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Leila Benitez, original 'Student Canteen' host, dies due to COVID-19 complications

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/life/04/09/20200409-leila-benitez.jpg"/><figcaption>Leila Benitez (middle) was one of the original co-hosts of ABS-CBN&#x27;s &#x27;Student Canteen.&#x27; <em>ABS-CBN</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — Leila Benitez, co-host of the pioneering variety show &quot;Student Canteen,&quot; has passed away. She was 89.</p><p>Benitez died in New York City on Thursday morning (Manila time) due to complications from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), her son Gerry Roses told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>Benitez, along with Eddie Ilarde, Bobby Ledesma, and Pepe Pimentel, formed the original mainstays of &quot;Student Canteen,&quot; which transitioned to television from radio in the late 1950s.</p><p>&quot;Mga estudyante, they used to come in. This was their noon break. It became so big and so popular that it became a big, live amateur show,&quot; Benitez had recalled in 2013, when ABS-CBN celebrated the network&#x27;s 60th anniversary.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IR9L_l0-5mY?enablejsapi=1"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>By the late &#x27;70s, Benitez moved to the United States, where she had since stayed and raised her children.</p><p>Benitez follows screen veteran Menggie Cobarrubias as a Filipino showbiz personality to have died due to COVID-19.</p><p>Other confirmed cases of celebrities in recent weeks include Christopher de Leon, Iza Calzado, and Sylvia Sanchez, who have all reported making progress in their recovery.</p>

<p>Leila Benitez, co-host of the pioneering talent discovery show "Student Canteen," has passed away. She was 89.</p>

Leila Benitez, co-host of the pioneering talent discovery show "Student Canteen," has passed away. She was 89.