An Open Letter to C. S. Canonigo

See also "C. S. Canonigo Replies."

Dear Ms. Cristina Santos Canonigo,


I am writing to you in connection with the following book:

Talumpati! Talumpati! Talumpati!
Book One: Pantulong sa mga Guro't Mag-aaral
Tinipon at Isinaayos ni C. S. Canonigo

Karapatang-ari 2006 ni Cristina Santos Canonigo
Reserbado ang lahat ng karapatan (All Rights Reserved)
ISBN 971-846-052-7

Unang Limbag: December, 2006
Inilathala ng TCB Book Supply
Selling price at National Bookstore: 48 pesos

Specifically, I refer to the following speeches reproduced in the book:

Pananalig (Pangulong Ramon Magsaysay), pp. 51-52
Muling Maging Dakila (Pangulong Ferdinand E. Marcos), pp. 53-54
Mensahe sa Aking Mga Kababayan (Pang. Manuel L. Quezon), pp. 55-56

I was not born yesterday. The speeches enumerated above were taken from my blog. They were delivered in English, and I translated them into Tagalog. But no mention is made in the book, for which you have claimed copyright, of the original language in which the speeches appeared or of their translator.

Could it be that you made your own translations, and it just so happened that the words you used corresponded exactly with mine? But how do you explain the fact that the last words of "Sa Kabataan" (Onofre Pagsanghan), pp. 47-49, are the same as those of my post? I think it is too much of a coincidence that you acknowledge the same persons that I did in the exact same words that I used: "Thanks to Ronald Cabunagan and Francis Alvarez, SJ, for their assistance in obtaining the text."

For your information, the content of this blog is protected by a Creative Commons license, which states that my posts are free to be copied, distributed and transmitted under certain conditions, of which the most relevant to this case are:

Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor.
Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.

You have violated both of the conditions and I certainly did not grant permission because it was not sought. Hence, I demand that you pull out all the copies of the book from all distribution outlets by 30 September 2007. If you ignore this demand, then I will be forced to take legal action, not to mention use everything at my disposal—including the choice words I have refrained from employing thus far—to make sure that everyone who might possibly buy the book knows that you reap where you do not sow.


Vernon Totanes
Filipino Librarian
PRC License No. 4154