Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

I’m so glad I got the opportunity to be with you today.

I’m here to talk about Philippine literature as a representation of our past, in an era before
modernization.

However, a lot of people are asking: why should we care? We have the internet now, so it’s all
up to date what we know.

But that is not the point!

We should embrace our past and reliving the future through Philippine literature because it can
give us a good understanding of how people were living back then.

It can help us understand how other people lived during those times and how they were
influenced by what was happening around them.

By reading these books, we're able to understand more about society as a whole, who read
these books back then and what their life was like- because they wrote these stories.

The Philippines is an interesting country. In one sense, it is a young nation. But in another, it has
a rich history that goes back to the 3rd century BC. It was colonized by various countries in the
past and many cultures have influenced its literature. To learn more about this fascinating
country, we can read some of its books and poems written by authors who were able to capture
the spirit of their time and place very well.

We can take Filipino literature as an example. As a whole, we are not quite new to the concept
of “digital” in our everyday lives. We have seen how it has affected our country, one way or the
other. But what if we were to approach this idea from a different perspective? What if we were to
see how digital media can be used to preserve Filipino literature for future generations?

If we are embracing the past and reliving the future through Philippine literature, would it not
make sense that this is done digitally? There is no doubt that digital media has changed many
aspects of our society and because of it, there has been an impact on Philippine Literature.
What better way is there than through digital mediums such as e-books or a website designed
for Filipino literature classic texts? This may be just what we need!

In the past, Filipinos have not been very good at writing. There were little to no writers that can
relate their experiences and life stories through essays and poetry to other Filipinos. However,
in recent years many Filipinos have taken an interest in literature and have written their own
poems, short stories, novels and memoirs. There has not been a literary movement like this
since Dr. Jose Rizal's work which was published 100 years ago.

There are many reasons for why this sudden interest in Philippine Literature has occurred.
Some say it is because social media has made it easier for people to publish their writing online
without having to worry about any editorial decisions by publishing houses or newspapers
publishers which may reject what they deem as "unfit" content or narratives but others argue
that there is a general shift in culture where more people are taking the time to read books for
leisure rather than TV show

Jose Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines, but Filipinos still have a lot to learn from him
and his contemporaries. Hence, we must not take this period for granted and should be able to
embrace their past in order to relive their future.

There are many ways to look at Philippine literature. Some like to focus on the abundance of
traditions that we have and how they shape our culture even until today. Some focus on how
Filipino literature has been a battle ground for the struggle between colonial, American and local
forces; some for what it could be and not is now. What if we just looked at this literature from a
completely different perspective?

What if we just looked at Filipino writings as a form of time travel? That would mean that these
texts allow us to relive the past or glimpse into the future through their words, by thinking
critically about what these writers say about their society, past and future.

A Novel is not a story that is just read, it’s a story that is also felt. What we read in novels are the
emotions that the author wants to convey to the readers. And this is why, in Philippine literature,
one of the oldest written languages and one of the most creative forms of expression, stories
are often told through emotions. Stories speak through emotions because they want us to feel
what they feel and experience what they experience.

The future is what we make of it, and for us Filipinos, a future that embraces the past is what we
want.

In order to make that a reality, we have to be able to look back at the past and learn from it.
What better way to do so than through our Philippine literature?
Let's look back at one of our most famous poems: "Ang Pagsilang" or "The Rising Planet" by
Jose Corazon de Jesus or Juan Flavier.

This poem is set in the year when Philippine Independence was declared: 1898. It tells us about
our love for this country and how much more there still is to discover.

Through this poem, it becomes clear that living in the present while looking back at the past can
help us create a better future and find new insights into our own history.