AGUNG No 2 (March-June) 2015 - Opt

Volume XVIII Number 2 2015 For Artists and Cultural Workers ISSN 0119-5948
Inscribed for Posterity

Official Newsletter of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts
2 | Agung March - May 2014
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
his issue of Agung captures an auspicious and celebratory time in the arts and culture landscape of
the country as there are several developments that we can be indeed grateful for.
First, our literatures are given their deserved spotlight, not only this year but in the years to come with
the signing of Proclamation No. 968, which declares April as Buwan ng Panitikang Filipino or National Literature
Month. With this gesture, the whole nation will bestow on our writers and their works that very much
deserved salutation. Literature has been crucial in shaping our personal lives, our communities and the nation.
Not exactly literature, but a system of writing was declared National Cultural Treasure. The baybayin
documents of the University of Santo Tomas and their recognition inspire us to take pride in our own
culture, which is advanced enough to have its own systems of writing.
Concerning another National Cultural Treasure, the Metropolitan Theater of Manila has finally come
under the wings of the NCCA. After many years of sporadic restoration and neglect, this heritage landmark will
see a rebirth as a center for the arts as plans are underway for its rehabilitation and conservation.
On the other hand, a part of our intangible cultural heritage, specifically the Christian traditions,
is vibrant and well. The Filipino is a very spiritual people, and it is no surprise that some groups,
particularly, the lowland ones, had embraced Christianity. Not only that, the Filipino has imbued it with
such character and color that the religion becomes effervescent and interesting. It is not enough that
rituals are somber and serious; they must include dancing and songs, engaging the whole community.
Devotion is not only private but public as well, as people gather and connect to each other in public
ceremonies and celebrations. A celebration of a Philippine Christian milestone, Kaplag 450 not only
traces the devotion to the Santo Nino and the start of Christianity in the Philippines. It is also a reflection
of this devotion made alive with dancing and songs, resulting in the spectacular Sinulog Festival of Cebu
as well as other feast day celebrations in honor of the Santo Nio.
Even in the most elegiac of Christian occasions like Lent, Filipinos still gather together and mount
colorful commemorations that not only gather the community but draw people from other places to
join as well, such as the case of the Lenten rituals and traditions of Paete, Laguna.
And in line with the Yugyugan event, we dance for ourselves, for the community, for heritage and
for the spirit that unites us as a nation. We dance to connect, to heal and to inspire.
FELIPE M. DE LEON, JR.
Vol. XVIII, No. 2

March-June 2015
ISSN 0119-5948
FELIPE M. DE LEON, JR.

chairman
About the cover

Cover shows the Old
Tagalog baybayin
documents of
University of Santo
Tomas Archives
declared a National
Cultural Treasure
ADELINA M. SUEMITH
oic-executive director
MARLENE RUTH S.
SANCHEZ, MNSA
deputy executive director
Rene Sanchez Napeas
editor-in-chief
The agung is a knobbed metal

gong of the Philippines used
in various communal rituals.
Suspended in the air by rope
or metal chains, the musical
instrument is also employed by
some indigenous groups as a
means to announce community
events, and as an indicator of the
passage of time.
Agung is published bimonthly
by the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts.
Roel Hoang Manipon

managing editor
Mervin Concepcion
Vergara
art director
Marvin Alcaraz
photographer
Leihdee Anne Cabrera

Manny Arawe
Alinor Maqueda
May Corre Tuazon
Roezielle Joy Iglesia
Randolf Clarito
paio staff
Emilie V. Tiongco
editorial consultant
The National Commission

for Culture and the Arts
As the government arm for culture
and the arts, the National Commission
for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is the
overall policy-making, coordinating,
and grants-giving agency for the
preservation, development and
promotion of Philippine arts and
culture; and executing agency for the
policies it formulates; and an agency
tasked to administer the National
Endowment Fund for Culture and
the Arts (NEFCA). The NCCA traces its
roots to the Presidential Commission
for Culture and the Arts (PCCA), which
was created when President Corazon
Aquino signed Executive Order No.
118 on January 30, 1987, mindful
of the fact that there is a need for a
national body to articulate a national
policy on culture, to conserve and
promote national heritage, and to
guarantee a climate of freedom,
support and dissemination for
all forms of artistic and cultural
expression.
On April 3, 1992, President Aquino
signed Republic Act No. 7356 creating
the NCCA and establishing the NEFCA,
a result of over two years of legislative
consultations among government
and private sector representatives.
The bill was sponsored by senators
Edgardo J. Angara, Leticia RamosShahani, Heherson T. Alvarez and
congressman Carlos Padilla.
The NCCA Secretariat, headed by the
executive director and headquartered
at the historic district of Intramuros,
provides administrative and technical
support to the NCCA and other units,
and delivers assistance to the culture
and arts community and the public.
UST archivist Regalado Trota Jose guides NCCA chairman

Felipe de Leon Jr., and KWF chairman Virgilio Almario in
viewing the baybayin documents. /Photo by Marvin Alcaraz
Invaluable Imprints
UST Baybayin Documents Declared National Cultural Treasure
The National Archives of the Philippines (NAP) unveiled a

marker for the two Old Tagalog baybayin documents of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Archives, declaring them a National
Cultural Treasure (NCT), on November 13, 2014, at the Miguel de
Benavides Library. This was the first time NAP has declared a National Cultural Treasure and the first for a paper document.
The unveiling was graced by NAP executive director Victorino Mapa Manalo; National Artist for literature and Komisyon sa
Wikang Filipino chairman Virgilio Almario; NCCA chairman Felipe de Leon Jr.; UST rector Rev. Fr. Herminio V. Dagohoy, O.P.;
and UST archivist Regalado Trota Jose.
Prior to the unveiling of the marker, the UST baybayin documents
were first declared NCT at the Second Baybayin Conference, the Ancient and Tradition Scripts in the Philippines. Hosted by the National
Museum of the Philippines (NM), the conference was held at the Ayala
Theater, Museum of the Filipino People, on August 22, 2014, in conjunction with the nationwide celebration of Buwan ng Wika.
The First Baybayin Conference was held on December 13, 2013,
and presented the discovery of Monreal Stones in Ticao Island, Masbate, to the public. For the second conference, the objectives were to
present updates on the studies made on Monreal Stones and other
artefacts with ancient scripts, to intensify awareness on the cultural
importance of the baybayin; to raise awareness of the importance
of cultural heritage and the need for its protection; to share knowledge; and to provide a forum for researchers and students on how to
preserve and protect the Filipino cultural heritage. The conference
was participated in by more than sixty representatives from NAP,
UST, National Library, KWF, San Beda Ayala, Siliman University,
University of the Philippines, Normal University of the Philippines,
NCCA, Sanghabi Group, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and the Na-
tional Museum personnel from the Archaeology, Anthropology and

Chemistry and Conservation Laboratory Divisions.
Distinguished anthropologists and researchers in the field of ancient and traditional scripts in the Philippines presented their paper
including Dr. Bonifacio F. Comandante, Jr of the Siliman University,
who gave updates on the Monreal Stones, sulat baybayin of Mindanao, and present use of baybayin; Dr. Teresita B. Obusan of Bahay
Nakpil, who said that there is a need to conduct an extensive and
intensive research on ancient and traditional scripts in the Philippines
and the baybayin is a medium used by our ancestors in giving meaning to things, objects and events; Emmanuel S. Castro, who told the
accomplishment of Sanghabi in 15 years of research, presentation and
ritual performance; Adelina Villena, who discussed the case of the illegal extraction of stalagmite in Guri Cave; Melissa May Cardenas,
who combined the art of writing ambahan, poetry from of Hanunuo
and Buhid, using baybayin; Leo Batoon, who presented the National
Museum project on the conservation of Tagbanua/Palawan syllabic
writing; and Dr. Ramon Guillermo, who attempted to qualify or even
refute the notion that texts written in traditional Tagalong baybayin
are necessarily difficult or even impossible to read, and made a renewed assertion of a corollary hypothesis regarding the strong possibility of a relationship between Bugis-Makasar and Philippine syllabaries.
The public declaration of UST baybayin documents served as
the highlight of the conference, led by Michael C. Francisco. Jose
presented a paper on their significance.
Baybayin is a general Filipino or Tagalog word for script, writing or syllabary, and now refers to the Old Tagalog abugida. The
Philippines has several baybayins, including the Palawan, Tagbanua,
Hanunuo Mangyan and Buhid Mangyan.
The UST baybayin documents are two deeds of sale of land,
4 Agung Number 2 2015

transacted in 1613 (labelled as Document A) and 1625 (labelled as
Document B).
According to Academia, the UST international bulletin (October 2014), Document A documents the sale of tubigan (irrigated
land) by Doa Catalina Baycan, a maginoo or principal of Tondo,
to Don Andres Capiit of Dilao, a district in the vicinity of todays
Manila City Hall. Document B documents the sale of irrigable land
in the area of Mayhaligue, most possibly the area around the Department of Health in Santa Cruz, Manila, by Doa Maria Silang, a
maginoo of Tondo, to Doa Francisca Longgad, a maginoo of Dilao.
Document A is dated February 15, 1613, while Document B is
dated December 4, 1625. The second paper was previously dated to
1635, until further research showed that in Old Tagalog, according
to Fr. Blancas and Tomas Pinpin, expressing a number from twenty
onward to another number was achieved by counting the next higher decade and affixing the lower number. For example, 42 would be
written micalimandalawa (two towards the fifth decade), and so
forth. Thus, micatlong lima was then correctly read as 25, not 35.
Don Andres Capiit, who bought the land in Document A,
married Doa Francisca Longgad, who bought the land in Document B. Capiit must have died between 1613 and 1625, at which
time Francisca married Don Luis Castilla. In 1629 Luis Castilla sold
The unveiling of the marker declaring the baybayin documents of UST

as National Cultural Treasure was led by NCCA chairman Felipe de Leon
Jr., National Archives of the Philippines executive director Victorino
Mapa Manalo, UST rector Rev. Fr. Herminio V. Dagohoy and UST archivist
Regalado Trota Jose. /Photo by Marvin Alcaraz
OTHER GOVERNMENT EFFORTS

Senator Loren Legarda renewed her call for the promotion of baybayin
by using it in government logos, public signage and even in local product labels,
during the fourth Baybayin Festival Rizal, which was organized by Taklobo
Baybayin Inc., Baybayin Buhayin, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the
province of Rizal, on November 22, 2014, at the Ynares Center, Antipolo City.
The event was attended by teachers and students from public and
private elementary and high schools in the DepEd Division of Rizal and
Antipolo. Legarda also shared that she has filed measures in the Senate
that aim to promote and preserve baybayin.
Senate Bill No. 1899 mandates all government agencies, departments
and offices to incorporate Baybayin in their official logos.
All government agencies and offices must take the lead to further
promote Filipino culture and traditions, strengthen Filipino identity, and
instill the same in everyday life.The logos and seals of government agencies
and offices should not only reflect the emblems of their functions and
duties but also pride in Filipino heritage and traditions, said Legarda.
some land to UST, which occasioned some contestation. Castilla

therefore showed as proof of ownership Documents A and B.
When UST acquired this land, the proper documents passed
on to form a hefty volume of 17th century papers in the UST Archives. They were both summarized in Spanish in 1629, which provided us with a baybayin Rosetta Stone, an invaluable tool to reading these documents.
A pioneering study on baybayin in UST was made by Ignacio Villamor and Norberto Romualdez, both Thomasians, in
1918, which was revised in 1922. Villamor became the first Filipino president of the University of the Philippines (1915 to 1918),
while Romualdez was eventually made chairman of the Philippine
Commonwealths Committee on National Language. The study was
deepened by the work of Fr. Alberto Santamaria, O.P., archivist of
UST, who published his work in 1938 in the UST journal Unitas.
The UST baybayin documents provide us with an insight on how
much more prevalent was the use of baybayin. Previously, it was generally
thought that baybayin was limited to writing love poems, accounting, and
signing papers. The documents give us a glimpse of life and commerce
in early 17th century Manila, at a time when UST was still a fledgling
school. Significantly, they also demonstrate the involvement of women in
business, selling and buying land in this instance.
The UST baybayin documents are considered the longest and
most complete documents completely handwritten in baybayin,
part of a compilation of baybayin documents regarded as the biggest collection of extant ancient baybayin scripts in the world. They
are also the oldest known deeds of sale for land in the Philippines.
A National Cultural Treasure is described as a unique object found
locally, possessing outstanding historical, cultural, artistic and/or scientific value which is significant and important to this country and nation
(Republic Act 4846 as amended by Presidential Decree 374).
The documents are the fifth objects found in the UST campus to
be declared NCTs. The four others include the UST Main Building,
the Arch of the Centuries, the Central Seminary building, and USTs
open spaces. The UST is the only school in the country to have NCTs.
Due to their fragility, the documents are stored at the UST
archives and are unavailable for public viewing. Replicas, however,
may be viewed at the archives office on the fifth floor of the UST
Miguel de Benavides Library. The baybayin documents were first
shown in public during the tricentennary of the university in 1911.
That same year, the documents were first published in Libertas, a
daily newspaper published by the university.
Some of the government offices and agencies that have already

incorporated baybayin in their official logos include the National Museum
of the Philippines, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, the National Library, the
National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the National
Archives of the Philippines, the National Historical Commission of the
Philippines (NHCP), and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
Meanwhile, Senate Bill No. 2440 aims to declare baybayin as the
National Writing Script of the Philippines and mandates the NCCA to lead
the promotion, protection, preservation and conservation of the baybayin.
The measure also mandates local food manufacturers to inscribe
baybayin and their translation on containers or labels; local government
units (LGUs) to use baybayin in their signage for street names, public
facilities, among others; and newspaper and magazine publishers to
include baybayin translation of their official name.
Moreover, reading materials about baybayin will be distributed to
all public and private educational institutions and all government and
private agencies and offices to instill awareness of the declaration of
baybayin as the national writing system.
The new bronze statue

of 19th-century Tagalog
poet Francisco Balagtas
Baltazar was unveiled in
Orion, Bataan, made by
sculptor Julie Lluch. /Photo
by Roel Hoang Manipon
Intensifying the L
The Commemoration of Balagtas and
the Launch of National Literature Month
Text and photos by Roel Hoang Manipon
Manila Bay, from the vantage point of

Roxas Boulevard and the districts of Malate and Ermita, is where the sun sets most
beautifully in the sprawling metropolis. But
in the town of Orion in Bataan, a province
northwest of the Philippine capital and
which hugs the northern portion of the
bay, the sun disperses its first light. It lightly
gilds the shore of Wawa, a coastal barangay
of Orion, where the neighborhood children
play among the ashen sand; the families and
lovers watch the sun rise on the breakwater;
and the fishermen cast their nets out in the
sea.
On the early morning of March 30,
2015, the most beautiful monument to
Francisco Balagtas Baltazar first saw
golden light here, as it was unveiled in the
presence of cultural and local government
officials including National Commission
for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) chairman
Felipe de Leon, Jr.; National Artist for literature and chairman of the Komisyon sa
Wikang Filipino (KWF) Virgilio Almario;
Antonio Raymundo, Jr., mayor of Orion;
and Albert S. Garcia, Bataan governor, stirring up the usually quiet neighbourhood
and indicating the importance of the event.
The 19th century poet is widely considered the greatest of poets in Filipino and
one of the greatest writers in the Philippines, whose metrical romance or awit Florante at Laura is included in the high school
curriculum. While regarded a hero, he was
perhaps the least commemorated and there
was no decent monument of him.
The recently unveiled monument was
para tunay na mailuklok natin sa tumpak na
dambana ng karangalan ang ating bayaning

manunulat (to truly place our writer-hero
in his right shrine of honor), according to
Almario.
KWF commissioned Julie Lluch to do
the monument. The prominent sculptor
did the monuments of Apolinario Mabini
for the 150th birth anniversary celebration,
which is now in Tanauan, Batangas; Carlos
P. Romulo along United Nations Avenue,
Manila; Jose Abad-Santos and Cayetano
Arellano on Padre Faura Street, Manila; and
President Manuel L. Quezon in the province
of Quezon. For Balagtas, she took inspiration, upon the suggestion of Almario, from
the depiction of Balagtas by National Artist for visual arts Carlos Botong Francisco
in his mural that was originally installed at
the Manila City and now owned by the National Museum of the Philippines. The new
bronze monument portrays the poet seated
beside a table, a quill in one hand and looking at the sea, seemingly in deep thought.
Surrounding the monument, a park was
under construction, including part of the
bay still to be reclaimed. The Hardin ni
Balagtas, or the Garden of Balagtas is envisioned to serve as a cultural park with
native plants and trees. When the reclamation and landscaping are finished, Almario
wished it to be national park, a destination
for tourists and literature lovers. A library
is envisioned so that the park is hindi lang
hardin ng pagmamahalan kundi hardin din
ng karunungan (not only a garden of love
but also a garden of knowledge) and those
who will visit di lang mamasyal, para rin
mag-aral and magbasa. (not only lounge
around but also to study and read) A big

plan of the KWF and the municipal government are finding the remains of Balagtas
and their re-internment at the park. It is a
popular belief in Orion that the Balagtas remains are buried at the Saint Michael the
Arcangel Parish Church, near the altar.
Gusto naming itangi ng buong Filipinas ang ating manunulat, (We wish that
the whole Philippines will distinguish our
writer) Almario said. Kung mapapansin mo
kasi, ang halos lahat ng deklaradong national
heroes ng Filipinas ay puro mga patriots, mga
martir, mga heneral, mga napatay para sa
bayan. Ang gusto natin ngayon ay magkaroon
din tayo ng isang modelo sa ating mga kabataan na isang bayani na kahahangaan dahil sa kanyang malikhaing talino, hindi nagpakamatay sa bayan, hindi naghirap sa kung
anuman para sa bayan, ngunit inihandog ang
kanyang talino, ang kanyang dakilang talino,
para sa pagsulong ng kamulatan ng ating mga
kababayan. At nais naming na si Balagtas
ang maging modelo ng gayong uri ng bayani.
(Because you would notice, almost all of
the declared national heroes of the Philippines were patriots, martyrs, generals, those
killed for the country. What we want now is
to also have a model for our youth, a hero
admired because of his creative genius, not
because he died or suffered for the country,
but he offered his talent, his great talent,
for the advancement of our countrymens
consciousness. We wish Balagtas to be the
model for that kind of hero.)
Almario said these to hundreds of young
participants of the youth camp Kampo
Balagtas, which immediately began at the
2015 Number 2 Agung 7
Light of Literature
Orion Elementary School after the unveiling of the statue. These two events were held
in commemoration of the 227th birth anniversary of Balagtas or the Araw ni Balagtas
(Balagtas Day), which falls on April 2. Since
becoming KWF chairman, Almario made it
a point to pay tribute to Balagtas in a significant way. Last year, he spearheaded commemorative events in three places closely associated to Balagtas, including Orion. The
town, then called Udyong, is said to be close
to Balagtass heart. Here, he wrote some of
his masterpieces and died on February 20,
1862.
Ito pa lamang ang ikalawang pagkakataon ng paglalakbay ng KWF dito sa Bataan,
(This is just the second time KWF traveled to Bataan) he related. Naisip namin
ito noong nakaraang taon upang kilalanin
ang pangyayari na kung tutuusin kahit ipinanganak sa Bulakan, kahit sa Pandacan sinasabing sinulat niya ang kanyang Florante
at Laura, ang mahigit na mahabang panahon sa buhay ni Balagtas ay dito naganap sa
Udyong, sa Balanga at saka sa Udyong. Dito
niya nakatagpo ang kanyang naging kabiyak
na si Juana Tiambeng. (We thought of this
last year to give recognition to the fact that
even though he was born in Bulacan, even
though it is said that he wrote Florante at
Laura in Pandacan, it was here in Udyong,
in Balanga and Udyong, Balagtas lived a
large part of his life. He met his wife Juana
Tiambeng here.)
Almario expressed many big plans for
the commemoration of Balagtas as well as
in the efforts of promoting Philippine literature in general. One is to make Araw ni
Balagtas a national non-working holiday,
and he hopes that by the third time they will
celebrate Araw ni Balagtas it comes to fruition. A resolution has been sent to Malacanan Palace. He was glad though that Bataan
had declared Araw ni Balagtas a provincial

holiday.
He was much pleased that another
dream was realized this yearthe declaration of April as National Literature Month.
Tinaon naming Abril dahil gusto naming
magsimula ang pagdiriwang ng National Literature Month sa Araw ni Balagtas. Simula
sa araw na ito, ang pagdiriwang ng Araw
ni Balagtas ay pambungad na ng National
Literature Month, (We timed it in April
because we want to start the celebration of
National Literature Month with Araw ni
Balagtas. Beginning today, the celebration
of Araw ni Balagtas is already the introduction of National Literature Month) Almario
explained.
Aside from Araw ni Balagtas, many literature-related events fall under April such as
the birth and death anniversaries of literary
icons Emilio Jacinto, Paciano Rizal, Nick
Joaquin, Edith Tiempo and Bienvenido
Lumbera, and international literary celebrations including International Childrens
Book Day, International Day of the Book
or World Book Day, and World Intellectual
Property Rights Day. Also, during this summer month, several writers workshops are
being held.
The uses and roles of literature are multitudinous and multifarious. One universally
accepted attribute of literature is its ability
to provide elevating and edifying experiences which enlarge our horizons and enhance
us as a people. In the Philippines, as in numerous countries in the world, literature
also has a vital role in turning the course
of history and shaping society. These literary works are not necessarily revolutionary
and patriotic, but also works even by sheer
beauty and deepness of thought that came
to define us as a people, as human.
According to poet and officer in charge
of the Sangay ng Edukasyon at Networking

of KWF John Enrico Torralba: Sa kasaysayan, naging kasangkapan ang panitikan
sa pagsulong at pagpapalaganap ng mga adhikain ng mga dakilang tao at karaniwang
masa, lalo na ang dalumat ng pagkabansa.
Mula noon hanggang kasalukuyan, ang panitikan ang isa sa mga pangunahing sanggunian ng pagkatao ng mga Filipino, ng pagiging tao ng mga Filipino. Sumasalamin at
naglalatag ang panitikan ng kung ano tayo at
kung saan ang maaari nating kahantungan.
(In history, literature has been instrumental in the flourishing and promulgation of
the goals of great persons as well as of the
ordinary masses, especially on the concept
of nationhood. From the olden times until
now, literature is one of the primary guides
in shaping Filipino identity and humanity.
Literature mirrors and illustrates what we
are and where we are going.)
Malawak at malayo na din ang naabot ng
ating panitikan. May pagtanggap at pagkilala
na sa ibat ibang antas ang lipunanmula
sa mga internasyonal na larang hanggang
sa mga karaniwang sulok ng mga tahanan,
mula sa maseselang panlasa hanggang sa simpleng pagkalibang, (Our literature has gone
a long way. It has garnered reception and
recognition in different levels of society
from the international field to the ordinary
corners of the home, from critics with the
most discerning tastes to the ones who just
want diversion) he further explained. Ang
kapangyarihan at kabuluhang ito ng panitikan ng mga Filipino ang siyang dahilan, sa
tingin ko, kung bakit may Buwan ng Panitikang Filipino. Dagdag pa, may sakit na pagkalito at pagkalimot ang maraming Filipino
kung kayat kailangang ipaalam at ipaalala
sa kanila ang kapangyarihan at kabuluhang
ito, na tayo ay may panitikan, na tayo ay Filipinong may maipagmamalaking panitikan.

(The power and significance of Philippine
literature are reasons, in my opinion, why
there is a Philippine Literature Month. Additionally, many Filipinos are afflicted with
confusion and forgetfulness, and there is
need to remind them of literatures power
and significance, that we have a literature
we can be proud of.)
Now, the whole nation can highlight the
importance of literature every year. President Benigno Aquino III signed Proclamation No. 968 on February 10, 2015, which
declares the month of April as Buwan ng
Panitikang Filipino or National Literature
Month.
The proclamation states that Philippine
literature, written in different Philippine
languages, is associated with the history
and cultural legacy of the State, and must
be promoted among Filipinos, and that
national literature plays an important role
in preserving and inspiring the literature of
today and in introducing to future generations the Filipino values that we have inherited from our ancestors.
Right after the establishment of National Literature Month, the government
agency on the national language and other
Philippine languages, with support from the

NCCA, the governments overall agency on
arts and culture, rushed through its firstever celebration.
First, KWF chose the theme Alab Panitikan, literally fire of literature, which is
also a play on the phrase I love panitikan.
The theme also encapsulated the goals of the
celebration this year.
Nag-aalab ang panitikang Filipino,
(Philippine literature is burning) Torralba
said. Isang layunin ng pagdiriwang ay ipaalala na may mahabang kasaysayan, kung
kayat may malalim at malawak na lawas
ng mga akda ang Filipinas; at ipakilala na
patuloy na nabubuhay ang ating panitikan.
(One objective of the celebration is to remind people of the long history of Philippine literaturethus, it has a deep and wide
body of works and that it continues to
be alive.)
Pag-alabin ang panitikang Filipino, (To
kindle Philippine literature further) he continued. Isa pang layunin ay hikayatin ang
mga Filipino, mga propesyonal , di-propesyonal, mag-aaral, guro, at iba pa na makibahagi
sa pagpapanatili, pagpapalaganap, at pagpapalawak ng pagkamalikhain ng mga Filipino
sa pamamagitan ng tuloy-tuloy na produksiyon at promosyon. (Another objective is to

encourage Filipinos, the professionals, the
non-professionals, students, teachers and
others to take part in sustaining, popularizing and disseminating Filipino creativity
through continuous production and promotion.)
He concluded: Ay lab panitikan. Sa kabuuan, ang nais na maabot ng selebrasyon ay
mas malalim na pagpapahalaga sa ating panitikan, at higit sa lahat, ipakita na mahal
natin ang ating panitikan. (I love literature.
Overall, the celebration hopes to foment a
deeper appreciation for our literature and to
show that we love our literature.)
The line-up of activities and events consisted of established regular endeavors as well
as new ones. Even though the preparation for
the celebration was rushed, KWF was able to
draw a calendar of activities. Foremost were
the monument unveiling and the Kampo
Balagtas from March 30 to 31, which gathered around 500 Grade 8 students in the
Central Luzon region and delegations from
different indigenous groups of the country.
With the theme Si Balagtas at ang Kabataan (Balagtas and the youth), the camp gave
A new monument of Francisco Balagtas Baltazar was unveiled on March 30, 2015, in Orion, Bataan, led by NCCA chairman Felipe de Leon, Jr.; National
Artist for literature and chairman of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino Virgilio Almario; Antonio Raymundo, Jr., mayor of Orion; and Albert S. Garcia,
Bataan governor, among others.
lessons on first aid and martial arts, among

other things, and featured cultural presentations and discussions on the importance of
Balagtass life and legacy. During its opening, the winners of Talaang Ginto: Makata
ng Taon and Gawad Dangal ni Balagtas were
declared. Freelance writer Christian Ray
Pilares was honored as Makata ng Taon in
the poetry contest in Filipino for his poem
Pingkian, while Michael Jude Cagumbay
Tumamac placed second for Pananaginip
kay Tud Bulul and Francisco Arias Montesena third for Bahagdan, Walang Sukat ang
Bayaning Kabataan. Rogelio Mangahas,
known as part of a triumvirate that ushered
in the second movement in Modernism in
poetry in Filipino, was given the lifetime
achievement award.
Literary events for the rest of the month
included Tertulya sa Tula: Isang Hapon ng
mga Makata ng Taon every Monday at the
KWF headquarters, where audiences had
the opportunity to interact with the Makata
ng Taon winners. Meanwhile, the Filipino
poets group Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika,
at Anyo (LIRA) conducted the Lakbay-Panitik para kay Emilio Jacinto in Majayjay,
Laguna, in celebration of the heros death
anniversary. On the other hand, Gumil Filipinas (Gunglo dagiti Mannurat nga Ilokano
iti Filipinas) or Ilokano Writers Association
of the Philippines held its 47th national
conference at the Cubao Expo in Quezon
City with the theme Ang Papel ng Gumiliano sa Lipunang Ilokano. (The role of a Gumil member in Ilocano society). LIRA also
had a poetry reading program at the Conspiracy Bar in Quezon City, while in Davao
City, the Davao Writers Guild and Young
Davao Writers held Kumbira! which included a poetry reading, an exhibit and a book
sale. A poetry reading by the Katig Writers
Network was mounted at University of the
Philippines Tacloban in Leyte and at the
Northwestern State University in Calbayog
City, Samar. A Cebuano version of the play
The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, called
V-Latanay, was staged at the University of
the Philippines in Mindanao.
Some of the activities were educational
such as Tradisyon at Modernidad: Isang
Simposyum of the University of Santo
Tomass Center for Creative Writing and
Literary Studies, and a translation seminar
for teachers at the Western Mindanao State
University in Zamboanga City. The Old
Tagalog abugida or baybayin was the focus
of a summit in Lingayen, Pangasinan, from
April 9 to 11, participated in by teachers,
scholars, researchers and students, tackling
the issue of introducing the abugida into the
school curriculum. On the other hand, the
Ortograpiyang Pambansa, KWF Manwal sa
Masinop na Pagsulat, and Korespondensiya

Opisyal was tackled at the Uswag Filipino!,
an annual seminar-workshop on language
and literature for teachers, at the Bulacan
State University. The Klasrum Adarna session for teachers tackled Pagtuturo ng Noli
at Fili/Ibong Adarna in Makati City while
the Folk on Badiw: Ibaloy Legacy to Poetry
and Music was held at the University of the
Philippines in Baguio City with National
Artist for music Ramon Santos as guest of
honor. Also in Baguio City, the Kapisanan
ng mga Superbisor at Guro sa Filipino (Kasugufil) mounted the Pambansang Kongreso
sa Wikang Filipino.
The Pambansang Araw ng Gawad sa KWF
Timpalak Uswag Darepdep , a contest of the
KWF for 12 to 17-year-old aspiring writers writing in different Philippine languages
was opened. This year, language categories
open for competition are Ilocano, Cebuano,
Bicol and Mranaw.
The month also abounded in writing
workshops. Ateneo de Manila Universitys Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and
Practices held the High Fantasy and Young
Adult Writing Workshop every Saturday
of the month while the Bienvenido Santos
Creative Writing Center of the De La Salle
University held the Young Writers Workshop for very young children with literary
inclinations. The Manila Times College in
Intramuros, Manila conducted a literary
journalism workshop with veterans that
included critic and playwright Dr. Isagani
Cruz. From April 26 to 28, the Iyas National Writers Workshop of the University of St.
La Salle-Bacolod was held in Bacolod City,
Negros Occidental.
On April 23, the National Book Development Board spearheaded the celebration
of the National Book and Copyright Day.
The Holy Week is not the only occasion that provides spirituality, reflection and
meaningfulness during this season popularly known for excursions and beaches.
With the newly declared Buwan ng Panitikang Filipino or National Literature Month,
April in the Philippines will be a more enriching and soulful time.
Mas malalaki at bonggang uri ng mga
gawain, (Bigger and spectacular activities)
promised Torralba on future celebrations.
Noong huling meeting sa NCCA, nakaiisip
na ng ilang malalaking gawain para sa susunod na taong pagdiriwang. Nariyan ang mga
pagkakaroon ng mga pambansang timpalak
sa mga tradisyonal na anyo ng panitikan ng
bansa gaya ng timpalak sa balagtasan, tigsik,
ambahan, balitao, etc. Isa ding mungkahi ay
ang pagkakaroon ng Gawad Alab Panitikan.
Siyempre, ninanais na buong bansa o karamihan ng mga sektor, institusyon, o organ-
FRANCISCO
BALAGTAS
BALTAZAR
Francsico Balagtas Baltazar is widely

considered as the Prince of Tagalog Poets because
of his masterpiece, the metrical romance Florante
at Laura. He is also considered to have changed
the course of literature during the Spanish
colonial period. He was admired by both Jose
Rizal and Andres Bonifacio for the outstanding
craftsmanship of Florante at Laura. Balagtas
revolutionary political and social ideas were
admired also by them as well as by poets of today.
It is very unfortunate that many of
Balagtas awit and komedya were destroyed
when his home in Bataan burned down, save for
one saynete, La india elegante y el negrito amante.
The manuscript of the komedya Orosman at
Zafira was recently discovered, attesting to his
immense talent as poet-playwright and showing
his advanced political leanings.
Balagtas was born on April 2, 1788, in
Panginay, Bigaa (now Balagtas), Bulacan, to
Juan Balagtas and Juana Cruz. He was sent to
relatives in Tondo, Manila, to serve as house
help in exchange for education. He attended
Colegio de San Jose and Colegio de San Juan de
Letran. In Colegio de San Jose, he was listed as
Francisco Baltazar. This is also the name used
in the marriage document when he married
Juana Tiambeng in July 22, 1842. There is no clear
explanation on the change of surname.
In 1835, he fell in love with Maria Asuncion
Rivera of a wealthy clan in Pandacan, but the affair
did not prosper. Kay Celia, the introductory
poem of Florante at Laura, was dedicated to
her. In Pandacan, Balagtas was incarcerated, the
reason of which is still unknown. He was freed
on 1838, the year Florante at Laura is said to
have been published. Balagtas moved to Udyong
(now Orion) in Bataan, where he married Juana
Tiambeng and raised eleven children. He was
again imprisoned in 1856, following a complaint by
a house help whose hair was cut off by Balagtas
for unknown reason. The case impoverished the
Balagtas family. He was imprisoned in Balanga,
Bataan, and was transferred to Tondo, where he
wrote many komedyas for Teatro de Tondo from
1857 to 1860. After the imprisonment, he went
back Udyong, where he wrote many poems and
komedyas until his death in February 20, 1862.
ORION, BATAAN
Orion in Bataan, 132 kilometers from Manila,
was formerly called Udyong. Records show that the
municipality was founded by a Dominican priest on
April 30, 1667, but this cannot be ascertained.
There is a folklore on how the town got its
name. Udyong is said to be derived from lu-ad and
uryong, meaning muddy. Some Spanish soldiers,
another story goes, passed by the town and
asked for the name of the place, pointing to the
ground. The locals, not understanding their query
and seeing a worm on the ground, said Uod yon.
Udyong later became Orion, a mispronunciation.
The most important heritage structure of
the town is the Parish Church of Saint Michael
the Archangel.The present structure was built by
Father Jose Campomanes, O.P. after an earthquake
in 1852 destroyed a previous structure. Its faade
is described as of barn-style Baroque, featuring
side pillars capped by urn-like finials, pilasters that
divide the faade into five segments and cornices
that divide the expanse of the wall into two levels.
The pediment is semi-arched and ends into two
small volutes before tapering down to the sides. A
concrete porte cochere has been added later into
the structure.There is a four-level belfry.
Orion is proud of producing Don Cayetano
Arellano, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, who was born here on March 2, 1847.
The Saint Michael the Archangel Church (top),

Manila Bay from the shore of Wawa (above) and
the town proper of Orion (below)
THE KOMISYN SA WIKNG FILIPNO

The Komisyn sa Wikng Filipno (KWF) or the National Language Commission, established by virtue of
Republic Act. 7104, signed on August 14, 1991, is the government agency tasked in conducting researches,
developing, propagating and promoting the Filipino language and other Philippine languages. An important
goal is to develop the Filipino language for national development and unity and at the same time to preserve
and propagate other indigenous and regional languages. It is the mission of the KWF to formulate, coordinate
and implement research programs and projects to further the development and enrichment of Filipino as a
medium of general communication as well as for intellectual pursuits. Visit www.kwf.gov.ph, or e-mail komfil.
gov@gmail.com. Call telephone number 736-2519 for more information.
isasyong may direkta o di-direktang may

kinalaman sa panitikan ay magiging bahagi ng mga susunod pang pagdiriwang.
Sa madaling salita, asahang paganda
nang paganda at palaki nang palaki ang
mga pagdiriwang sa hinaharap. Ano pa
ba ang maaasahan natin sa mga taong
puro paglikha ang nasa isip at puso? (In
the last meeting at the NCCA, several
big events were suggested for the subsequent celebrations. One is a national
contest on traditional literary forms
such as the balagtasan, tigsik, ambahan,
balitao, etc. Another suggestion is having an Alab Panitikan Award. Of course,
it is hoped that the whole country or
most of the sectors, institutions or organizations directly or indirectly connected with literature will take part in the
coming celebrations. In other words,
expect that the future celebrations will
be bigger and more beautiful. What can
we expect from people whose hearts and
minds are into creating?)
As the sun shines bright that season,
so will the immortal words come alive
and become dazzling, illuminating the
path for and make luminous the nations soul.
Our Writers,

Our National Artists
VIRGILIO S. ALMARIO (born March 9,
1944), also known for his penname Rio Alma,
is a poet, literary historian and critic as well as
a professor, translator, editor, lexicographer
and cultural administrator. He revived and
reinvented traditional
Filipino poetic forms,
even as he championed modernist poetics. His first book of
poetry, Makinasyon at
Ilang Tula, was published in 1967, and
it was followed by
many more, including
Peregrinasyon, the trilogy Doktrinang Anakpawis, Mga Retrato at Rekwerdo and Muli,
Sa Kandungan ng Lupa. His poetry was collected in two volumes, Una Kong Milenyum.
In these works, his poetic voice soared from
the lyrical to the satirical to the epic, from the
dramatic to the incantatory, in his often severe examination of the self, and the society.
He has also redefined how Filipino poetry is
viewed and paved the way for the discussion
of the same in his books of criticisms and anthologies. He founded the Galian sa Arte at
Tula and the Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika at
Anyo, which nurtured and mentored many
writers. He has also long been involved with
childrens literature. He has been a constant
presence as well in national writing workshops and galvanizes member writers as
chairman emeritus of the Unyon ng mga
Manunulat sa Pilipinas. He headed the NCCA
as executive director from 1998 to 2001, and
is currently KWF chairman. He was declared
National Artist in 2003.
FRANCISCO ARCELLANA (September
6, 1916-August 1, 2002), fictionist, poet, essayist, critic, journalist and teacher, was one
of the most important progenitors of
the modern Filipino
short story in English.
He pioneered the
development of the
short story as a lyrical
prose-poetic form. Arcellana kept alive the
experimental tradition in fiction and was
most daring in exploring new literary forms

to express the sensibility of the Filipino people. His books include Selected Stories (1962),
Poetry and Politics: The State of Original Writing in English in the Philippines Today (1977)
and The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990).
He was declared National Artist in 1990.
CIRILO F. BAUTISTA (born July 9, 1941)
is a poet, fictionist and essayist. Throughout
his career that spans more than four decades,
he has established a reputation for fine and
profound artistry. His books, lectures, poetry
readings and creative
writing
workshops
continue to influence
his peers and generations of young writers.
In De La Salle University, he was instrumental in the formation of
the Bienvenido Santos
Creative Writing Center. He was also the
moving spirit behind
the founding of the Philippine Literary Arts
Council in 1981, the Iligan National Writers
Workshop in 1993, and the Baguio Writers
Group. Bautista continues to contribute to
the development of Philippine literature: as a
writer, through his significant body of works;
as a teacher, through his discovery and encouragement of young writers in workshops
and lectures; and as a critic, through his essays
that provide insights into the craft of writing
and correctives to misconceptions about art.
His major works include the poetry Summer
Suns (1963), Words and Battlefields (1998), The
Trilogy of Saint Lazarus (2001) and Galaw ng
Asoge (2003). He was declared National Artist
in 2014.
LAZARO FRANCISCO (February 22,
1898June 17, 1980)
developed the social realist tradition in
Philippine fiction. His
eleven novels, now acknowledged classics
of Philippine literature,
embody the authors
commitment to nationalism. Francisco
gained prominence as
a writer not only for his social conscience

but also for his masterful handling of the
Tagalog language and supple prose style.
With his literary output in Tagalog, he contributed to the enrichment of the Filipino
language and literature for which he is a
staunch advocate. He put up an arm to his
advocacy of Tagalog as a national language
by establishing the Kapatiran ng mga Alagad ng Wikang Pilipino (Kawika) in 1958.
He is widely considered the Master of the
Tagalog Novel and his novels include Ama,
Bayang Nagpatiwakal, Maganda Pa Ang
Daigdig and Daluyong. He was declared
N. V. M. GONZALES (September 8,
1915November
28, 1999), whose
N.V.M. stands for
Nestor Vicente Madali, was a fictionist,
essayist, poet and
teacher known for
appropriating the
English language
to express, reflect
and shape Philippine culture and
Philippine sensibility. He became University
of the Philippines International Writer-inResidence and a member of the Board of
Advisers of the UP Creative Writing Center.
In 1987, U.P. conferred on him the Doctor of
Humane Letters, honoris causa, its highest
academic recognition. Major works include
The Winds of April, Seven Hills Away, Children
of the Ash-Covered Loam and Other Stories,
The Bamboo Dancers, Look Stranger, on this
Island Now, Mindoro and Beyond: Twenty
-One Stories, The Bread of Salt and Other
Stories, Work on the Mountain, The Novel
of Justice: Selected Essays 1968-1994, and A
Grammar of Dreams and Other Stories. He
was declared National Artist in 1997.
WILFRIDO MA. GUERRERO (January 22, 1911 - April 28, 1995) was a teacher
and theater artist whose 35 years of devoted professorship had produced the most
sterling luminaries in Philippine performing arts today. In 1947, he was appointed
as UP Dramatic Club director and served
for 16 years. As founder and artistic direc-

tor of the UP Mobile
Theater, he pioneered
the concept of theater campus tour and
delivered no less than
2,500 performances in
a span of 19 committed years of service.
By bringing theatre to
countryside, Guerrero
made it possible for
students and audiences in general to experience the basic grammar of staging and acting in familiar and friendly ways through his
plays that humorously reflect the behavior of
the Filipino. His plays include Half an Hour in
a Convent, Wanted: A Chaperon, Forever, Condemned, Perhaps, In Unity, Deep in My Heart,
Three Rats, Our Strange Ways, The Forsaken
House, and Frustrations. He was declared National Artist in 1997.
NICK JOAQUIN (May 4, 1917-April 29,
2004) is regarded by many as the most distinguished Filipino writer in English, writing so
variedly and so well about so many aspects
of the Filipino. Joaquin has also enriched
the English language
with critics coining
Joaquinesque
to
describe his baroque
Spanish-flavored
English or his reinventions of English based
on Filipinisms. Aside
from his handling of
language, Bienvenido
Lumbera writes that
Nick Joaquins significance in Philippine literature involves his exploration of the Philippine colonial past under Spain and his probing into the psychology of social changes as seen by the young,
exemplified in stories such as Doa Jeronima, Candidos Apocalypse and The Order
of Melchizedek. He has written plays, novels,
poetry, short stories and essays including
reportage and journalism. As a journalist, he
used the nome de guerre Quijano de Manila.
Among his works are The Woman Who Had
Two Navels, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino,
Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young, The
Ballad of the Five Battles, Rizal in Saga, Almanac for Manileos, and Cave and Shadows. He
F. SIONIL JOSE (born December 3, 1924)
is well-known as a novelist, the most published
outside the country. His writings since the late
1960s, when taken collectively, can best be described as epic. Its sheer volume puts him on
the forefront of Philippine writing in English.
But ultimately, it is the consistent espousal of
the aspirations of the Filipinofor national
sovereignty and social justicethat guaran-
tees the value of his

oeuvre. In the fivenovel masterpiece,
the Rosales saga, consisting of The Pretenders, Tree, My Brother,
My
Executioner,
Mass, and Po-on, is a
sweeping work that
captures Philippine
history while simultaneously narrating the lives of generations of
the Samsons whose personal lives intertwine
with the social struggles of the nation. He was
declared National Artist in 2001.
AMADO V. HERNANDEZ (September
13, 1903March 24, 1970) was a poet, playwright and novelist, who practiced committed art. In his view, the function of the
writer is to act as
the conscience of
society and to affirm
the greatness of the
human spirit in the
face of inequity and
oppression. Hernandezs contribution
to the development
of Tagalog prose is
considerable.
He
stripped
Tagalog
of its ornate character and wrote in prose
closer to the colloquial than the official
style permitted. His novel Mga Ibong Mandaragit, first written while in prison, is the first
Filipino socio-political novel that exposes the
ills of the society as evident in the agrarian
problems of the 1950s. Other works include
Bayang Malaya, Isang Dipang Langit, Luha
ng Buwaya, Amado V. Hernandez: Tudla at
Tudling: Katipunan ng mga Nalathalang Tula
1921-1970, Langaw sa Isang Basong Gatas at
Iba Pang Kuwento ni Amado V. Hernandez,
and Magkabilang Mukha ng Isang Bagol at
Iba Pang Akda ni Amado V. Hernandez. He was
declared National Artist in 1973.
BIENVENIDO LUMBERA (born April
11, 1932), poet, professor, librettist and scholar, introduced to Tagalog literature what is
now known as Bagay poetry, a landmark aesthetic tendency that has helped to change
the vernacular poetic tradition. His works
include Likhang Dila,
Likhang Diwa (poetry
in Filipino and English, 1993); Balaybay:
Mga Tulang Lunot at
Manibalang (2002);
Sa Sariling Bayan:
Apat na Dulang may
Musika (2004); and
Agunyas sa Hacienda
Luisita, Pakikiramay
(2004). He wrote the libretto for The Tales of

the Manuvu and Rama Hari, pioneering the
creative fusion of fine arts and popular imagination. As a scholar, his major books include
Tagalog Poetry, 1570-1898: Tradition and Influences in its Development; Philippine Literature:
A History and Anthology; and Revaluation:
Essays on Philippine Literature, Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa. He was declared National Artist in 2006.
SEVERINO MONTANO (1915-December 12, 1980) was a playwright, director, actor
and theater organizer. He is the forerunner in
institutionalizing legitimate theater in the
Philippines. Taking up courses and graduate degrees abroad,
he honed and shared
his expertise with his
countrymen. As dean
of instruction of the
Philippine
Normal
College,
Montano
organized the Arena
Theater to bring drama to the masses. He
trained and directed
the new generations
of dramatists including Rolando S. Tinio, Emmanuel Borlaza, Joonee Gamboa, and Behn
Cervantes. He established a graduate program at the Philippine Normal College for
the training of playwrights, directors, technicians, actors and designers. He also established the Arena Theater Playwriting Contest
that led to the discovery of Wilfrido Nolledo,
Jesus T. Peralta and Estrella Alfon. He was declared National Artist in 2001.
CARLOS P. ROMULO (January 14, 1898
December 15, 1985) is well known for a career
that spanned about 50 years in public service
as educator, soldier, university president, journalist and diplomat. It
is commonly regarded that he is the first
Asian president of the
United Nations General Assembly, then
Philippine ambassador
to Washington, D.C.,
and later minister of
foreign affairs. He was
a reporter at the age
of sixteen, a newspaper editor by the age of 20, and a publisher at
32. He was the only Asian to win the United
States prestigious Pulitzer Prize in journalism
for a series of articles predicting the outbreak
of World War II. Romulo wrote and published
18 books, including The United (novel), I Walked
with Heroes (autobiography), I Saw the Fall of the
Philippines, Mother America, and I See the Philippines Rise (war-time memoirs). He was declared

ALEJANDRO R. ROCES (July 13, 1924May 23, 2011) was a short story writer and
essayist, considered as the countrys best
writer of comic short stories. He is known for
his widely anthologized My Brothers Peculiar Chicken. In his innumerable newspaper
columns, he had always focused on the neglected aspects of the
Filipino cultural heritage. His works have
been published in
various international
magazines and has
received national and
international awards.
Roces brought to
public attention the
aesthetics of the
countrys fiestas. He
was instrumental in popularizing several
local fiestas, notably, the Moriones and the
Ati-atihan. He personally led the campaign
to change the countrys Independence Day
from July 4 to June 12; caused the change
of language from English to Filipino in the
countrys stamps, currency and passports;
and recovered Jose Rizals manuscripts when
they were stolen from the National Archives.
He was declared National Artist in 2003.
EDITH L. TIEMPO (April 22, 1919- August 21, 2011) was a poet, fictionist, teacher
and literary critic, one of the finest Filipino writers in English whose works are characterized
by a remarkable fusion of style and substance,
of craftsmanship and insight. Her poems are
intricate verbal transfigurations of significant
experiences. As fictionist, Tiempo is as
morally profound. Her
language has been
described as descriptive but unburdened
by scrupulous detailing. She is an influential figure in Philippine
literature in English.
Together with her late
husband,
Edilberto
K. Tiempo, she founded and directed the Silliman National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete City, which has produced some of the
countrys best writers. Her works include the
novel A Blade of Fern (1978), The Native Coast
(1979), and The Alien Corn (1992); the poetry
collections The Tracks of Babylon and Other Poems (1966), and The Charmers Box and Other
Poems (1993); and the short story collection
Abide, Joshua, and Other Stories (1964). She
ROLANDO S. TINIO (March 5, 1937July 7, 1997) was a playwright, thespian,
poet, teacher, critic and translator, with a career marked by prolific artistic productions.
Tinios chief distinction is as a stage director

whose original insights into the scripts he
handled brought forth productions notable
for their visual impact and intellectual cogency. Subsequently, after staging productions for the Ateneo Experimental Theater
(its organizer and administrator as well),
he took on Teatro
Pilipino. It was to
Teatro Pilipino which
he left a considerable amount of work
reviving traditional
Filipino drama by restaging old theater
forms like the sarswela and opening
a treasure house of
contemporary Western drama. It was the
excellence and beauty of his practice that
claimed for theater a place among the arts
in the Philippines in the 1960s. Aside from
his collections of poetry (Sitsit sa Kuliglig,
Dunung-Dunungan, Kristal na Uniberso, A
Trick of Mirrors) among his works were the
screenplays Now and Forever, Gamitin Mo
Ako, Bayad Puri and Milagros; sarswelas Ang
Mestisa, Ako, Ang Kiri, Ana Maria; and Larawan, the musical. He was declared National Artist in 1997.
JOSE GARCIA VILLA (August 5,
1908-February 7, 1997) is considered as one
of the finest contemporary poets regardless
of race or language. He introduced the reversed consonance rime scheme, including
the comma poems that made full use of the
punctuation mark in an innovative, poetic
way. The first of his poems, Have Come, Am
Here, received critical recognition when
it appeared in New
York in 1942. He used
Doveglion
(dove,
eagle, lion) as penname, the very characters he attributed
to himself, and the
same ones explored
by e.e. cummings in
the poem he wrote
for Villa (Doveglion,
Adventures in Value).
Villas works have been collected in Footnote
to Youth, Many Voices, Poems by Doveglion,
Poems 55, Poems in Praise of Love: The Best
Love Poems of Jose Garcia Villa as Chosen By
Himself, Selected Stories, The Portable Villa,
The Essential Villa, Mir-i-nisa, Storymasters 3:
Selected Stories from Footnote to Youth, 55
Poems: Selected and Translated into Tagalog
by Hilario S. Francia. He was declared National Artist in 1973.
Reference: NCCA Web site (www.ncca.gov.ph)
GINAW BILOG
Manlilikha ng Bayan Ginaw Bilog was
a Hanunoo Mangyan poet who vigorously
promoted the elegant poetic art of the surat
Mangyan and the ambahan. He kept scores
of ambahan poetry recorded for posterity.
A common cultural aspect among cultural communities nationwide is the oral tradition
characterized by poetic verses which are either
sung or chanted. However, what distinguishes
the rich Mangyan literary tradition from others
is the ambahan, a poetic literary form composed of seven-syllable lines used to convey
messages through metaphors and images. The
ambahan is sung and its messages range from
courtship, giving advice to the young, asking
for a place to stay, saying goodbye to a dear
friend and so on. Such an oral tradition is commonplace among indigenous cultural groups
but the ambahan has remained in existence
today chiefly because it is etched on bamboo
tubes using ancient Southeast Asian, pre-colonial script called surat Mangyan.
Ginaw Bilog from Kalaya, Bait, Mansalay,
Oriental Mindoro, grew up in such a cultural environment. Already steeped in the wisdom that
the ambahan is a key to the understanding of
the Mangyan soul, Ginaw took it upon himself
to continually keep scores of ambahan poetry
recorded, not only on bamboo tubes but on old
notebooks passed on to him by friends.
Most treasured of his collection are
those inherited from his father and grandfather, sources of inspiration and guidance for
his creative endeavors. Through the dedication of Ginaw, the ambahan poetry and other traditional art forms from our indigenous
peoples will continue to live.
Ginaw Bilog was conferred the Gawad
sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1993. He passed
away in 2003.
Questions and Conscience

at the ASEAN Literary Festival 2015
By John Iremil E. Teodoro
The audience, especially the young women, were cheering almost wildly while watching a handsome young man from Finland
named Signmark singing, using his bodyhis
hands and fingers, his facial expressions, his
thumping feet, his gyrating hips. It was because he is deaf but is most eager to share his
musical talent during the opening program
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Literary Festival on March 19,
2015, at the Teater Kecil, Taman Ismail Marzuki, in Central Jarkarta, Indonesia.
Fifty-nine writers, publishers and literary critics from all over the world participated at festival held from March 15 to
22, 2015, with the theme, Questions of
Conscience. Founding festival director Abdul Khalik said the main objective of this
festival, now on its second year, is to create a platform where writers and scholars
from the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations can get to
know each other and exchange ideas on how
they can contribute to the solution of the
problems of society and to help build the
ASEAN community.
The panel discussion, Literatures in Digital Era,
with the author (third from left)
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister

Retno Marsudi graced the opening night
and wished everyone to spread understanding through literature. The general lecture
that evening was delivered by Ma Thida, a
Burmese surgeon, writer and human rights
activist. In 1993, she was sentenced to 20
years in prison for supporting the prodemocracy movement in the then military
controlled Myanmar. Her lecture was entitled How Literature Helps Building Freedom and Democracy in ASEAN in which
she underscored the role of literature in the
Asean community.
Literature also helps readers to do selfanalysis of their beliefs and perspectives on
everyday life. Reading about different cultures and societies through the writers perspective is indeed generating the capacity of
readers on tolerance and respect on other
viewpoints, she said.
The Philippine delegation was composed of National Artist for literature Virgilio Almario, Bicol poet Kristian Sendon
Cordero, and myself, a Kinaray-a writer. The
National Commission for Culture and the
Arts gave us travel grants and the Philippine

Embassy in Indonesia along with the festival
organizers took good care of us. The fourth
Filipino delegate and member of the steering
board of the festival was Jamil Maidan Flores,
a journalist whose byline is familiar in the
Philippines in the 1980s and 1970s but for
several years now is based in Jakarta, writing
speeches for Indonesias foreign ministers. He
is also a respected columnist in the Jakarta
Globe, a daily English-language paper.
The literary festival features many workshops, performances and discussions, all free
and open to the public. In the panel discussion Locality in Asean Literature, Singaporean novelist Josephine Chia said, I dont
think a writer can write in a vacuum. You have
to write from a society. Australian writer Michelle Aung Thin agreed with her and said,
Stories come from a place, from a certain
time. Indonesian literary critic Manneke
Budiman problematized the term locality.
He would like to think of locality as intersections, and there should be engagements to
create a locality among writers and readers.
He was also quick to add that he doesnt like

the term ASEAN literature because this is homogenizing and that localities should always be on the plural form.
It is also in this panel that U Kang, a Myanmarese writer who
had so far authored 96 books, mentioned that the two novels of
Jose Rizal are being read in their country. Of course, in the Burmese
translation. At the festival, I also learned that Rizals works and life
are being read in translations in Indonesia and Vietnam. In fact, one
of the Indonesian delegates, a playwright and actor, is named Jose
Rizal Manua. It was a shame we were not able to meet him.
The panel discussion, where I read a paper, was entitled Literatures in Digital Era. Saut Situmorang, a cult literary figure in Indonesia today, talked about the Web site of e-books he founded called
Multi-media Literature Foundation, especially about how the mainstream and elitist newspapers in Jakarta branded their publications
as crap literature. But he was happy to share that today their Web
site has already many followers and their publications have many
subscribers thus becoming mainstream. Saut laughed and danced
a little when I told him that in Kinaray-a his name is dance.
Japanese book coordinator and bookshop owner Shintaro Unchinuma noted that since 1997 book sale in Japan has declined. He
also said that 10 percent of the sales are e-books. Because of this trend,
he averred that bookstores are not only a place now to buy books but
also a happy space where writers, readers and artists would meet. His
bookstore in Tokyo, called B&B, is a place where people can drink
beer and enjoy literary events such as poetry readings everyday.
For my part, I presented statistics on the Internet users in the
Philippines. In 2014, 39.4 million or 39 percent of Filipinos use
the Internet but there is a study saying that majority of these users
only use social media such as Facebook and Twitter and has little to
do with reading e-books. The Philippine population today is 106.4
million and those who have access to electricity is 83.3 percent. That
is roughly 18 million Filipinos living in the dark literally. So, can
we even talk about the aesthetics of e-publishing when many of our
marginalized and poor Southeast Asian sisters and brothers do not
have access to Internet for the simple reason that they dont even
have electricity in their homes?
Cordero spoke in the panel discussion entitled Radicalism and
Moderation in Literature. He shared to an international audience
the history of literatures in the Philippines which have always been
revolutionary, if not critical. Being a Bicolano, he also highlighted
the language issue and added that our literature is peopled with
ethno-linguistic groups who have kept their literary traditions alive
and relevant among its own people even up to these days despite the
relentless pursuits of the colonizers. It is a living culture that refuses
fossilization. Philippine literary writing has a pantheon of writers
and intellectuals who through years of colonization after colonization have questioned and raised arms against the status quo or the
prevailing order of their time.
Almario, in the panel discussion Consumerism vs. Literary
Works, said this: Imagination is available to both the rich and the
poor, the capitalist and the slave, the Westerner and the ASEAN, and
can be freely used in any circumstance by anybody who works for it.
Imagination is present in solitary tower and in the marketplace. The
writer chooses what to make of it. Or rather, the motive does not determine the work. Imagination makes even a commercialized product greater than any work by a serious but unimaginative writer.
The happy intersections between conscience and imagination
will quicken us to create diverse and beautiful literatures that will
make uswriters and readersmore human. This is what I learned
from the ASEAN Literary Festival 2015.
Commemorative Stamp
for the Birth Centenary of
National Artist Severino Montano
The NCCA and the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost)
launched a commemorative stamp for the 100th birth anniversary of
National Artist for theatre Severino Montano at the Leandro Locsin
Auditorium of the NCCA, Intramuros, Manila, on March 12, 2015.
Assistant Postmaster General Luis Carlos along with Felipe
M. de Leon, Jr., NCCA chairman, presented the commemorative
stamps to Pedro Montano Ruenduen, Jr., nephew of Dr. Montano,
who represented the family of the late National Artist.
Severino Montano executed a large-scale feat for the small
people of society and the afterglow of his works continues to light
the path of the new generation of artists, poets, and playwrights,
noted De Leon.
Montano was a celebrated thespian and playwright during the
1950s. His works include Sabina, But Not My Sons Any Longer, Gabriela Silang, Parting at Calamba, Speak, My Gentle Children, Lonely
is My Garden, My Morning Star and The Love of Leonor Rivera, considered the longest-running play, staged in more than a thousand
times under the auspices of the Arena Theatre.
Montano, a Master of Fine Arts graduate of Yale University, is
credited for professionalizing the theater industry in the Philippines
with Arena Theater, which he funded with his own money and established while dean at the Philippine Normal College.
Montanos pioneering of the Arena Theatre has been one of the
many changes in the Filipino arts scene in the 50s. It has brought
theatre arts as a form of entertainment and celebration of Filipino
drama to the far flung barrios of the Philippines. Arena Theatre catered to grassroots audience, bringing theatre closer to the hearts of
the Filipino masses of his generation.
Before he died in 1980, he was mentor to theater luminaries such
as Rolando S. Tinio, Emmanuel Borlaza, Joonee Gamboa, and Behn
Cervantes. He was declared as National Artist for theatre in 2001.
The Montano stamp is classified as a commemorative kind of
issue with a denomination of P10.00 and about 65,000 pieces were
printed by Amstar Company, Inc. The stamp measures 40 by 30
millimteres and was laid out by PhilPost in-house artist, Victorino
Serevo and Ryan Arengo of the NCCA Secretariat. The stamps are
available at the Post Shop, Philately and Museum Division, Main
Central Post Office, Door 203, Liwasang Bonifacio Manila. For inquiries, call 527-0108.
A New Chapter for a
NCCA Acquires Metropolitan Theater
Designed by Juan Arellano, the Manila

Metropolitan Theater stands as one of the
finest example of Art Deco architecture
and a recognizable landmark in the
Lawton area. /Photo by Oliver Rosales
Heritage Structure
in Manila
By Roel Hoang Manipon
he Manila Metropolitan Theater

(Met) is now owned by the NCCA.
The national governments agency
in charge of arts and culture acquired the
prominent heritage landmark in Manila for
the sum of P270 million from the owner,
the Government Service Insurance System
(GSIS). The Deed of Absolute Sale (DAS)
was signed and the original titles were formally transferred on June 10, 2015, at the
national social insurance agencys main office in Pasay City, led by NCCA chairman
Felipe M. de Leon Jr. and GSIS president
and general manager Robert G. Vergara.
This marked a new chapter for the theatre, a National Cultural Treasure. According to De Leon, this is a very touching,
historic occasion and milestone because the
Met is one of the best, most creative products of Filipino artistic excellence.
On the other hand, Vergara said: GSIS
is privileged to turn over this extraordinary
asset to the NCCA. In more ways than one,
we see this as an agreement handing the
Met back to its rightful owners, the Filipino
people.
The NCCA credits the national government and President Benigno Aquino
III for this development. The Department
of Budget and Management (DBM) earlier released the amount of P270 million
from the National Endowment Fund for
Culture and the Arts (NEFCA) for the acquisition of the Met. This was announced
by DBM Secretary Florencio Abad in late
May of this year.
The Met was once a testament to the
richness of Philippine culture and artistry,
but decades of neglect brought this beautiful landmark into serious disrepair, he stated. The Aquino administration, through
the NCCA, has taken the first step to restoring the MET to its former glory. It will
take some time, but we are confident that
the NCCA has the capacity to take on such
a formidable task.
We cannot claim to pursue national

development if we fail at preserving our culture and heritage, he added.
According to the NCCA, the purchase
of the Met is an important initial step towards the fullest conservation of the property by the NCCA in coordination with the
concerned cultural agencies, commensurate
with its status as a National Cultural Treasure and National Historical Landmark.
Additionally, the NCCA Board of
Commissioners expresses that there is need
for the Met, described as a great architectural landmark of the artistic and cultural
creativity of the Filipino people, to be restored according to the highest standards
of heritage conservation: This will indeed
be an iconic building of Filipino heritage
that affirms the vision of the NCCA that
Filipino culture is a wellspring of global
and national well being. Restoring the Met
is befitting a national treasure that eventually would be an NCCA office for onservation and a center for arts and culture for
use by the nearby students and the general
public.
Glory and History
In the district of Ermita, among flyovers, bridges, the fumes of traffic, parks
and other buildings, the Metropolitan
Theater presently stands out with its motley of colors. The facade has a curving top
crowned with pinnacles, colored glass window and iron grills depicting stylized birdsof-paradise.
The Met was inaugurated on December 10, 1931, designed by prominent architect Juan Arellano (April 25, 1888-December 5, 1960). Having studied in the
United States as one of the first pensionados
in architecture, Arellano was influenced by
the neoclassical and eclectic styles, which
are evident in his major works such as the
Legislative Building, built in 1926 and now
housing the National Museum of the Philippines (NM), and the Manila Central Post
Office Building, also built in1926, with its
impressive portico with Ionic columns. He
also designed the Central United Methodist
Church (1932) and the Negros Occidental
Provincial Capitol (1936) in Bacolod City.
To many people, Arellano is known for
the Met. Veering away from styles he was
known for, the Met is in the Art Deco style.
He was sent to the United States to study
under Thomas W. Lamb, American theatre
design expert, of Shreve and Lamb. In designing the theatre, it is said that Arellano
was inspired by the phrase, On the wings
of song. The Met also exemplifies his belief in incorporating native art forms and motifs
in designs.
The idea for building a
theater in Manila was developed in 1924. A theatre existed
in the area before, the Teatro
del Prncipe Alfonso XII, built
in 1862 at the Plaza Arroceros
but burnt down in 1876. With
approval from the Philippine
Legislature, 8,239.58 square
meters of the Mehan Garden
were allotted for the new theater and construction started
in 1930.
With a program of music, drama and film, the Met
opened the following year
and was immediately hailed
as an architectural achievement, both modern and romantic. Local motifs were used,
particularly images from Philippine flora.
A frieze of mango fruits and leaves, for example, adorned the ceiling. Local flora and
fauna as well were depicted in the stainedglass central window of the facade which
served as signage and a way to bring in
natural light to the lobby. The walls were
curving and sported patches of colors resembling batik patterns. Inside, there were
lamps of capiz shells and pillars in the shape
of banana leaves. Colorful walls, bas reliefs
and sculptures were interspersed inside the
theater.
Other prominent artists contributed
to the grandeur of the Met. At the main
lobby were sculptures of Adam and Eve by
Italian sculptor Francesco Riccardo Monti,
who lived in Manila from 1930 up to his
death in 1958. At the balcony overlooking
the entrance were National Artist Fernando
Amorsolos murals The Dance and History
of Music as well as Montis other statues.
Sculptor Isabelo Tampingco made the carvings of local flora in the interiors. Arellanos
brother, Arcadio, painted images of local
flora in the main auditorium.
With the auditoriums original capacity of 1,670, the Met hosted performances
of zarzuelas, operas, concerts and foreign
classics up to the Japanese occupation. The
works of National Artists Antonio Buenaventura and Nicanor Abelardo have also
been performed at the Met.
In World War II, during the Battle for
the Liberation of Manila in 1945, the Met
suffered damages, and thus began its dete-
rioration and neglect. With

the US Rehabilitation Act of
1946, the Met was repaired,
but it was not able to bring
back its glory days. The building was eventually used by different agencies and sometimes
misused.
There were several efforts
in restoration and rehabilitation. In the 1970s, then First
Lady Imelda R. Marcos led an
effort to restore the Met. The
National Historical Institute,
presently the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), declared it a
National Historical Landmark
in 1973. A restoration was
conducted under the supervision of Arellanos nephew,
Otilio Arellano, and the Met was inaugurated on February 4, 1978. Kabataang Barangay staged a show tracing the roots of the
Filipino people through poetry, song and
dance called Isang Munting Alamat. Up until the 1990s, performances were staged at
the Met including the musical adaptations
of Jose Rizals novels Noli Me Tangere and
El Filibusterismo by Ryan Cayabyab and National Artist Bienvenido Lumbrera in 1995.
But it was eventually closed in 1996 after
prolonged disuse.
Already falling into neglect and disrepair, the Met saw another effort in restoration. In 2004, then President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo released P100 million
from NEFCA for it, and the NCCA, led by
executive director Cecile Guidote-Alvarez
the city of Manila and the GSIS signed a tripartite agreement to rehabilitate the theater.
The project also received support from
the non-government and private sector, particularly from the entertainment industry
led by showbiz veteran German Moreno.
In 2007, the newly-formed Manila
Historical and Heritage Commission came
in to manage and supervise the restoration.
This effort led to a soft opening on April
29, 2010, with the performance of a senakulo, a performance from Pilita Corrales and
an excerpt from the original zarzuela Baler
sa Puso Ko by Isagani Cruz.
The National Museum declared the
Met a National Cultural Treasure on the
same year on June 23.
Rock band Wolfgang was able to hold a
concert in 2011.
However, it was closed down again

in 2012 because of ownership dispute between the city government of Manila and
the GSIS.
Recent Developments
Interest in the heritage structure did
not die down. In September 2014, Manila
mayor Joseph Erap Estrada announced
the city governments plans to buy the Met
to restore it to its former grandeur and to
house the Institute of Performing Arts (IPA)
of the Universidad de Manila, which is near
the Met, as well as to serve as a venue for
performances by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
The NCCA finally decided to purchase
the Met on May 14, 2015. According to
Section 9 of the National Cultural Heritage
Law of 2009 or Republic Act No. 10066,
the appropriate cultural agency shall be
given the right of first refusal in the purchase of cultural properties declared as national cultural property. Prior to the finality
of the sale, the appropriate cultural agency
may likewise match any offer made for the

purchase of national cultural property.
According to the NCCA, its purchase
of the MET stems from its mandate under
Republic Act No. 7356, or the NCCA Law,
with reference to other laws related to Philippine national cultural heritage, which is to
formulate and implement policies and plans
to conserve and promote the nations cultural and historical heritage by supporting
and promoting the establishment and preservation of cultural and historical monuments, markers, names, and sites. NCCAs
acquisition of the Met is said to ensure
minimization or prevention of damage to
the property in accordance to a related law,
the Republic Act 10086, or the NHCP law,
which defines preservation as referring to
all activities that employ means to control,
minimize, or prevent damage or deterioration to cultural property.
The Manila city government respected
NCCAs decision and expressed support in
the Mets restoration. In turn, the NCCA
took into account the initiatives of the city

of Manila on the Met.
The NCCA initially envisions a restored Met to become a center for arts and
culture, with additional exhibition galleries
and its theater and performance halls for
use by artists and cultural workers as well
as by students and the general public. Additional space is planned for its needs in the
implementation of the National Cultural
Heritage Act.
The Met remains today as the only
existing art deco building in its scale and
integrity in Asia, according to heritage
experts. Its Western design is infused with
Philippine motifs and elements as well as
the creativity and craftsmanship of Filipino
masters and National Artists. It was considered as the countrys first national theatre,
hosting cultural performances, social events,
and visual art exhibits; a place where Filipino artists were nurtured and launched their
careers, and where many Filipinos were inspired and made to dream.
NCCA chairman Felipe de Leon, Jr. and GSIS president and general manager Robert G. Vergara signed the Deed of Absolute Sale and transferred the titles for
the Metropolitan Theater, with NCCA OIC-executive director Adelina Suemith and vice president of the Real Estate Asset Disposition and Management Office
Apollo Escarez on June 10, 2015. Gracing the occassion was Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad. /Photo by Marvin Alcaraz
Discovery,
Devotion,
Celebration
Cebu Celebrates the 450th Anniversary
of the Finding of the Santo Nio de Cebu
and a Heritage of Faith
By Roel Hoang Manipon

Photos by Marvin Alcaraz and
Roel Hoang Manipon
he used to bring me to the Santo Nio Church when

I was young, and we would pray. She always reminded
me that I owed my life to the Santo Nio. Even when
I went to school in Manila and later in California, whenever
I visited Cebu, she would immediately whisk me to the Santo
Nio Church to pray, recounts Filipino-American writer Cecilia
Manguerra Brainard, who was born and raised in Cebu, about
her mother and the religious icon in the essay My Mother and
the Santo Nio, published in the Sinulog 2015 souvenir programme. I did not understand it then,
although I do now, that my mother has
probably made a panaad, a promise to the
Santo Nio so He would intercede and
save me.
She goes on to write: Mamas favorite story to me about the Santo Nio was
about how He saved my life. My mother
carried me in her womb soon after World
War II, when she was still suffering the
effects of the war and was malnourished.
I was born with beriberi, a disease caused
by vitamin B deficiency. She and other
family members used to describe my edema and my eyes that were rolled up so
they could only see the whites. I was close
to death. My mother turned to the Santo
Nio for help. Like the women who do
the sinulog dance outside the church, my
mother danced her prayer to the Santo
Nio for my life. I survived the beriberi,
and my mother gave credit to the Santo
Nio for this miracle.
Brainards story epitomizes the beliefs and practices of many Filipinos,
particularly the devotion to the image of
the infant Jesus Christ by Christianized
lowland groups. Her stories bear many
similarities to other stories about miracles attributed to and vows
to the Santo Nio.
The Santo Nio is one of the most popular Catholic icons
in the Philippines. This can easily be gleaned from the fiestas
celebrated in his honor, which can be grand. His feast day on
the third week of January is turned into festivals in many parts
of the country, and a prominent example is the Sinulog Festival
of Cebu, which is widely considered the biggest in the country.
Other parts of the Visayas also celebrate the feast daythe AtiAtihan Festival of Aklan, considered the first festival of the country, and the Dinagyang Festival of Iloilo. The Sangyaw Festival
of Tacloban City in Leyte commemorates in June the return of
its patron saint after miraculously surviving a shipwreck during
a voyage.
The Santo Nio feast day is also celebrated in other parts
of the Philippines. The district of Tondo in Manila, the most
densely populated area in the country, has a long procession of
the Santo Nio marked by both solemnity and jubilation.
The popularity of Santo Nio in the Philippines can be attributed to his cherubic and innocent appearance, despite the
elaborate and kingly wardrobe, that endears himself to many
people. And perhaps it is because he is the first Christian icon

to be brought to the Philippines. The story of the coming of the
Santo Nio to the country, and not or rarely the stories, biblical
or apocryphal, of Jesus Christ as boy or infant, is regularly retold
during the festivities, especially in the Visayan festivals.
The Santo Nio icon of Cebu is generally considered as the
one brought by Portuguese explorer and navigator Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, when he accidentally arrived in Cebu in March
while searching for the much wanted Spice Islands and on his
way to circumnavigate the world, sailing
under the Spanish flag.
Magellan met the natives of Cebu led
by King Humabon, forging an alliance,
and proceeded to evangelize and baptize them to the Roman Catholic faith.
He gave a Santo Nio image to Queen
Humamay, renamed Juana, when she requested something to replace her local
idols. Magellan died during a skirmish
with a group led by Lapu-Lapu of Mactan
Island, and the surviving crew returned to
Spain. However, the Catholic religion did
not readily flourish as the baptized indigenous people lacked an understanding of
what the baptismal rite meant and there
was no further instruction for the reinforcement of the new faith.
Forty-four years after that first European contact, the expedition of Spanish
navigator Miguel Lpez de Legazpi and
Fr. Andrs de Urdaneta arrived in Cebu
on February 13, 1565, but did not land
because natives were unwelcoming. They
proceeded to Samar and Bohol, where
they made blood compacts with Datu
Urrao and Datu Sikatuna respectively,
before returning to Cebu on April 27. A
clash ensued, in which the Spaniards burned down several huts,
on April 28. In a partially burnt hut, a crewmember was surprised
to discover the wooden image of the Santo Nio. Here, the Spaniards established settlements named Villa del Santisimo Nombre
de Jess, and the Augustinian missionaries in the expedition began the Christianization of the islands. Other religious orders
came, further contributing to the establishment of the Philippine
identity as a predominantly Catholic country in Asia.
This scene in history is reenacted regularly in the Santo Nio
festivals, especially in the Visayas. A recent reenactment in Cebu
City, Cebu, was claimed to be grander and the closest to being
authentic or historically accurate. It was one of the highlights of
the 450th anniversary of the finding of the Santo Nio image called
Kaplag, a Cebuano term for discovery or finding, organized by
the Augustinian Province of Santo Nio de Cebu-Philippines in
collaboration with different sectors. A Kaplag executive committee
was formed, led by NCCA Subcommission on Cultural Heritage
head Father Harold Rentoria, OSA, as executive director, to oversee
the celebration, which was multiple as the event was also meant to
commemorate the 450th year of the presence of Augustinians in the
Philippines and the fiftieth year of being a minor basilica or basilica

minore of the Santo Nio Church.
The celebration took ten days starting on April 19, 2015, and leading to the
actual anniversary day of April 28. Those
days were gravid with events and activities
ranging from the solemn and reflective to
the festive and jaunty.
Everyday, novena masses were held
with different celebrants at the Pilgrim
Center, an open-air, theater-like structure
in front of the Basilica Minore del Santo
Nio. Each mass offered meanings and
explained the relevance of the Santo Nio
and the celebration to todays Catholic
Filipinos.
Ang pagkaplag sa imahen sa atong
minahal nga Santo Nio nahitabo 450 ka
tuig ang miagi, naghagit kanato sa atong
kaugalingon karon, pagkaplag sa atong tumong sa kinabuhi karon, pagkaplag sa atong
dalan ngadto sa Diyos karon (The finding
of the image of our beloved Santo Nino,
which happened 450 years ago, challenges
us to discover the purpose of our lives today, to find our way nowadays to God),
said Bishop Julito Cortez, DD, during the
novena mass on April 21.
Quoting St. Therese of Lisieux, Bishop Emilio Bataclan, DD, explained how
the Santo Nio is an important instrument in the April 19 novena mass: The
way to God the Father is through the
spiritual childhood.
On the other hand, Fr. Rentoria said
on April 23: The Santo Nio, our hope, I
believe is a silent witness of all that happened from 1521, 1565, 1965 and today.
He is more than a witness because He is
also a silent worker.
The historical significance and scholarly dimension of the Santo Nio as well
as the Augustinian presence and Catholicism in the Philippines were tackled at
the Kaplag 2015 International Conference, held from April 25 to April 28 at
the Radisson Blu Hotel. According to
organizer Fr. Czar Emmanuel V. Alvarez,
OSA, in a letter, this served to heighten
our awareness about the Christian roots
of our nation and the special place the
Christian faith occupies in our culture
and identity as Filipinos and the Augustinian legacy, particularly on the origin
and propagation of the Santo Nino de
The reenactment of the bestowal of the
Santo Nio icon by Magellan to Queen Juana
(above, left); the exhibit of archival documents
and photos at the Ayale Center Cebu (right);
and final station of the reenactment at the
Pilgrim Center (facing page). /RHM

Cebu devotion in our country.
Dr. Maria Serena Diokno, chairman
of the National Historical Commission
of the Philippines, discussed the Augustinian heritage in the country, while Fr.
Luis Marin de San Martin, OSA, Archivist General of the Order of Saint Augustine, talked about the Augustinian general
curias historical documents about early
Christianization of the Philippines. Fr.
Fernando Martinez Rojo, OSA, delved on
the Augustinian saints of the Orient and
the Philippines, and Fr. Emilio Quilatan,
OAR, on the Augustinian Order during
the Reformation period. On the other
hand, Sister Maria Luz Mejares, OSA,
revealed the feminine presence of the Augustinians in the country, while Regalado
Trota Jose, Jr., of the University of Santo
Tomas Archives, explained the architectural characteristics of early Augustinian
churches in the Philippines. Fr. Alvarezs
talk focused on the Child Jesus in early

Christian literature, while Fr. Arnel Antonio Dizon, OSA, presented the historical
background on the finding of the image
of the Santo Nio de Cebu. Noted Cebuano scholar and historian Resil Mojares
traced the developments from the finding
of the image to the present-day devotional
celebration.
Aside from the conference, more academic discussions as well as reflections on
the revered icon were published in a commemorative book, Kaplag 2015, launched
together with a commemorative stamp
issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation.
This history was supplemented by
an exhibit Ang Kaplag: Panaglambigit sa
Katawhan ug Kultura at the Ayala Center Cebu, which displayed reproductions
of archival documents from Valladolid,
Spain, and from the Archives of the Au-
gustinian Province of the Philippines as

well as vintage photos and postcards relating to the Santo Nio de Cebu.
Another exhibit, on the other hand,
showed an expression of faith on the image and observances of devotions through
paintings by Fr. Dominador Besares, Jr.,
OSA, in Asa Makaplagan ang Senyor? at
the SM City Cebus Art Center.
Still fixtures in important Philippine
Christian events, several processions also
marked the Kaplag 450 celebration, most
of them also traditional features of the Sinulog Festival. These included the fluvial
procession on April 27.
With about 20 participating boats
and ships, the fluvial procession started after an early morning mass at the National
Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City and
went to Ouano Wharf. A boat, acting as
a galleon carrying the image of the Santo
Nio, passed by Pasil in Cebu City, said to

be near where the image was found, and
all the while the other vessels blew their
horns. The galleon finally docked near
the Pier 1, near the basilica, welcomed by
city officials and Sinulog dancers from the
Cofradia del Santo Nio.
After a series of traslacion or the ritual
transfer of the image, a solemn procession
served as culmination of the celebration on
Kaplag day itself. During the Sinulog Festival, the solemn procession is one of the oldest traditions, participated in and witnessed
by thousands of devotees yearly, despite the
addition of the street dancing parade, which
provides the spectacle and draws much media coverage, in recent years. In Kaplag, the
procession was smaller in scale but not in significance. The Santo Nio image is brought
out of the church and into streets, encased
in glass and perched on a carro covered with
flowers and being pulled by men. The procession followed a designated route with its
throngs composed government, civic and
religious organizations as well as devotees,
reciting prayers. People on the streets waved
their hands to the image as it passed by, the
traditional folk gesture in Cebu. The procession ended where it startedat the basilica.
On the other hand, the grand reenactment was unique to Kaplag 450. Mounted
in the afternoon of April 27, it was in the
form of a dance-drama, under the direction
of television and stage director Floy Quintos and with choreography by Cebuano
choreographer Val Sandiego. Students were
employed for the show together with Cebuano actors and Sinulog performers. Unlike the festival reenactments, this one was
more refined, showing attention to details
and avoiding garish costumes. It is said this
was based on the writings of chronicler Antonio Pigafetta and Fr. Urdaneta, as well as
writings about Cebu in those times.
The reenactment had three stations
or scenes. The first station was at the Plaza
Independiente, near the historic Fort San
Pedro, depicting the preparation for voyage
and the arrival of Magellan in the Philippines. A large prop of a galleon as well as
several huts were constructed for the scene.
The second station was at Plaza Sugbo
The solemn procession with the Santo Nio
on the carro (top, left); the reenactment of
Magellan arriving in a galleon at the Plaza
Independiente (above, left); and a winning
Sinulog contingent performing during the
closing salvo (left). /MA and RHM
A Sinulog street dancing contingent with the festival queen performed during the closing program of Kaplag 450 (above /MA), and Santo Nio de Cebu
icon enshrined at the Basilica Minore del Santo Nio de Cebu in Cebu City (below /RHM)
between the Cebu City Hall and the Magellans Cross Kiosk, showing Magellans
encounter with Humabon and Humamay, their baptism and the planting of the
cross. Here also, the queen received the image of the Santo Nio.
At the Pilgrims Center, in front of the basilica partially damaged from the
2013 earthquake, in the last scene, performers reenacted the finding of the icon
and the eventual building of the church and convent, which many consider as the
cradle of Philippine Christianity and the perpetual sanctuary of the Santo Nio
de Cebu. Because of its historical, religious and cultural significance, the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines formally requested Pope Paul VI in 1964
to confer on the Santo Nio Church the title Basilica Minore, which was granted
the following year, in time for the fourth centennial of the Christianization of the
Philippines. The Santo Nio icon was also canonically crowned by the Papal Legate Ildebrando Cardinal Antoniutti.
As culmination of the reenactment, the image was brought out of the basilica
dramatically. The basilica doors opened, bursting with lights mellowed by billows
of smoke, from where the image emerged and carried to the stage. Here, the last
novena mass was celebrated with Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle,
who spoke about the importance of finding renewal through the Santo Nio and
bringing the Kaplag celebrations closer to home.
The solemnity and the historical weight of the event were counterbalanced
by a closing festivity also at the Pilgrim Center, a jubilant occasion with dancing, singing and fireworks. Select dance groups enthralled audiences including
winners of the Sinulog Festival street dancing parade, accentuated by festival
queens swaying and holding the Santo Nio icon up high, affirming why the
festival is the most anticipated and spectacular in the country as well as reminding people of a journey that involves sacrifice and faith that leads to hope
and joy, in the spirit of the Child Jesus.
The Passion
Lenten Traditions in a Nor

Text and photos by Roel Hoang Manipon
in Paete
rtheast Laguna Town
eepneys ply the National Highway

from Siniloan to Santa Cruz, the capital of Laguna. This is the eastern
route to the southern Tagalog province
that hugs the lower half of the Lake of
Bay, popularly called Laguna Lake, passing
through the province of Rizal. The road trip
is mostly scenic with the lake on one side,
usually hemmed with rice fields, and the
hills and mountains, the southern end of
the Sierra Madre range, on the other. It goes
through the towns of Famy, Pangil, Pakil,
Paete, Kalayaan, Lumban and Pagsanjan, all
charming and quiet.
The most interesting, perhaps, is Paete,
popularly known for its woodcarving and
taka, the craft of the papier-mache. The
town, wedged in the middle of northeastern
Laguna, is also known for its Lenten traditions. Although many of these practices are
done in numerous places in the predominantly Roman Catholic country, they are
more alive here, I think, more spectacular,
The Saint James the Apostle Church of Paete (below), where one can find old paintings of Saint Christopher by Josef Luciano Dans (above).
The religious images were being readied along the main street for the Maundy Thursday procession (previous page).

more dramatic or more elaborate. Moreover, they are done
almost twice as much. The traditions are practiced by two
churchesthe Roman Catholic and the Philippine Independent Church, popularly called the Aglipayan Church.
The Aglipayan Church is a breakaway group from the
Catholic church, formed in the early 1900s and co-founded by a former Catholic priest, Gregorio Aglipay, in an attempt to establish a national church away from Spanish
colonial control. Thus, its practices and beliefs are dominantly Catholic. It is said that Paete has many Aglipayans.
While the Holy Week traditions start on Palm Sunday, the major ones are held during Maundy Thursday
and Good Friday.
I arrived in Paete on Maundy Thursday, April 2,
2015, as many tourists do. It was late afternoon, and at
the town plaza, a sinakulo was concluding. Jesus Christ
had already been crucified. Together with two other criminals similarly tortured, he was drenched in fake blood
that dripped to the white loincloth and turned magenta,
suggesting the use of a food coloring agent. Still, it was
intense and a bit unsettling to see. The cast then gathered
onstage and immediately dispersed, mingling with the
crowd and having pictures taken.
The sinakulo is a major part in the commemoration
of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
which is still practiced in several parts of the country such
as Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Camarines Sur and
even Metro Manila. The sinakulo, also spelled as cenakulo,
or the passion play, tells of the life and suffering of Jesus
Christ, and is mostly staged by local organizations, composed of members of the community, many without a
background in theater.
With bright blood and glistening costumes, I was
introduced to the Lent of Paete.
The small plaza sees the most activities during this time.
It is surrounded by the municipal hall, the Catholic church
and Aglipayan church. A rivulet, the Paete River, separates
it from the Catholic church. While most of Metro Manila
slows down almost to a halt and many of its residents stay
home or fly to the provinces and beaches starting Maundy
Thursday, Paete is abuzz. Just after the sinakulo, the Maundy
Thursday procession was gearing up.
In between, I went to the old stone church. The Church
of Saint James the Apostle (Santiago Apostol) faces the lake,
as many churches in this area do, with the mountains as
backdrop, the foothills of Sierra Madre, and a sprawling
front yard. It looks petite, and its being august owes much
to the lack of paint, exposing the stone make and affecting
great age. Like many churches in the Philippines, Paetes is
perhaps the oldest structure in town and is definitely a major
heritage structure. The sun burnishes it with gold and russet
during sunset while the moon rises behind it.
The heritage church suffered damages and had unergone a series of rebuilding since the first stone church
was erected in early 18th century. The facade is ornate
with carvings of leaves and flowers, attributed to local artisans. Above the door is the relief of St. James, depicted
as Santiago Matamoros (St. James, the Slayer of Moros).
The roof is embellished with series of finials shaped like
The image of Santa Juana
The icons for the Good Friday procession passed

by the church to be blessed by the parish priest

curly waves.
Upon entering the church, three imposing paintings are most noticeable, some of the
old treasures of the churchtwo paintings of
Saint Christopher and a depiction of heaven,
earth and hell, attributed to Paetenian painter
Josef Luciano Dans. Saint Christopher paintings, which depict the saint carrying the child
Jesus across the river, are interesting. One is
painted on wood panels. This was what many
people knew about for many years until it
was brought down from the wall, revealing
a mural underneath, considered older. While
both depict a similar scene, the saints were
rendered differently. One can only surmise the
reasons why a new painting was done to cover
the original mural. What is plain to see is the
paintings have suffered damage and are in dire
need of conservation.
Outside, the statues of saints and Biblical characters were lined up along Juan V.
Quesada Street, Paetes major road named
after its first mayor. They were finely dressed
and were placed on carrozas or floats that
were bedecked with ruffles, tassels, rib-
bons, wood carvings, fresh flowers, etc.

Each carried their own lamps, in different
shapes and designs, that illumined the images through the dark night. The float of the
Hesus sa Banal na Eukaristiya or Jesus of the
Holy Eucharist was laden with real bread,
punctuated with grapes. Even the cordon
was made of pieces of bread strung together.
The line-up of religious statues took
up a whole block of the street riddled with
quaint shops, souvenir stores and eateries.
There were about fifty or more icons. People
thronged to the place, and the narrow street
looked like a fair. The processions on Maundy
Thursday and Good Friday are like pageantry. The Roman Catholic and the Aglipayan
processions are mounted simultaneously,
equally attractive and impressive. They illumined the whole town center as they wind
their ways through the narrow streets. Even
the heavens participated. The sunset painted
the sky mauve and pale fuchsia while a little
later the mountains let go a spectral moon.
The Maundy Thursday procession is
inspired by the Passion of the Christ, telling
The Maundy Thursday procession with many images showing signs of grief and sorrow
the story before the crucifixion. The Paete

procession is distinctive with salubongs,
literally meetings, the points where two
characters/images meet and sort of have
a dialogue, which is chanted. The images,
particularly the heads and arms, are made
to move like puppets. The salubong is enacted three times: at the market, where Mary
wipes Jesuss face; at the Plaza Edesan, where
Veronica wipes Jesus face; and at the plaza,
where Veronica shows the three miraculous
impressions of Jesus faces on her veil to
Mary, who also shows her own impressions.
While joining the Maundy Thursday
procession, we chanced upon a very quaint
shop, decorated with small ball lanterns
made of paper, and stopped for a while. The
owner, Lino Dalay, was watching the procession with her old mother. Chatty and amiable, he invited us in and related that he was
a production and costume designer for films
such as Halimaw sa Banga. When movie production slowed down, he packed his bags,
costumes and props, and went home to
Paete, opening a shop called Ang Buhay at
The Good Friday procession went around the Paete town proper starting twilight
Hugis ng Paete. The shop specializes in wood

carvings and taka products as well as in using
recycled materials. The place is bursting with
colorful curios, knickknacks, masks, toys,
home decors, etc., made with either paper
or wood, particularly batikuling. The owner
also founded a community theater group
called Buwig Teatro ng Paete, which staged
his original play based on the legend on how
the lanzones or langsat, a fruit Paete is also
known for, became sweet and edible. It was
pinched by a mysterious woman, making the
once poisonous fruit edible for the townspeople to enjoy, the folktale tells. Some say
she was the Virgin Mary in disguise. Dalay
insisted she was a sister of the two diwatas of
popular legends, Maria Makiling and Maria
Sinukuan. Unnamed, he calls her Ang Babaeng Kumurot, the Woman Who Pinched.
Beside Ang Buhay at Hugis ng Paete
is a delightful coffee shop and gallery, the
Kape Kesada Art Gallery. The handsome
shack made of wood and reclaimed pieces

of old houses was bright inside with paintings and sculptures. The chairs were of the
batibot kind and old capiz-shell windows
were repurposed as dividers. The caf has a
spacious front yard, covered with gravel and
accentuated with plants and trees. It has the
only open space in the town center. It has
the tallest tree in the town center, boasted
the owner, a dentist and art lover, who was
busy watching the procession.
Just across the street, a house sheltered
the Santo Entierro, literally holy burial,
the statue of the dead Jesus Christ. The
home was open for anyone who wanted
to pay respects or pray. Popularly called
Senyor, Mahal na Senyor or Senyor
Sepulkro, the image had been readied for
the Good Friday procession, which is more
dramatic. Like most of the statues in the
procession, the Santo Entierro is privately
owned and cared for by a family, passed on
from one generation to another. The owner

or keeper is called rekamadero. The Santo
Entierro is said to be the oldest statue in the
town, even older than the church. It is said
to have been brought by Spanish friars from
Mexico in the sixteenth century.
Paetes most important statue had undergone ceremonies in preparation for the
procession such as ritual bathing. It is
treated with utmost care as if it is a real holy
corpse. The bathing water is a combination
of lambanog, the strong arrack made from
coconut blossom sap of the Tagalogs, and
agua de coloa. During the bathing on Holy
Wednesday, after days of vigil, the image,
which has movable parts, is made to sit on
a chair. The clothes are reverently removed
and the head covered with a scarf. It is carefully cleaned with balls of cotton. Afterwards, it is placed inside a makeshift tent
or kubol of wood and white cloth for the
pagsusuod or smoking. The Santo Entierro

is then smoked with incense or dried langsat peelings. The practice is
reminiscent of embalming traditions of Cordilleran ethnic groups. The
statue is dressed in new clothes and covered with a glimmering blanket.
The praying of the novena accompanies all these, which take about five
hours. The leftover bathing mix, believed to be sacred and miraculous,
is put in small bottles to be distributed among devotees.
On Good Friday, the Santo Entierro is fetched by a group of boys and
men, who will bring it to church. These boys, all in white shirts, serve as
pallbearers throughout the procession.
Inside the church on Good Friday afternoon, the Siete Palabras or
Seven Last Words were recited. Several parishioners related their emotional
journeys to redemption, their struggles, their testaments of faith.
The religious statues or poons started to gather by the side of the church,
most of them bearing the faces of grief and mourning, with crystalline tears on
the cheeks. Encased in glass, the Santo Entierro was parked inside the church,
by the entrance, surrounded by the boys. Behind it was the Mater Dolorosa,
the Sorrowful Mother, dressed in black.
The Mater Dolorosa is another important religious statue of the
town. Very old, it is said to be a replica made by prominent town sculptor Mariano Cagahastian Madrian of his own original work, Mater
Dolorosa, which was exhibited at an international exposition in Amsterdam and received a gold medal in 1882.
At the same time, the Aglipayans were at their own church, with
their own Santo Entierro and Mater Dolorosa, which was in luminous
white, and retinue of boys.
As the sun set, the Catholic statues passed by the front of the
church to be blessed by the priest with holy water, amidst billows of
incense. Each was introduced to the gathered people, starting with the
twelve apostles. The introduction included the horrific and eccentric
ways they died.
Siya ay binalatan nang buhay... (He was flayed alive)
Siya ay inihagis mula sa tore, at nang makitang buhay, siyay pinagbabato at pinalo hanggang mamatay... (He was thrown from a tower,
and when found still alive, was stoned and clubbed to death)
Siya ay biniting patiwarik at hinati ang katawan gamit ang lagari (He was hanged upside down and sawed in half)
Siya ay inihagis sa kumulong langis ngunit siya ay himalang nabuhay. Siya ang pinakahuling namatay sa mga apostoles, namatay dahil sa
katandaan (He was thrown into boiling oil, but miraculously survived. He was the last of the apostles to die, dying from old age)
The moon, the one before the blood moon, was already rising
above the church.
When the introduction of the saints was finished, the church was
Religious images were impressively garbed for the Maundy Thursday
procession (top, left). Aglipayan boys and men carried the Santo
Entierro around the town (above, left). Religious icons not included in
the processions were displayed at the owners houses or yards (left).
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Religion plays a central role in the
life of the Filipinos, and the predominant
religion in the Philippines is Christianity.
Before East Timor became independent
from Indonesia in 2002, the Philippines
was the only predominantly Christian
nation in Asia. About 90 percent of the
population of the Philippines is Christian.

The predominant Christian denomination in
the country is Roman Catholic. More than 80 percent of the population is Roman Catholic. About
10 percent of the population belongs to other
Christian denominations and sects, particularly
Protestantism. Some belong to Christian sects
that originated in the Philippines such

as Iglesia ni Kristo and the Philippine Independent Church or the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente (more commonly called
Aglipayan Church).
Muslims form about five percent
of the population, while the remaining
practice Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism,
animism and others.
The Catholic Santo Entierro being carried by boys and men as their form of sacrifice and penitence during the Good Friday procession.
opened to reveal a resplendent and brightly

lit Santo Entierro, and the striking Mater
Dolorosa. The younger boys made noise
with instruments made of bamboo tubes
or wood, called matraka, from the Spanish matraca, meaning rattle. The Santo
Entierro carriers formed a very tight group
and swayed as they walked as if the Santo
Entierro was dancing.
The two processions went around the
town center, taking different routes and seldom bumping into each other. Many spectators and visitors followed both, especially the
Santo Entierro, going through dark alleyways
and streets, like going through a maze.
The poons not included in the procession were displayed on house fronts or windows.
The Good Friday procession was a
longer one, ending by eleven in the evening
at the town plaza, where people snatched up

the flowers that adorned the carrozas, particularly the Santo Entierro.
After this, the Paetenians would prepare for the Easter Sunday Mass, in which
the male parishioners are separated from the
female. Each group would escort statues of
the Risen Christ and the Virgin Mary, which
will meet in the middle of the churchyard.
After resting our tired feet and eating
lugaw and tokwa, we decided to return to
Metro Manila. We took a jeepney to Famy
to catch a bus going from Infanta, Quezon, to Manila. At one in the morning, we
were at a junction in Famy. The boys eating balut at a stall was talking about a man
who had just been stabbed. Drunk teenage
boys lounged by a street island and a monument, talking loudly and speeding off with
their skateboards. A group arrived, bought
beer at a 7-Eleven store and drank outside.

A girl, who seemed to be with Downs syndrome, was singing her lungs out at one
dark corner. A couple arrived and sat near
us at the bus terminal. The man shouted at
the woman for nagging or something. The
woman, with peroxide blonde hair, talked
about leaving his boyfriend. The child she
was carrying began having tantrums. By the
dark road going to Manila, there was a huge
sign, the logo of Red Horse, a local beer
brand which had become a rite of passage
for many, including mine. It was uncharacteristically cold that morning. Maybe it
was the breeze from the mountain. Maybe
it was from the coming typhoon. I cradled
a souvenir from Paete, a miniature red taka
horse, a reminder of childhood and innocence, and now of spectacle, sacrifice and
sanctity.
A Nationwide
Dance Rally
T
he NCCA led the nation in a dance rally held in key

cities of the country to celebrate International Dance Day
and National Dance Week as well as to drum up awareness
on cultural heritage. The Yugyugan para sa Kultura ng Bayan was
organized by the NCCAs National Committee on Dance (NCD).
According to Josefina Guillen, head of the NCD, Yugyugan
was participated in by hundreds of dancers including choreographers, school troupes and dance companies, who danced simultaneously starting four in the afternoon with other dancers in other
parts of the Philippines and around the world. By six in the evening,
the dancers danced to the song Filipino Ako, Filipino Tayo.
Held on April 29, 2015, Yugyugan was also a venue for dancers
and dance artists to express their passion on the promotion of culture
and the arts as the event advocates for cultural heritage preservation.
The NCD choreographed two to three movements for performers to
perform uniformly during the countdown to the Yugyugan.
In Manila, prima ballerina and artistic director of Ballet
Manila (BM) Lisa Macuja led the event at the Aliw Theatre in
Pasay City. BM organized the event in partnership with the Manila Broadcasting Company and Aliw Theatre. The BM-NCCA
International Dance Day Festival 2015: Yugyugan para sa Kultura
ng Bayan was a whole day event starting at nine in the morning.
Participating were The Dance Factory, Academy One, ACTS Manila AirDance Company, Ana Emata School of Classical Ballet,
Ballet and Arts Centre, Ballet Baguio, Ballet Manila, Bayanihan
National Folk Dance, Center for Movement and Music, Company of Ateneo Dancers, Daloy Dance Company, Dance Theater
Arts, Danspace, Ecole De Ballet Manille, Escuela De Baile de
Santa Ana, Hampton Court Ballet, Ianne Damian and Melanie
Motus (IDMM) Ballet School, Korean Cultural Centre, Lahing
Kayumanggi ng Marikina, Lakandula High School, LPU Dance
Troupe, LPU Wildstyle, Manoeuvres, More Than Dance, Perry
Sevidal Ballet School, Philippine Ballet Theatre, PNU Balinsasayaw, Polecats Manila, Ridgepointe, Symmetry Dance, Team Dance
Studio, Teatro Baile de Filipinas and the Dance Conservatory.
The event culminated in a gala featuring special performances
from AirDance, Bayanihan National Folk Dance, Daloy Dance
Company, Philippine Ballet Theater, Polecats Manila, Korean
Cultural Center, Manouevers and Ballet Manila.
In Cebu City, NCD members Dolores Suzara and Victor Hao
Cuenco led numerous dance groups at the Cebu City Sports Complex. Dances ranged from hip-hop to modern ballet to sinulog, and
performers included Disco Jammers, Knapsack, Type 1, The New
Friends, Don Juan, University of the Visayas Cheer Dance Team,
The AirDance Company at the BM-NCCA International Dance Day

Festival 2015: Yugyugan para sa Kultura ng Bayan at the Aliw Theater
The grand finale of the Yugyugan event in Cebu City. /Photo by Marvin Alcaraz
University of Cebu Cheer Dance Team, Cebu

City Dancesport Team, University of San JoseRecoletos Dance Troupe, Mandaue City College
Sidlak Cultural Troupe, Mandaue City College
Dance Club, Cebu Normal University Dance
Troupe, University of Southern Philippines
Foundation Dance Troupe, Mantawi Integrated
Dance Company, University of the Visayas Dance
Troupe, University of San Carlos Dance Troupe
and University of Cebu Dance Company.
In Angeles City, Pampanga, performers and
dance artists gathered at the Heritage District in
the barangay of Sto. Rosario, led by NCCA NCD
vice head Peter De Vera. Participating schools and
organizations included Sinukwan Kapampangan,
Holy Angel University, Sto. Rosario Elementary
School, City College of Angeles, Angeles City
National Trade School, Angeles University Foundation, University of the Assumption, Achievers
Special Education Center- Angeles, ICT School,
Systems Plus College Foundation, and the Alliance of Capampangan Choreographers.
On the other hand, twenty groups performed to an audience of about 860 at the Plaza
Independencia in Lipa City, Batangas.
Other Yugyugan events were mounted at the
SM City Iloilo in Iloilo City; the Capiz Provincial
Capitol in Roxas City, Capiz; Robinsons Place
Bacolod in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; Angono, Rizal; and Center for Culture and the Arts
Theater, St. Louis University, Baguio City.
The celebration of International Dance Day
was created under the auspices of UNESCO in Paris
and held all over the world by the International Theater Institute (ITI) on April 29. On the other hand,
the Philippine National Dance Week is celebrated
every fourth week of April every year as declared by
Proclamation No. 154 to bring together dancers to
demonstrate and realize the function of dance in the
society and in the rest of the world.
Yugyugan event in Lipa City
National Committee on Dance head

Josefina Guillen
Prima ballerina and Ballet Manila artistic

director Lisa Macuja
Empowering
the Filipino
Imagination
Send your comments and inquiries to The Editor, NCCA, Public Affairs and Information Office
633 General Luna Street, 1002 Intramuros, Manila. Tel. (+63 2) 527-2192 to 96 Fax (+63 2) 527-2191/94 E-mail: ncca.paio@gmail.com, info@ncca.gov.ph Web site: www.ncca.gov.ph
BUSINESS MAIL: Entered as second-class mail at Manila Central Post Office under Permit No. 755-02 NCR, dated June 3, 2002. Subject for postal inspection

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Volume XVIII Number 2 2015 For Artists and Cultural Workers ISSN 0119-5948

Inscribed for Posterity

2 | Agung March - May 2014

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

FELIPE M. DE LEON, JR.

Vol. XVIII, No. 2

FELIPE M. DE LEON, JR.

About the cover

The agung is a knobbed metal

Roel Hoang Manipon

Leihdee Anne Cabrera

The National Commission

UST archivist Regalado Trota Jose guides NCCA chairman

UST Baybayin Documents Declared National Cultural Treasure

The National Archives of the Philippines (NAP) unveiled a

tional Museum personnel from the Archaeology, Anthropology and

4 Agung Number 2 2015

The unveiling of the marker declaring the baybayin documents of UST

OTHER GOVERNMENT EFFORTS

some land to UST, which occasioned some contestation. Castilla

Some of the government offices and agencies that have already

The new bronze statue

6 Agung Number 2 2015

Text and photos by Roel Hoang Manipon

Manila Bay, from the vantage point of

dambana ng karangalan ang ating bayaning

around but also to study and read) A big

2015 Number 2 Agung 7

had declared Araw ni Balagtas a provincial

of the Sangay ng Edukasyon at Networking

8 Agung Number 2 2015

Philippine languages, with support from the

sa pamamagitan ng tuloy-tuloy na produksiyon at promosyon. (Another objective is to

lessons on first aid and martial arts, among

Masinop na Pagsulat, and Korespondensiya

Francsico Balagtas Baltazar is widely

10 Agung Number 2 2015

The Saint Michael the Archangel Church (top),

THE KOMISYN SA WIKNG FILIPNO

isasyong may direkta o di-direktang may

2015 Number 2 Agung 11

most daring in exploring new literary forms

a writer not only for his social conscience

12 Agung Number 2 2015

tees the value of his

(2004). He wrote the libretto for The Tales of

2015 Number 2 Agung 13

Tinios chief distinction is as a stage director

14 Agung Number 2 2015

Questions and Conscience

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister

Arts gave us travel grants and the Philippine

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A New Chapter for a

NCCA Acquires Metropolitan Theater

Designed by Juan Arellano, the Manila

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By Roel Hoang Manipon

he Manila Metropolitan Theater

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rioration and neglect. With

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