To Tging, our littlest eldest sister with the biggest heart—happiest of birthdays! I wish more people were as strong and compassionate as you. Thank you for taking care of our home’s fur babies. You deserve everything beautiful in this world. I couldn’t come home to Bohol today, but see you soonest!
Cheers to the team who made Alburquerque, Bohol’s asin tibuok part of UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. But I hope media would stop calling it “dinosaur egg” in their headlines and start calling it as it is—asin tibuok.
So the former interviewer got interviewed. Yesterday and today, writers from The Weekly Sillimanian and The Silliman Magazine visited the National Museum of the Philippines to speak with me for a feature they’re preparing. Two long sessions. Party because we covered a lot, partly because I definitely went off-tangent more than once.
We talked about personal projects, literary work in my home province of Bohol, nuances across Binisaya languages. We even tried to define what “literary culture and heritage” means in Negros Island and how institutions like the museum can help sustain it. Plus many small, unexpected detours in between.
It was fun. I remembered being in their place, writing features for The Weekly Sillimanian in 2006-2007, and then serving as features editor in my last two years of college.
When asked what my recognitions mean—whether the Poet of the Year titles from the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards or the recent Pres. Carlos P. Garcia Award—I said they feel like bonuses. They push me to keep writing, yes, but they were never the point. I’ve been writing since I was five or six, stumbling and growing through the work, and these milestones arrived without my chasing them.
Maybe that’s why they’re gratifying. They all came as surprises. I’m already happy sending drafts of poems through text messages to friends and loved ones, the way I’ve done since 2006. I still believe this: when you love the things that work for you, and when you work for the things you love, everything else falls into place.
We then talked about Dumaguete’s UNESCO Creative City of Literature designation. In my heart and mind, Dumaguete has always been a City of Literature. Long before the title, the art thrived through brave, thoughtful souls who kept the words alive. My hope now is that this recognition widens the circle—welcoming more voices, making literature accessible, and helping people see how prose and poetry matter in everyday life, from the tiangge to government offices, from the streets to the academe.
Thank you, Danielle Mari Bonior, Zarelle Villanzana, Carla Adeline Via. I hope I got the message across.
[ more photos here ]
Another reason to thank the Silliman University National Writers Workshop (SUNWW). Just happy to be part of this growing community. And here are a few factoids about how this thing—the oldest creative writing workshop in Asia—became so intertwined with my life.
🔸 I applied twice. First, as a poetry fellow in 2007. Rejected. The following year, I put together some stories and applied for fiction. That did it. I got into the 47th batch of writing fellows. I was 19.
🔸My co-fellows were Lawrence Anthony Bernabe, Noelle Leslie dela Cruz, Ma. Celeste Fusilero, Rodrigo “Igor” dela Peña, Arlene Jaguit Yandug, Bron Joseph Teves, Marguerite “Margie” Alcazaren de Leon, Dustin Edward Celestino, Joshua “Tokwa” Lim So, Liza Bacay, Ma. Elena Paulma, Anna Carmela Tolentino, and Lamberto Varias Jr.
🔸On Day 1, National Artist for Literature and workshop co-founder Edith Lopez Tiempo herself opened the first panel, discussing Noelle’s poem.
🔸 Our panelists were Ernesto Superal Yee, Bobby Flores Villasis, Myrna Peña Reyes, Cesar Ruiz Aquino, Dr. Rowena Tiempo Torrevillas, Jose “Butch” Dalisay, Butch Macansantos, Dave Genotiva, Susan Lara, Danny Reyes, Anthony Tan, and Lito Zulueta.
🔸 I remember being in awe of everyone—sharp, talented, articulate—while I was just there soaking everything in. But one co-fellow stood out in particular. Back then, the workshop ran for three weeks, each devoted to a genre: poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. There were 15 fellows, five per genre. Except in 2008, we were only 14. It turned out one fellow had applied to all three genres, and the screening committee found all his manuscripts strong enough to represent each genre for discussion. So he had a slot every single week. His name is Lambert. And then he disappeared from the grid. I still don’t know where he is.
🔸 There were days when we arrived late to KH 1, the room in Katipunan Hall where most sessions were held, and the running joke among panelists was that our nights were long and bacchanalian. To prove we weren’t drunk every night (just “every other night,” as Liza put it), we decided to make a book of new works to give the panelists and organizers on culmination night. Just so we can say we did some new writing during our stay.
🔸 That book became Sea[sic]: Prose and Poetry by the Fellows of the 47th Silliman University National Writers Workshop. It was launched at Hayahay on Escaño Road during the final night of the workshop. People were so thrilled to receive a copy that they decided right there and then that future batches should also produce a book of new works. What started as our simple thank-you gift is now a workshop requirement. Peace to all future fellows. We didn’t mean to give you an extra task.
🔸 We call our batch the Katsubongs, after one memorable trip from Bacong. I wrote about it for the workshop’s 50th anniversary in 2011 (link here: https://su.edu.ph/137-drugged-and-still-drugged/).
🔸 We spent a night at Salagdoong Beach in Siquijor. Literally slept in the huts by the shore, waking up to sunlight and sea breeze, practically ignoring the hotel rooms we had rented.
🔸 Seventeen years later, we’re still in touch, jumping from Yahoo Groups to Facebook to Messenger. A little older, maybe wiser, but still here, and I am still in awe of what have transpired. Still thankful.
Borrowed the image above from the official Facebook page of the SUNWW. You can check out the original post here.
It’s a rainy gloomy Friday morning here in the Visayas, with Tropical Depression Wilma looming over us, but there is also a bit of light with good news like this.
Thank you, Silliman University, especially to the Silliman University English and Literature Department and The Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center. As the sole creative writing major in my last two college years, I thought it would be an extra lonely journey, but here we are. I was wrong.
Borrowed the image above from the Silliman University website. You can read the full article through this link.
It was commendable to witness the works of people who, on top of their responsibilities in the office and in the field, still carved out time and energy to create these films. Entries ranged from the solemn to the comedic. If this activity continues in the coming years, one can hope the same passion and eagerness can flesh out nuances of what a government worker can be and should be, someone who balances self-care with genuine service, someone who works without expectations, and someone whose story also sheds light on what erodes the integrity of public service, especially given what we’ve been seeing in the news lately.
My co-judges were filmmaker and beetzee founder/CEO Chamberlain Gueverra, and Dr. Belen Calingacion, who served as head judge. Dr. Belen is a professor and former multi-term chair of UP Diliman’s Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts.
Even before we spoke, I had the feeling I’d seen her somewhere before. When she mentioned that I should’ve watched the play she appeared in last October, it clicked. She played the grandmother in Ang Sugilanon ng Kabiguan ni Epefania at the Woodward Little Theatre in Silliman! My hunch was right.
Grateful that the cosmos allowed the three of us to meet that night. Stories flowed, ideas aligned. Something cooking up for 2026. Many thanks go to visual artist Kevin Cornelia for the recommendation and to Agrarian Reform Program Technologist Nhelyn Ross Mahinay for the invitation. Maybe next year we should have a play competition?
[ More photos here ]
Earlier this afternoon, I picked up a box of donated toys from a friend for our museum’s “Give a Toy, Share a Joy” project. Instead of just walking to the museum and lugging the box around, I hopped on pedicab 0483.
As we passed a group of protesters along the boulevard who were calling for justice, denouncing corruption, the wastewater spill in Bais, and other forms of neglect, the driver noticed me taking a video. He turned to me…
Driver: “Bisa’g unsaon nila’g singgit dira, dili gihapon na sila masabtan. [laughs]”
Me: “Sige lang. Naa man silay placards ug streamers. Makabasa ra ang tawo.”
Driver: “Gibayran siguro na sila noh? [laughs]”
Me: “Dili man. Kung mahuman kos akong lakaw ron ug dili ko kapuyon, muapil siguro ko nila.”
Driver: “Wala diay nay bayad?”
Me: “Wala. Pero kung ganahan ka, pwede ka muapil.”
(He fell quiet for a moment.)
Driver: “…So bahin diay na sa kamatuoran ug kaayohan sa katawhan?”
Me: “O. Para asa pa man diay ning gipangbuhat natong tanan?”
He stayed quiet for the rest of the ride.
Sometimes you don’t need to fight fire with fire. But you also shouldn’t shrink and allow yourself to be subjected to ridicule. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is hold your ground—calmly, firmly—and offer a clearer view of what others have long refused, or never had the chance, to see all their lives.
After my trip to the museum, I walked back home, passed by the protesters again to take more photos and videos. I didn’t get to join them this time, but I am with them.
Before the day closed, attended the film screening of Tumandok by Richard Jeroui Salvadico and Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay, a Cinemalaya and Gawad Urian award-winning docu-fiction movie with my colleagues from the National Museum of the Philippines-Iloilo. We were all seated in one line while watching the movie, and when the lights turned back on, we apparently found ourselves on Hikbi Row. Namula ug nanghubag among mga mata, friends.
The displacement of our indigenous communities like the Ati in Western Visayas, the bureaucratic red tape they are forced to endure, and the violence they face which includes the Tumandok massacre on December 20, 2020, simply for defending their most basic rights, were gut-wrenching and massively frustrating to watch. And this is all still happening today. In fact, the inspiration for the film’s lead character, En-en, was present that night in HNU to share her story herself.
I cannot stop thinking about the film. It’s one of those works that lingers; one that feels essential viewing for everyone, especially in this country.
After the screening, I approached one of the co-directors, Arlie, and mentioned the possibility of bringing the film to Dumaguete. She was enthusiastic and hoped an institution could help make it happen. We will see.
[ More photos here ]
To the other awardees, you can get a copy of the paper at the newsstand beside Pizza Hut in BQ Mall or directly from The Bohol Chronicle / DYRD Office along B. Inting Street, Tagbilaran City.
[ More photos here ]
This essay first appeared in Dumaguete MetroPost (Vol. XXVI, No. 1292) for its May 18–24, 2025 issue, specifically in the paper’s City of Literature section.
The full article can be read here.
We may still be young and small, but we always make sure every visit is meaningful and memorable.
We’re open every day—yes, Mondays to Sundays—from 9AM to 5PM. See you puhon! And Happy Fiesta, Dumaguete!
[ More photos here ]
There were many stumbles before getting the CPG Award for Excellence in Literary Arts. Or any recognition for that matter. I’m just lucky I have a family that reads, especially parents who supported my decision to take on what others might say an “uneconomical” field (creative writing what?), and a sister who introduced me to books and to writing very early on. Lucky to have relatives like my lolo Julian “Papa Iyan” Ypong Torralba, whose little library in the old house in Tamblot was packed with books, journals, magazines, and newspapers. That slim room taught me that entire universes hide between tiny printed words.
But even with an early intro to reading and writing, life still gets in the way. You get distracted, get your heart smashed into smithereens, get hurt so deeply that not even the salve of prose or poetry can soothe you. Or quiet the demons in your head. I stopped writing for almost three years, no new sensible material from 2013 to 2016. This is where my gratitude goes to my partner Marjune, and to my friends in Kaliwat ni Karyapa, Plastic Free Bohol, and the Bohol Climate Walkers. These people showed me what purpose looks like. They were the compass that pointed me back to myself and what matters most. Other fellow CPG Awardees who I knew from way, way back and became friends along the way are also an inspiration without a doubt. There are people who aren’t happy for this award, and you can tell by their forced snark and indifference, but I let it be. We focus.
Beyond that family, that sister, that lolo, that private library, that circle of friends, or that organization, I wish all our governments could be the support system a talent needs, and provide the kind of foundation that consistently nurtures it until it can stand on its own. I wish for more public libraries in our city and municipalities. I wish we recognize that reading and writing are as intrinsically valuable as any other discipline.
Because privilege can be made accessible. Because public spaces that nurture learning and leisure are possible. Everyone in the ceremonial hall that morning holds the power to move us in this direction. May the 2025 Carlos P. Garcia Awards be a true beginning, a moment when we choose to share that power with all.
Once again, thank you to Loon, the municipality that first nominated me for this award. Thank you to the 2025 CPG Awards committee, the Provincial Government of Bohol, the Center for Culture and Arts Development - Bohol, and the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage Council. Daghang salamat!
[ More photos here ]
Today marks the opening of the 2025 VIVA ExCon (Visayas Islands Exhibition and Conference), the longest-running, artist-run biennale in Southeast Asia. This year, Kalibo, Aklan hosts the gathering under the theme “Sádsad Panáad.” It ends on November 23, 2025.
I’m not attending this edition, but somehow I’m still there through an “Island Report.” My gratitude to VIVA ExCon Negros Island Coordinator and Researcher Ma Isabel Gutang and to videographer-documenter Ryly for reaching out and recognizing the NMP-Dumaguete as a partner to the region’s creatives. I deeply appreciate their alignment with a principle we hold close, which is art matters most when it considers how it empowers and improves the lives of people, especially those in the grassroots and indigenous communities who often carry the stories that shape our cultural identity.
I had the chance to be part of VIVA ExCon in November 2018 in Roxas City, Capiz, and it was an experience that stayed with me. It opened my eyes to how art thrives outside the usual “centers” of the industry. One important realization is that the artistic practice in the Visayas is a delicate balance of production, appreciation, and, ideally, fair transaction. These initiatives are largely artist-led and deeply connected to local communities. You rarely see that kind of authenticity and reciprocity in galleries!
Thanks as well to writer, visual artist, and fellow Bohol Climate Walker Liza Macalandag and to the National Museum representatives Harriet June Tubil, Julie Bee Unlayao, and Bryan Noel Marzona for suddenly sending photos from the opening this afternoon. If not for them and their surprise updates, I wouldn’t have known that the convention had already begun.
[ More photos here ]
There are good news and there are bad news.
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I am fiercely loyal to friends, the very few people I trust.
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Last Thursday, November 14, while moving photos from my phone to a flash drive, I found a video from July 20, 2013. Edwin and Sancho had just moved to a new apartment, and they were trying to cheer me up with a small wooden artist figure. I remember that day. A Saturday in Manila, when I felt the world tightening around me. The usual culprits from college were silent. Edwin and Sancho, knowing what I was going through, pulled me out of my head and asked me to help them pack. These two, in their own way, saved me.
They were always more level-headed than I was. Always saying things will pass. And life happened, I returned to Bohol. On August 18, 2022, Edwin told me Sancho had passed away.
Watching that old video again, I thought of messaging him, to catch up. Based on his social media, he’s into badminton, and he’s good at it. Before I could send my message, I rushed out of the house for a conference.
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On November 16, as I was readying for my return to Dumaguete, a friend messaged: “Not sure if you heard about Edwin...” I immediately knew what it meant. One of my fears had arrived. He passed away the night before. The message I meant to send stayed as a draft, unsent.
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On November 19, we should be celebrating Sancho’s 40th birthday.
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Two of the few people I trusted most are gone. Two who steadied me whenever I faltered. Edwin pushed me to explore. Sancho, an artist through and through, urged me to write more so we could one day create a book together. For years he sent drawings and ideas, but I kept saying no, afraid to try new things. It took time to unlearn that fear, after numerous times of being rejected, lied to, maybe even gaslighted, by someone who I thought cared.
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This morning, November 17, after the flag ceremony, the museum announced my achievement for literary arts. I know, without Edwin and Sancho, none of this would have happened. I would still be that man filled with uncertainty.
There are bad news, always. But there are good news you can hold on to.
Aside from my family, friends, and my partner, I am especially sharing this win with you two.
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Thank you, Sancho.
Thank you, Edwin.
Rest in peace. And I’m sorry. I really am sorry.
On November 11, traveled back to Bohol for the 47th UGAT International Conference, hosted by Holy Name University in partnership with the National Museum of the Philippines–Bohol. UGAT Ugnayang Pang-Aghamtao is an organization of anthropologists in the Philippines. The annual gathering brings together not only anthropologists but also scholars, practitioners, and researcher students to discuss concerns and engage with issues shaping Philippine society, culture, and even the rest of the world. Each year features panels, roundtables, and lectures built around a central theme. For 2025, it is “Engaging Anthropology, Anthropology in Action.”
Fairly new to this world, and while I’m excited by many interests and the pursuit of knowledge, I’m also aware of how much I still have to learn. Sometimes I feel that, without realizing it, I’ve been brushing against anthropology all my life.
With that in mind, I looked for panels and talks that would help me understand not only my own ways of making sense of each other and this world but also my ongoing project at the museum. On Day 1, attended “Lives and Labors at Sea: Gender, Work, and Coastal Communities,” “Kaalamang Bühay at Ugnayang Bumubühay: Mga Kaalamang Katutubo ng Agta-Tabangnon ng Tiwi, Albay,” and “Animating Ruins and Landscapes: Heritage as Lived Experience.” I ended the afternoon with a keynote lecture, “Working-Class Support for Illiberalism: A View from the South,” delivered by Rosana Pinheiro-Machado of University College Dublin.
The day of shared ideas closed beautifully with a quick sunset stop at Becca, followed by Gabii sa Pag-abiabi ug Panag-ambit, a welcome dinner for conference delegates at NMP-Bohol. The Dimiao Children’s Rondalla was easily the highlight of the evening.
[ More photos here ]
So many things are happening in 2025, and as much as we would love to launch it later this year, we might have to postpone it. But the work is all done.
The third edition of Pinanlinan—an anthology of winning and selected works from the participants and judges of the Tagik Poetry Writing Competition and the Kinalitkalit Flash Fiction Writing Competition held in 2024—will be coming out early next year, in 2026. This volume is co-edited by the poet Rene Eune Ponte and yours truly.
Pinanlinan 2024 features poems and stories by F. Jordan Carnice, Angelli C. Closas, Ian-Jhel T. Galan, Jovanie Garay, Luigi Miguel P. Jacaban, James Sayao Japos, Ariel B. Logroño, Jason G. Madijanon, Jake Malon, Ma. Faith O. Malon, Reynaldo T. Masana, Peter Junriel M. Milana, Ardeshir Abid Morales, Shawn Michael Mutia, Argosy S. Nazareno, Mark Ken Oray, Rene Eune P. Ponte, Mary Grace C. Ramada, Yudi Santillan III, and Janice S. Tuazon.
This new volume also features a stunning cover artwork by Yo Yo Cabahug, who is a member of Bohol Pop Contemporary Visual Artists Group.
Pinanlinan is led by Kaliwat ni Karyapa, with the support of the Provincial Government of Bohol, through the Center for Culture and Arts Development - Bohol and the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage Council - Literary Arts Committee.
Today marks the 129th birth anniversary of Carlos P. Garcia—a Boholano, poet, lawyer, chess enthusiast, and the country’s 8th president. Receiving an award that bears his name makes the heart a-flutter.
Thank you once again to the Provincial Government of Bohol, Center for Culture and Arts Development - Bohol, and the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage Council. My gratitude also goes to my friends and hardworking chuwariwaps at Kaliwat ni Karyapa for trusting me to handle literary projects for the province. Hangtod sa makaya!
Below is lifted from the Kaliwat ni Karyapa Facebook page.
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Below are the other 2025 CPG Awardees.
[ Photos borrowed from this site ]
Dear cosmos, this is all for you. Congratulations to fellow honorees, Jerrey David Aguilar, Ulysses Aparece, Sam Penaso, Deya Tsyna Cabagnot, and Nicole Asares.
Thank you, Provincial Government of Bohol, through the Center for Culture and Arts Development - Bohol and the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage Council. Special thanks goes to the Municipality of Loon for the nomination.
And above all, my deepest gratitude to my family, friends, and loved ones who have wholeheartedly supported me from the very beginning. Here’s proof that a strong community makes the success of one possible. Truly, no man is an island.
The winds and rains are starting to pick up here in Bohol, growing stronger by the hour. Please stay safe and dry, everyone. And don’t forget your pets.
Typhoon Tino may be on its way, but here’s a little bit of good news to brighten the day. The winners of the 4th Tagik Poetry Writing Competition and Kinalitkalit Flash Fiction Writing Competition are featured in today’s issue of Lifestyle Bohol, the features section of The Bohol Chronicle.
Grab a copy at the newsstand beside Pizza Hut in BQ Mall or directly from The Bohol Chronicle / DYRD Office along B. Inting Street, Tagbilaran City.
I’ve always had an affinity for trips like this, especially with my mother who is a storyteller. She recalls stories with remarkable detail, particularly those from the Flores Valles and Torralba sides of the family.
One of her accounts is about a parish priest, apparently the great-grandfather of my grandmother, Mama Pila. Sometime in the early 1820s, Mount Hibok-Hibok (then called Catarman Volcano) in Camiguin erupted so massively that residents were forced to flee. Some Mambajao locals resettled in Bohol, including my soon-to-be ancestor, a woman with the family name Roldan. She settled in Dauis, where she became a cantora, or church singer. Like in many unfortunate tales, she was impregnated by a Spanish kura paroko or parish priest and bore an illegitimate son named Jose “Eping” Flores.
The priest was later reassigned to Maribojoc, bringing with him Jose, now grown up. Jose eventually became mayor of the town and was fondly known as Kapitan Eping. Their ancestral house once stood behind the Maribojoc Church, built on what was originally a small islet separated from the mainland by a narrow river flowing toward the Cebu Strait. When the priest became the town’s parish priest, locals—especially churchgoers—were tasked to haul kuta or coral stones to fill the gap, gradually linking the islet to the main coastline. My mother recalls visiting that house during town fiestas and Holy Week as a child, its cavernous living room floored with wide wooden planks and filled with religious relics.
Another story my mother told me was about a war veteran in the family, Panfilo Torralba, the youngest among my grandfather Papa Iyan’s siblings. He enlisted during World War II and, like so many others, never made it home. He died young, one of the countless Filipinos who perished during the Japanese invasion in Luzon in 1942.
His remains contained in a casket were sent back to Bohol in a separate stately aluminum box, which was kept in my grandfather Papa Iyan’s silong, the open space beneath the floor of their house in Tamblot. The box was kept for several more years in that silong even after the casket was buried. When my mother was a child, she would often see that box while playing in the area. One day, out of curiosity, she and her playmates pried it open, only to find a serpent coiled inside. That sight alone was enough to keep them away from the silong for good.
There were so many tales and fragments to take in. Some haunting, some simply human. Like many family stories, ours seems to begin with something that lingers between memory and myth. My mother said my uncles have written records and more to tell. Maybe it’s time to look into them.
[ More photos here ]
For All Saints’ Day, let me share a poem, “The Dead Follows Me to the Bedroom.”
An earlier version of this piece was part of a 14-poem suite titled “The Shape of Days” which was first published in Agwat-Hilom, an anthology produced by the National Committee on Literary Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), which gathered literary works on the COVID-19 pandemic from writers across the Philippines back in 2020.
Five years later, pandemic or not, the losses we continue to endure, especially those fueled by mismanaged state funds, still haunt us just the same.
We did it, fam! What a glorious way to end the month of October! Dumaguete City is now officially a UNESCO Creative City of Literature! It joins a distinguished network of just over 50 cities around the world recognized for their outstanding literary culture and commitment to creativity.
I had the honor of representing the National Museum of the Philippines - Dumaguete as one of the major stakeholders during the city’s bid to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) over the past months, presenting how the museum continues to promote and sustain the community’s literary heritage through its public programs and visitor engagement activities, such as our Knowledge Nook mini-library, Muse and Metaphor at the Museum lecture, Paglampos: Stories of Triumph by the Women of SAFIRE, Paglampos: The Art of Zine-making, the Silliman University National Writers Workshop: The Fellows Forum, among others. And there’s more to come!
Established in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network fosters international cooperation among cities that place culture and creativity at the heart of sustainable urban development. The network recognizes cities in seven creative fields, namely, Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. All this encourages the cities to exchange best practices, form partnerships, and integrate cultural development into local planning.
Before this milestone, through the UNESCO-Philippine National Commission, the Philippines only had three UNESCO Creative Cities: Baguio (Crafts and Folk Art, 2017), Cebu (Design, 2019), and Iloilo (Gastronomy, 2023). With Dumaguete’s inclusion, the country now proudly adds a City of Literature to the list.
Dumaguete City, along with Quezon City (for City of Film), made history as the first designations in their respective fields in the country. Dumaguete, in particular, is among the first Creative Cities of Literature in Southeast Asia alongside Jakarta.
This push was spearheaded by the Dumaguete City Tourism Office, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Negros Oriental Provincial Office, and a core group of creatives led by award-winning writer Ian Rosales Casocot. Grateful to everyone who worked so tirelessly to make this happen, and excited to see what lies ahead for my second home under this groundbreaking recognition.
[ Read more about the declaration here ]
Clearly our overreliance on messaging apps for work has dulled our ability to communicate with clarity and intent. Many no longer write in complete sentences, sometimes mistaking brevity for efficiency. Meaning gives way to speed, as if speed is equal to being professional.
Ultimately, logic is often hijacked by a false sense of urgency, as though it were the reader’s task to piece together what the sender failed to articulate well. So pagsulat mog tarong, please. Or better yet, maybe find another avenue to communicate instead of personal social media accounts? Like an email?
Before heading back home to Bohol later this afternoon for this year’s Undas, a special email from “Carlos” suddenly appeared in my inbox this morning…
❎ Carlos Palanca Awards
✅ Pres. Carlos P. Garcia Awards
Bokya na naman tayo this year sa Palanca, but I will gladly take this alternative. My province of Bohol has been a constant blessing in this life. Dear cosmos, family, friends, and my beloved, this is all for you.
It has always been for you.
