Benedicto reyes Cabrera (born April 10, 1942), better known as "BenCab",[1] is a Filipino painter who was conferred a National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts (Painting) in 2006.

[2] BenCab met British journalist Caroline Kennedy (author of An Affair of State, 1987, and How the English Establishment Framed Stephen Ward, 2013) in Manila in 1968, and married her in London in 1969.

[4] Their middle child, Mayumi, was born in Manila in 1973 and became a successful model both in London and Los Angeles.

When BenCab returned to the Philippines in 1972, he was hailed as a Filipino pioneer of the arts and a significant influence among his peers.

However, he returned to London once more in 1974, partly to get away from the tightening grip of Martial Law, which Ferdinand Marcos had declared in 1972.

That event is said to have "marked the beginning of [BenCab]'s passionate involvement with social commentary and the topics of repression and freedom,"[3] turning him into a key figure in the development of protest art against the Marcos dictatorship.

[3] When the 1990 Luzon earthquake struck, BenCab and the BAG helped out by instituting programs such as the ArtAid workshop for traumatized children, and a fund-raising art auction they titled "Artquake."