Wilfrido Maria Guerrero (January 22, 1911 – April 28, 1995) was a Filipino playwright, director, teacher and

theater artist. Guerrero

wrote well over 100 plays, 41 of which have been published. His unpublished plays have either been broadcast over the radio or
staged in various parts of the Philippines.
His plays can be found in various anthologies: 13 Plays (first published in 1947), 8 Other Plays (1952), 7 More Plays (1962), 12 New
Plays (1975), My Favorite 11 Plays (1976), 4 Latest Plays (1980), and Retribution and eight other selected plays (1990). Guerrero
also published a family memoir, The Guerreros of Ermita (1988).
Guerrero taught and trained many notable figures in the Philippine Performing Arts: Behn Cervantes, Celia Diaz-Laurel, Joy Virata,
and Joonee Gamboa.
Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero was born in Ermita, Manila. He wrote his first play at the age of 14 in Spanish, entitled, "No Todo Es Risa."
This play was produced at the Ateneo de Manila University when he was 15.
Guerrero worked as a reporter and proofreader for La Vanguardia, a Spanish newspaper, and as a drama critic for the Manila
Tribune. He also worked for some time in the Philippine film industry as a scriptwriter. He served as director of the Filipino Players
from 1941–1947. In 1947 he was appointed as Director of the Dramatic Club at the University of the Philippines despite not having a
degree, and he held that position for sixteen years.[2]
In 1962, he organized and directed the U.P. Mobile Theater, which travels around the Philippines to give performances.[2]
Several of Guerrero's plays have been translated into and produced in Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog, Visayan, Ilocano and
Waray. Six of his plays have been produced abroad: "Half an Hour in a Convent" at the Pasadena Playhouse, California; "Three
Rats" at the University of Kansas; "Condemned" in Oahu, Hawaii; "One, Two, Three" (premiere performance) at the University of
Washington, Seattle; "Wanted: A Chaperon" at the University of Hawaii; and "Conflict" in Sydney, Australia.[2]

He is the first Filipino to have a theater named after him within his lifetime: The Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater of
the University of the Philippines.

Summary of Three Rats

The story is all about a married couple named Gonzalo and Nita. Gonzalo phoned Nita that he will come back home. He feigned his knowledge
about Nita’s affair with his best friend of 15 years, an unmarried man named Adrian. He showed Nita cyanide, a lethal poision. Nita asked why
he has one and he answered that it is for business purposes. Sometime later, Adrian came over and chatted with the married couple. He asked
his best friend, Gonzalo, for some money and was not hesitatingly granted by Gonzalo. The chat went pretty long until Gonzalo offered Adrian
some coffee. Unknown to Adrian, Gonzalo slipped some cyanide as an act of retribution for what Adrian did while he is away. Nita was alarmed
by this action and stopped Gonzalo and his scheme, but to no avail. He even told Nita that she will see her secret lover die in front of her.
Ultimately, Adrian drank it. The poison slowly crept in and he died. Nita asked Gonzalo why he did not kill her instead. He answered that he
wants to see her live her life miserably and in shame, and the story ends with him phoning the police.

As my conclusion, I understand Gonzalo and his rage, but murder is not the right thing. He should’ve settled it in court. A person can never play
God. A dispute should be settled the human way and with human rules. Furthermore, the story showed the fury of a man or a woman scorned.
The vengeance showed by Gonzalo is unnerving because of the frustration he felt that his wife was cheating behind his back. I hate these kinds
of stories. It is just so sad, ugly, and tragic.