in the news

So here’s a pre-holiday surprise gift from The Weekly Sillimanian. I honestly thought the article would come out next year.

Those are big words in that headline. But all I want (for Christmas) is to carry everything I’ve learned as a practicing writer and as a volunteer for Bohol Climate Walkers, Plastic Free Bohol, Kaliwat ni Karyapa, Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage Council, and Center for Culture and Arts Development - Bohol into my work as a museum researcher in Dumaguete City. That includes, especially, the hope of cultivating more writing in Binisaya from my two hometowns. Considering that the paper’s writers interviewed me on two separate occasions for almost four hours, it’s understandable that some things may have been lost in translation, or that not everything could fit into a single news article.

Still, I am deeply grateful. As I shared with them, everything I do is ultimately for the public. Projects should never be born out of a personality, but out of the needs of a particular community. Happy holidays, friends and family!

[ full article can be read here ]

on asin tibuok

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.

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.

honored

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. 

47th ugat international conference (day 2)

Last November 13, returned to Holy Name University for Day 2 of the 47th Ugnayang Pang-aghamtao (UGAT) International Conference and attended the panels “Folklore Between Linguistics and Anthropology,” “Transdisciplinary Engagements in Archeology” (particularly for the talk on reviving the asin-tibuok of Alburquerque, Bohol through chemical engineering which was very, very interesting), and “An Ethnography of Ibanag Warfare and Weaponry Based on Spanish Colonial Texts.” The panelists were demonstrating martial arts movements and included capoeira!

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 ]

just thankful

After several schedule changes, no thanks to both typhoons and earthquakes, the event finally pushed through. Yesterday, in the morning of National Poetry Day, November 22, I went to the Ceremonial Hall of the Provincial Capitol of Bohol with my parents for the 2025 Carlos P. Garcia Awards and received a gift from the cosmos.

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 ]

pinanlinan 2024

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.

 

129th birth anniversary of pres. carlos p. garcia + 2025 cpg awards

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.

F. Jordan Carnice

for Literary Arts

Kaliwat ni Karyapa warmly congratulates F. Jordan Carnice, one of the honorees of the 2025 President Carlos P. Garcia Awards, recognized for Excellence in Literary Arts.

F. Jordan Carnice is a poet, fictionist, and visual artist from Tagbilaran City, Bohol. He is the son of civil engineer Wilfredo Ladeza Carnice and public high school English teacher Natividad Torralba Carnice. He is currently based in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, where he works as a researcher for the National Museum of the Philippines. His literary works have appeared in publications across the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, including Arizona, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Washington. His poems are forthcoming in a special issue of Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts focusing on writers from Asia, and his food heritage essay will appear in the book 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘭 𝘞𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳, a companion to the landmark anthology The Bohol We Love, which was nominated for the National Book Award in 2018 and also featured Carnice’s essay, “A (Re)collection of Stones.” In 2020, Carnice won the poetry grand prize in the Cebu Climate Emergency Literature and Arts Competition for his poem “There is Too Much Light in this World.” Carnice is also the founder of the Kinalitkalit Flash Fiction Writing Competition in 2020 and initiated in 2024 the inclusion of English-language submissions in the Tagik Poetry Writing Competition—two province-wide contests that promote literary production in Binisaya and English. He also founded and co-edits 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯, a series of print anthology compiling selected works from the two competitions, distributed for free to schools and public libraries to foster literacy and build a lasting archive of Bol-anon literature. He is also a regular panelist in the Agi Creative Writing Workshop, which is a workshop for aspiring and established writers in Bohol to develop their craft. He has contributed cultural, artistic, and environmental features to national and local publications. A recipient of fellowships from three national writing workshops, Carnice has twice served as a panelist at both the Taboan Philippine Writers Festival and the Dumaguete Literary Festival. He is a member of the technical working group that led to Dumaguete’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Literature, officially declared on October 31, 2025, by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. He is the author of two poetry chapbooks—Weights & Cushions (2018) and How to Make an Accident (2019)—and was named Poet of the Year at the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards both in 2023 and 2024, the first in the award’s history to receive the distinction consecutively. Carnice is also a member and regular volunteer for activities of Plastic Free Bohol, Bohol Climate Walkers, and Clean Energy Advocates of Bohol.

The President Carlos P. Garcia (CPG) Awards, conferred by the Provincial Government of Bohol through the Center for Culture and Arts Development (CCAD) and the Bohol Arts and Cultural Heritage (BACH) Council, honor outstanding Boholanos who have demonstrated exemplary achievements in their respective fields and have made meaningful contributions to the Boholano community and the Filipino nation. Through their accomplishments, the awardees carry forward the ideals of President Carlos P. Garcia—the lawyer, poet, chess enthusiast, and public servant whose life remains a model of integrity and intellect.

This year’s event, held in celebration of the 129th birth anniversary of President Carlos P. Garcia on November 4, 2025, was set to take place at the Bohol Cultural Center. However, due to Typhoon Tino and the province’s priority to ensure everyone’s safety, the awarding ceremony has been postponed until further notice.

Still, Kaliwat ni Karyapa joins the Province of Bohol in celebrating excellence in Cultural Heritage, Arts and Literature, Public Service, Sports, and Statesmanship, and in recognizing the awardees’ role as inspirations not only for Boholanos but for all Filipinos.

* * *

Below are the other 2025 CPG Awardees.

Jerrey David Aguilar

for Theater Arts

Nila Itac

for Dance

Ulysses Aparece

for Cultural Heritage Advocacy

Samuel Penaso

for Visual Arts

Luciano "Shanon" Pamaong

for Fashion Design

[ Photos borrowed from this site ]

2025 tagik and kinalitkalit writing competition winners and runners-up

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.

pinanlinan 2024

 

A new season is about to unfold. Launching soon.

we will remember

Like many kalag-kalag seasons, we did things a bit early to avoid the huge crowd of cemetery-goers on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days. On October 30, we visited the graves of family members and loved ones in Dampas, Loon, Maribojoc, and Dauis. It was a long day of traveling back and forth, and we weren’t able to make it to Serenity Park before it closed at 6PM.

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 ]

surprise email from carlos

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. 

not renewed

In the elevator earlier, I went up with three persons—two men and one lady—from the other office and overheard their lively conversation.

Man 1: "Oo, online ra ang renewal sa driver’s license." (Yes, exam for driver’s license renewal is now online)

Lady: "Lisod-lisod pud ang exam noh?" (The exam’s also a bit challenging, right?)

Man 2: "Lisod lagi. Exam-exam unya kung naa na diay ta sa kalsada, huna-hunaon pa diay na'to ng mga sign? Mahinumduman pa diay na'to unsay pasabot ana?" (I agree. We take these exams but once we’re on the road, do we really have to think about these signs? Can we even recall what these signs mean?)

Me, realizing I had spoken my mind out loud a second too late: "Dapat lang!"

The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped out from a space crowded with stupid people as early as 7:45AM.

This, my friends, is why road accidents are increasing each year in this country. This, my friends, is basically a result of people paying agencies to get their licenses without having to take the written and practical exams.

This, my friends, is called consequence.

from father to daughter: the lasting art of napoleon abueva

In the afternoon of February 19, 2020, packs of students, teachers, cultural workers, artists and guests came to the National Museum-Bohol for “The Life and Times of National Artist Napoleon ‘Billy’ Veloso Abueva.” It was a talk that was recounted by the artist’s daughter, Amihan Valles Abueva.

Contrary to popular belief and what is circulating online, Billy was born in Manila, not in Bohol, on January 26, 1930. But this does not negate the artist’s connection to the province. He is after all the son of Boholano congressman Teodoro Lloren Abueva and Purificacion Gonzalez Veloso, a Cebuana who became president of the Women’s Auxiliary Service. He was born Esabelio (that’s why he’s called Billy by family and close friends), but he took the moniker “Napoleon” after his time with the nuns at St. Joseph Academy who kept crying out “Napoleon Bonaparte!” whenever they found him being mischievous for the nth time.

Amihan with a bronze self-portrait bust of National Artist for Sculpture

Napoleon “Billy” Abueva.

Billy had even lived a significant portion of his life here, together with his own family, as evidenced by his contributions to the province: The statues of Pres. Carlos P. Garcia and Dagohoy; the Risen Christ in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in K of C; the tombstone behind St. Joseph statue at the Cathedral façade; the memorial structure in Balitbiton, Valencia; and the Blood Compact monument (which unfortunately has no plaque or telling signs of origin and artist despite its relevance to Bohol). There are more artworks in the Abueva residence in Duero. All this makes Billy as Bol-anon as the rest of us.

The tribute was a fitting addition to the National Arts Month activities in Bohol, since it was held just three days after the artist’s second death anniversary. Amihan, being an artist herself who usually works with fabric, had lovingly woven the life and works of his father with so much nuance and color.

Amihan shared that her grades in school didn’t matter to her father that much, as long as she would narrate to him the questions she had asked in her classes each day. Curiosity and discovery were important to the family. Billy was also supportive of her political inclinations that he would even suggest to Amihan that he will drive her to a rally in Mendiola. Another anecdote that was amusing for its candidness was when Billy, pressed with a deadline and taken over by temper, would reprimand his art assistants. But they would only laugh behind his back because, like several times before that, they knew Billy will serve them drinks and food when he will eventually realize it is unbecoming of him to get mad at them. “He is a generous artist,” Amihan said.

A stainless steel sculpture titled “Family Group.”
This is just one of the many works by Napoleon Abueva
that are currently on display in the Pagpauli (Homecoming) Exhibit
at the National Museum-Bohol (the old Capitol Building, located across Rizal Park).

For Billy’s body of works, one that gave him the status of being the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture, Amihan framed her discussion within the trends and significant movements of our history—from World War II and the rise of anti-colonial movements, the anti-racism and civil rights movements, the beginnings of feminism and gender equality, the struggle for democracy and human rights, down to technological advancements and the environment.

This was not only a fascinating peek into an artist’s mind but also a confirmation on the inseparability of politics and arts, the relationship between the environment and the creative process. For Billy, the youngest recipient of the National Artist title to date, the political has always been personal and vice versa. Nothing is made out of a void. And Amihan understands this very well. She is not only a daughter, a mother, and an artist, but also a child rights advocate and human rights activist. In fact, she is one of those at the forefront of opening the doors to child protection, here and abroad, ensuring that children are protected from violence, trafficking, and sexual exploitation.

A rare copy of a self-published book that contains
some of Billy’s masterpieces and the history behind them.

During the open forum, after National Museum-Bohol Head Audrey Dawn Tomada and Gov. Arthur Yap had given Amihan her certificate, I asked her this question: "As an artist and human rights advocate, what words of guidance or encouragement can you give to artists, especially the young ones, in this time of abuse, divide, and disinformation? What can be done? What must be done?"

“Be courageous. Be creative,” Amihan said. “Because artists have a very special role in helping others understand these key issues—disinformation, fake news, tyranny.”

Amihan then highlighted this need to inform and be informed with a question to the audience: “People have been killed in the last three years. For a country that is supposed to be Christian and Catholic, nganu maghilom man ta?”

Amihan also added: “When there are crises, this is the time that the artists come out… If you notice in the times of rebellion, in the times of revolt, diha nanggawas ang mga maayong writer, mga maayong painter. So this is a golden time. Unfortunately, it is a bad time for the victims. But for us who keep on fighting, I think it is a good time to continue the struggle for dignity, for human rights… Stay courageous, stay creative, don’t lose hope.”

Indeed, this boldness runs in the Abueva family, and most definitely manifests in the works of Napoleon “Billy” Abueva. Although his art is informed by the different years of celebration and turmoil in his surroundings, whether in the Philippines or outside its borders, Billy’s masterpieces remain to be both current and future-bound. His sculptures are timeless. Each has a distinct way of mirroring the present but one that is also looking forward. It exudes a creative wisdom that is eager. It is courageous.


[ This article is first published in The Bohol Chronicle on February 23, 2020 ]

ang larawan: review and observation

The journey of Loy Arcenas’ award-winning film, Ang Larawan, to Bohol is one that parallels the difficulties of getting it made and seen by an audience in the first place. It was never shown in any of our malls during the entire run of the Metro Manila Film Festival 2017 last December and January. When it got the chance to be screened in Bohol, it was cancelled and moved to another date due to typhoon Basyang. But the fates are still good, the hardworking culture-bearers of Bohol better.

Continuing the activities of this year’s National Arts Month, and being part of a school tour that would also take the film to Cebu and Negros Oriental, Ang Larawan is finally shown with two screenings at the Bohol Cultural Center on February 19.

Before the 7:30PM screening, the Loboc Children’s Choir performed a suite of pop musical pieces. Actors and producers Celeste Legaspi and Rachel Alejandro also sung in a cappella, after joining Loy Arcenas and producer Alemberg Ang for a symposium. The four of them fielded questions from the audience that touched on characterization, how commercialism could coexist with art, and the need for micro-theaters (or cinematheques) in provinces like Bohol that could readily accommodate unconventional, non-mainstream works and provide movie consumption diversity.

And how lucky these students and teachers were, these culture and art enthusiasts, these regular moviegoers, to finally experience Ang Larawan. Rarely do Boholanos see a Filipino musical of this pedigree. It is not just different for diversity’s sake; it is a landmark in Filipino artistry. This movie is based on a stage musical with translation and lyrics by National Artist for Theater and Literature Rolando Tinio and music by Ryan Cayabyab, which is also an adaptation of the play A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino by National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin.

Ang Larawan is set in 1940s Intramuros, before World War II, and focuses on two spinster sisters, Candida and Paula Marasigan, who live in a cavernous house with their artist father Don Lorenzo—the man who painted the titular larawan and who kept to himself inside his room for a year and counting after a mysterious tragedy. The once glorious household, where the alta sociedad frequently mingled, now relies on financial support provided by their siblings Manolo and Pepang, who both agree it is better to sell the property than to hold on to it like dead weight. But all this could not hold up to the daily expenses; Candida even considers her rat-catching talent and Paula’s fluent Spanish as lucrative jobs, but both eventually acknowledge this is not true. Thanks to Tony, a charming vaudeville piano player and male boarder who the two sisters have to take in, the idea of selling the last Marasigan painting for $20,000 to an American collector is put on the table. This sets Candida and Paula in a head spin and moves the story forward to situations no one would ever expect (unless you have seen or read the original play).

The movie is so lovingly made, as evidenced from the very first frame down to the last melody of a song. It is the type of movie that grows on you even as it confronts you with difficult, conflicting ideologies—principle or practicality, heritage or commercialism. Even if it brims with the gilded beauty of the past, it is not afraid to remind everyone that everything can be preserved as much as it could be ravished by the consequences of a decision or force that is beyond anyone’s control. Very much like a representation of how the culture and the arts in this country often balance on a precarious tightrope. The movie does not explicitly take sides, but any logical viewer can instantly decide where one must lean on. In fact, Joanna Ampil’s tremendous portrayal of Candida drives home the message.

The only hitch in this near-perfect production is that its movements stick closely to the structure of theater, that sometimes the pacing feels lumbering and too deliberate for a movie. There is no questioning the genius of Rolando Tinio’s libretto and Ryan Cayabyab’s compositions (whose score breezes through bombastic jazz and zarzuela), but the musical exposition it employs is in the vein of a Stephen Sondheim musical; the songs can be hard to sing along with.

It is easy to brush off this movie as another passion project that’s weighed down by its own ambitions, which makes it dismissible by an audience contented with slapstick humor and cheap thrills, but the movie’s mere presence in this time and age, let alone in Bohol, should be enough indication that we do have something great and important in our hands, that something even more precious could arrive someday. Has anyone heard of the movie Smaller and Smaller Circles by Raya Martin that features a host of Boholano talent but is unfortunately never shown in our cinemas in 2017?

It is no simple task, to remind everyone of this when people are getting used to with what they usually get (read: horror, romantic comedy, Vice Ganda), but last Monday’s audience turnout, with the help of both the local government body and private sector, suggests that a cultural renaissance is indeed possible. These are all concerns and ideas that have yet to meet a solid, committed prioritization in Bohol, but for now, let us at least revel at the thought that, at long last, the portrait is finally unveiled to Boholanos. To echo one of the movie’s cries, contra mundum!


[ article previously published in The Bohol Chronicle, 25 February 2018 ]

balut beer ug balak 2018 : the heart is in the words

February is practically baptized by many as the Love Month. But last February 11 at the CPG Heritage House Open Grounds, the evening professed a different kind of love that goes beyond flowers, chocolates, and candlelit dinners.

In celebration of this year’s National Arts Month, Kaliwat ni Karyapa (KaKa) Writers Collective, with the support of the Center for Culture and Arts Development (CCAD) and the Office of the Governor of the Province of Bohol, opened the seventh iteration of Balut Beer ug Balak (which is concisely hashtagged on social media as #BBB2018).

Lutgardo "Gardy" Labad introduces Kontra-GaPi and Kasing Sining

What started as a struggle to get the literary arts recognized in the province’s many festivities is now an event that justly merits the praise and attention it received last Sunday night. Back in the old days, there was significant support for all forms of Boholano art—except for the literary. There were budget and regular gatherings for music, dance, painting exhibitions! Unfortunately, there was none whatsoever for poetry and other writing affairs. If there was one, only little was heard of it, the fanfare muted like a cold grave shrug.

Kontra-GaPi dazzles the audience with a rallying ethnic music (source: CCAD)

As a rebellion and as a need to balance the field, considering that our nation has a writer hordes cherish as their national hero (Jose Rizal) and once had a prolific Boholano writer-lawyer as a president (Carlos P. Garcia), like-minded individuals united and pushed for an activity that celebrated the letters. They put emphasis on poetry, our very own balak, because it does not only encapsulate the yearnings of the Boholano heart but also humanity’s soul. KaKa, the writers collective whose rich history demands a separate article, was at the forefront of this endeavor.

Theater arts group Kasing Sining performs an excerpt of the musical 'Dagon sa Hoyohoy' (source: CCAD)

So for Sandugo 2004, the balak was brought to the public space. Since it was first held at the formerly scenic city pier, a combination of balut and a glass of beer was unanimously deemed the most felicitous reward for (non-minor) readers and performers. No pressure from anyone to present; it was simply done for the joy of this groundbreaking occasion.

An obligatory photo of me trying to drive home the message while presenting my piece

Thus, Balut Beer ug Balak was born. The singular dream to have Bohol’s varied literary voices heard is now a reality. For its latest appearance, BBB has even become more than its namesake. With Lutgardo Labad’s considerable generosity, the event last Sunday was graced by UP Diliman’s Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino (or better known as Kontra-GaPi), and our very own theater arts group, Kasing Sining, who presented an excerpt of the Boholano musical folk-epic Dagon sa Hoyohoy.

Becky Demetillo-Abraham of Inang Laya performs with Butch de Juan

And like most events, BBB was not spared of how things could never go as planned. It was unanticipated, the number of mambabalak and volunteer readers was high, and the programme lasted longer than it should be. There were several presenters who read their original works that touched on emotions that may be too big for them to grasp, like young singers straining for the celestial notes, while some disconcertingly tackled delicate issues with humor, which could have been handled with more sensitivity and thought, especially for impressionable minds. It’s a common misconception that spoken word poetry must always traverse the territory of crass and shock.

Some of the guests, performers, and readers of BBB 2018 (source: CCAD)

But in the end, creativity requires influence, and an occasion such as Balut Beer ug Balak provided the perfect avenue for this much-needed enlightenment, as seafarers to a fortified parola. We are each other’s guides. Possibly and hopefully, in its next iterations, BBB could be not only a regular gathering to celebrate the literary arts but also as an occasion for everyone to better map the landscape of our current realities and to better maneuver the terrains of the Boholano imagination and emotion.

See you next time!

Because poetry is confirmation. It sparks in you what you knew all along. It is the language of the heart and the soul and their attendant nuances—love and rage, celebration and loss, resistance and surrender—and all this makes the entirety of literature even more transcendent, beautiful.



[ the article is previously published in The Bohol Chronicle, 18 February 2018 ]

tagbilaran food guide 2017

Since last November, I’ve been seeing a lot of city food maps and hunger guides on social media—from Makati, Pasig, Taguig to Bacolod, Dumaguete, Cebu and much, much more. And then it hit me. It is unfortunate that I still have to encounter one for Tagbilaran City, Bohol. So, instead of waiting for it to pop-up on my news feed, I decided to create one myself.

I just think this is perfect for the holiday season, with friends and loved ones heading back to their hometown. Or tourists finally getting to have their dream vacation in the island.

This is by no means a ranking of food spots across the city. This is simply a list of options that my friends and I have come up with. Also, the places to eat are not limited to what I have provided here—there is more scattered all over Tagbilaran (and beyond the city itself). And like most memorable food experiences, the thrill comes in the discovery. More information below.  Some of the local establishments have their own Facebook pages, too. Check them out. Enjoy!

Note: This is subject to change, in case I have missed something. Click on the photo to enlarge.

RESTAURANTS

The Buzzz Cafe of Bohol and Bee Farm
▪ Galleria Luisa, Gallares Street
▪ Lite Port Center, Gallares Street
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.

Persona Mesa
▪ J.A. Clarin Street

Aïolí Cafè and Restaurant
▪ 717 Cesar Place, CPG North Ave.

Gerarda's Family Restaurant Bohol
▪ 30 J.S. Torralba Street
▪ CPG North Ave.

Prawn Farm
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.

Just Sizzlin'
▪ P. Del Rosario Street (beside Tamper)

Denrick's
▪ M. Torralba Street

10:31 by Chef M
▪ Miguel Parras Extension


FAST FOOD

Chowking
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.
▪ Alturas Mall, CPG Ave.

KFC
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.

Jollibee
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.
▪ Alturas Mall, CPG Ave.
▪ Plaza Marcela, Pamaong cor. Belderol Street

McDonald’s
▪ BQ Mall, CPG Ave.
▪ J.A. Clarin co. Calceta Street

Mang Inasal
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.
▪ Gallares Street (beside Borja hospital)
▪ Remolador Street (across old Holy Spirit School)
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave. (soon)

HOLA Mexi-Asian Fusion Cafe
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.

Dunkin’ Donuts
▪ 15 J.S. Torralba Street (across Plaza Rizal)
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.
▪ Plaza Marcela, Pamaong cor. Belderol Street

J. Co Donuts
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.


PIZZA 

Alfonso Pizzeria
▪ Dauis Junction

Al Fresco Bay Cafe & Restobar
▪ G. Visarra Street

Biaños
▪ Vennore Building, J.A. Clarin Street

Alberto's Pizza
▪ Belderol Street

Pizza Hut
▪ BQ Mall, CPG Ave.

Shakey’s
▪ Tagbilaran City Square, CPG Ave.

Greenwich
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.
▪ Plaza Marcela, Pamaong cor. Belderol Street

More Bites Pizza
▪ Gallares Street


THEMED

Bohol Pearl Korean Restaruant
▪ Lite Port Center, Gallares Street

Rai Rai Ken
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.

Shang Palace Seafood Restaurant
▪ North Town Center, CPG North Ave.

Mooon Cafe
▪ Lite Port Center, Gallares Street

Hot Soupoon
▪ Mansasa Seaside, Venancio P. Inting Ave.

Asiatika
▪ MetroCentre Hotel, CPG Ave.

JJ’s Dimsum
▪ CPG Ave. (beside MetroCentre Hotel)

Garden Cafe
▪ J.S. Torralba Street (behind Cathedral)


CAFÉ/PASTRIES

Tamper Coffee & Brunch
▪ P. Del Rosario Street

Panda Tea Garden / The Library Cafe
▪ J.A. Clarin Street

Tablea de Maria Clara
▪ Ma. Clara Street (across University of Bohol)

Chill Pill Cafe
▪ CPG East Ave.

Hugot Cafe
▪ Tagbilaran East Road

Bo’s Coffee
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.
▪ 15 J.S. Torralba Street (across Plaza Rizal)

Tuko Cafe
▪ Gallares Street (beside Ramiro Hospital)

Brewpoint Coffee Club
▪ J.C. Borja Street


CAKES & MORE

Too Nice To Slice Cake Gallery
▪ Dauis Junction

Cake Garden
▪ Dauis Junction

Estrella Bakery
▪ 15 J.S. Torralba Street (across Plaza Rizal)

Goldilock’s
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.

Red Ribbon
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.
▪ Alturas Mall, CPG Ave.

Mosia Cafe
▪ Mansasa Seaside, Venancio P. Inting Ave.

Sweet Home Café
▪ 15 J.S. Torralba Street

Sun Cafe
▪ Sun Avenue, Gallares Street 


LITSONAN MANUKAN GRILL

Payag Restaurant
▪ BQ Mall, CPG Ave.
▪ CPG East Ave.
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave. (soon) 

Chicken Ati-Atihan
▪ Ma. Clara Street
▪ Jacinto Borja Street

Gerry’s Grill
▪ BQ Mall, CPG Ave.

Chicken Deli
▪ Lite Port Center, Gallares Street

Abi's Seafoods & Grill
▪ CPG Ave.

JJ’s Seafood Village
▪ K of C Drive, Gallares Street

Acacia de BuBu
▪ V. P. Inting Ave. cor. E. Butalid Street


MORE RESTOS, SNACKS, ETC.

Wings St.
▪ Lite Port Center, Gallares Street

Socorro's Restaurant
▪ P. Del Rosario Street

D'boat Cuisine
▪ Galleria Luisa, Gallares Street
▪ Gallares Street cor. Jacinto Borja Street

Alexa
▪ BQ Mall, CPG Ave.

29th M Street Café
▪ Marapao Street (across Red Cross Bohol)

Munch Box Snack Bar
▪ Vennore Building, J.A. Clarin Street

Jojie's Pa-initang Bol-anon
▪ Tagbilaran City Square, CPG Ave.
▪ Island City Mall, Rajah Sikatuna Ave.

Kwek-Kwek og Tempura
▪ Tagbilaran City Sea Port

Siomaiyan
▪ Tagbilaran City Square