PHILIPPINE LITERATURE

The Philippine literature is a diverse and rich group of works that has evolved
throughout the centuries. It had started with traditional folktales and legends made by
the ancient Filipinos before Spanish colonization. The main themes of Philippine
literature focus on the country's pre-colonial cultural traditions and the socio-political
histories of its colonial and contemporary traditions. The literature of the Philippines
illustrates the Prehistory and European colonial legacy of the Philippines, written in both
Indigenous and Hispanic writing system. Most of the traditional literatures of the
Philippines were written during the Spanish period, while being preserved orally prior to
Spanish colonization. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, English, or any
indigenous Philippine languages.

Some of the well known work of literature were created from the 17th to 19th century.
The Ibong Adarna is a famous epic about an magical bird which was claimed to be
written by José de la Cruz or "Huseng Sisiw". Francisco Balagtas is one of the country's
prominent Filipino poets, he is named as one of the greatest Filipino literary laureates
for his contributions in Philippine literature. His greatest work, the Florante at Laura is
considered as his greatest work and one of the masterpieces of Philippine literature.
Balagtas wrote the epic during his imprisonment. José Rizal, the national hero of the
country, wrote the novels Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The
Filibustering, also known as The Reign of Greed).

There have been proposals to revive all indigenous ethnic scripts or suyat in the
Philippines, where the ethnic script of the ethnic majority of the student population shall
be taught in public and private schools. The proposal came up after major backlash
came about when a bill declaring the Tagalog baybayin as the national script of the
country. The bill became controversial as it focuses only on the traditional script of the
Tagalog people, while dismissing the traditional scripts of more than 100 ethnic groups
in the country. The new proposal that came after the backlash cites that if the ethnic
majority is Sebwano, then the script that will be taught is badlit. If the ethnic majority is
Tagalog, then the script that will be taught is baybayin. If the ethnic majority is Hanunuo
Mangyan, then the script that will be taught is hanunu'o, and so on.