as replacements.

GMA Radio-Television Arts (1975–86)

In 1975, the triumvirate of Menardo Jimenez,

Felipe Gozon Felipe Enrique "Henry" Lapuz Gozon (born December 8, 1939), is a Filipino lawyer, business executive, and the current chairman and adviser of the board of GMA Network Inc., one of the largest media conglomerate in the Philippines. A lawyer b ...

and Gilberto Duavit Sr. took over

RBS RBS may refer to: Arts and media * Grupo RBS, Brazilian media group ** RBS TV * Republic Broadcasting System (RBS TV), now GMA Network, owned by GMA Network Inc., Philippines * RBS TV (Latvia), a defunct Latvian television station * ''Red Band ...

and changed its name to GMA Radio-Television Arts. Looking for a show that could serve as a gateway to daytime dominance, the new management conducted negotiations with Eddie Ilarde who readily agreed to revive ''Student Canteen'' under his production company Program Philippines Inc. In January 1975, ''Student Canteen'' was revived, with

Helen Vela Helen Vela Hernandez (formerly Punzalan; October 31, 1946 – February 14, 1992) was a Filipino actress and radio/TV personality. Early life She was born on October 31, 1946, in Manila, Philippines. Career Vela started her career in broadcast ...

and

Coney Reyes Constancia Angeline Reyes Nubla (born May 27, 1954), better known by her screen name Coney Reyes, is a Filipino film and television actress, comedian, television host and producer. Reyes made her acting debut in the 1974 film ''Return of the ...

joining original hosts

, Bobby Ledesma and

. Ramon Ramano was the original director of the show. Ariston "Aris" Bautista was the floor director, and later the show's director. The show had a segment called "Search for the Student Canteener" which was a singing contest. This segment attracted a lot of high quality contestants and many of former "Canteeners", including

Marco Sison Raul Marco Sison (; born July10, 1957) is a Filipino singer, actor, and politician. Singing career Sison started his singing career after his triumph on a singing contest on GMA Network's noontime variety show ''Student Canteen'' in the late 197 ...

, became successful professional singers. Many other singing contest segments within the show produced some of the country's top singers.

Bert Nievera Roberto Jose Dela Cruz Nievera (; October17, 1936March27, 2018) was a Filipino-American singer and businessman. He rose to prominence in 1959 after winning the "Search for Johnny Mathis of the Philippines", a singing contest on the television v ...

, for example, was the champion of the segment called, "Search for Johnny Mathis of the Philippines." The program also featured a highly popular segment called "IQ 7" which was a quiz contest and produced the country's top quiz champions like Bong Barrameda, Ramon Lorenzo, Romeo Miat, Victor Saymo, Vic Volfango, Antonio Manaloto, Esmeraldo Tellerva, Gil Manimbo, Eduardo Alvaran, Virgilio Acasio, Nazzir Abbas, Roberto Villareal, Emilio Apostol, Nehemias Miguel, Nilo Francisco, Sonny Pascual, Leoncio Pelayo, David Oriel, Leon Bongulto, Pete Dadula, Boni Magtibay, and many others who have gone on to excel in their respective chosen fields of endeavor. A spin-off of the quiz segment "IQ 7" called "Battle of Campus Brains" produced the first and only female quiz champion in the history of GMA-7 quiz shows, Essem Zisenia Solomon, who defeated the then reigning champion Pete Dadula and several other quiz veterans. ''Student Canteen'' was the only noontime show that existed in the 1970s before the debut of ''

Eat Bulaga! ''Eat !'' (; stylized as ''Eat... Bulaga!'') is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine television variety show broadcast by Radio Philippines Network, ABS-CBN, GMA Network and TV5 (Philippine TV network), TV5. Originally hosted by Tito S ...

'' on July 30, 1979, hosted by the trio of

Tito Sotto Vicente Castelo Sotto, III (; born August 24, 1948), is a Filipino politician and television personality who is a Senate of the Philippines, senator-elect of the Philippines. He is the longest-serving senator in the history of the upper chamb ...

Vic Sotto Marvic Valentin "Vic" Castelo Sotto (born April 28, 1954), popularly known as Bossing, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and television personality. Prolific in film and television in the Philippines since the 1970s, he is known for playing comed ...

Joey de Leon Jose Maria Ramos de Leon Jr. (born October 14, 1946), professionally known as Joey de Leon and also known as Henyo Master, is a Filipino comedian, actor, television host and songwriter. He is one of the members of the comedy trio, collectively ...

, formerly from ''Student Canteen''. ''Eat Bulaga!'' was in danger of cancellation until the segment "Mr. Macho" made it the top-rating noontime show in 1980. Afterwards, ''Student Canteens ratings began to decline.

would leave the show after it took in Chiqui Hollmann, formerly from ''Eat Bulaga!''. Other fresh faces would later join ''Student Canteen'', including

Jackie Lou Blanco Jacqueline Lourdes Corrales Blanco (born February 11, 1964) is a Filipino actress and aerobic instructor. During the 1980s and the 1990s, she appeared in different film genres including ''Hihintayin Kita sa Langit'', (1991), ''Si Aida, Si Lor ...

Chat Silayan Maria Rosario Rivera Silayan-Bailon (July 8, 1959 – April 23, 2006), also known as Chat Silayan, was a Filipino actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1980 crown and became the third runner-up at M ...

Dyords Javier Pinoy hip hop or Filipino hip-hop (also known as Pinoy rap) is a style of hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, especially Filipino-Americans. The Philippines is known for having the first hip hop music scene in Asia sinc ...

and

Francis Magalona Francis Michael Durango Magalona (October 4, 1964 – March 6, 2009), also known as Francis M, was a Filipino rapper, songwriter, and actor. He is regarded as an influential figure in Pinoy hip hop. Magalona was a son of actors Pancho Maga ...

Julie Vega Julie Pearl Apostol Postigo (21 May 1968 – 6 May 1985), better known by her stage name Julie Vega (), was a Filipino actress, singer and commercial model. She remains very popular in her native Philippines, years after her death at the peak ...

was supposed to be included in the show however, the plan was shelved following her illness and subsequent death in 1985. The show's stint on GMA ended on June 7, 1986 following the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

. It was later replaced by ''

Lunch Date ''Lunch Date'' is a Philippine television variety show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally hosted by Orlando S. Mercado, Orly Mercado, Rico J. Puno, Chiqui Hollmann and Toni Rose Gayda, it premiered on June 9, 1986. The show concluded on Marc ...

''.

Radio Philippines Network (1989–90)

''Student Canteen'' went back on air on February 20, 1989 through RPN (renamed as New Vision 9) taking over the slot of ''Eat Bulaga!'' which moved to ABS-CBN. The show was retitled ''Student Canteen (The Third Generation)'' because it was the show's third revival and third decade of existence. Original hosts Eddie Ilarde and Bobby Ledesma were joined by

Malu Maglutac Maria "Malu" Lourdes Maglutac Chiongbian (born October 10, 1960) is a former Filipino TV show host, ballet dancer, model, actress, newscaster, and beauty pageant title holder. She co-hosted the variety show '' Student Canteen'' from 1984 to 1990. ...

, Jean Garcia, Cherry Pie Picache and Atoy Co as co-hosts. Ramon Lorenzo served as the quiz master for the "IQ 7" segment. The show ended in June 9, 1990 due to disagreements between the RPN management and the hosts. A revival was in the works again the following year but was shelved after Bobby Ledesma died in 1993.

Cast

* Bobby Ledesma * The Tiongco Brothers * Sharon L. *

Carmi Martin Carmita Martin (born August 9, 1963) is a Filipina actress, model, and comedian. Martin has acted in many film and TV projects over the years. She reached new audiences in the 2010s and 2020s with roles in the films '' In the Name of Love'', '' ...

Atoy Co Fortunato "Atoy" Gan Co Jr. (born October 15, 1951) is a Filipino former basketball player and coach who played 13 seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association, mostly with Crispa Redmanizers. Nicknamed "The Fortune Cookie" (a pun on his na ...

* Chiqui Hollmann *

* APO Hiking Society *

Jean Garcia Jessica Anne Rodriguez Maitim (born August 22, 1969), better known as Jean Garcia (), is a Filipino actress. She is known as Madam Claudia Buenavista in the original version of '' Pangako Sa 'Yo'' and as Miss Minchin in the 1995 live-action r ...

* Rachel Anne Wolfe *

* JC Bonnin *

* Benedict Aquino * Jam Morales * Charles Harner *

Lou Veloso Luciano "Lou" Mariñas Veloso (born January 7, 1948) is a Filipino actor, comedian, director and politician. He is known for his supporting roles in over 30 comedy films, which include ''Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang'' (1985), ''Pulis Patola'' (19 ...

Cherry Pie Picache Cherry Pie Sison Picache (born May 27, 1970) is a Filipino actress. Known primarily for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters and television productions, she has received numerous accolades, including two Durban Internati ...

References

External links

* {{Afternoon variety shows in the Philippines 1958 Philippine television series debuts 1990 Philippine television series endings 1950s Philippine television series 1960s Philippine television series 1970s Philippine television series 1980s Philippine television series 1990s Philippine television series ABS-CBN variety shows Filipino-language television shows GMA Network variety shows Radio Philippines Network original programming