Orion, Bataan: A 28-year-old poet from southern Mindanao was formally conferred the 2019 Makata ng Taon title by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) during the commemoration of the 231st birth anniversary of Filipino poet laureate Francisco Balagtas here on April 2.
In a ceremony at the town’s Orion Elementary School, Michael Jude “MJ” C. Tumamac of General Santos City was awarded the title for his poetry collection Mga Mungkahi ng Pagdanas ng Dahas sa Maitum, which tackled poverty, injustice and tribal wars, among others.
Maitum is a municipality in Sarangani province.
The poems in the collection are “Mag-abang ng Bangkay sa Baybay,” “Kalimutan ang Kasaysayan,” “Magbuntis ng mga Butil,” “Lumanghap ng Alingasaw,” ”Payuhan ang Sipit at Sampayan,” “Mangwasak ng mga Mukha,” “Manunumpa sa Sumpa,” “Lumikha ng Tula at Bata,” “Magpalit ng Dila,” and “Magpahaloghog ng Loob.”
Tumamac has published four books and edited and translated books for children. He previously won second place in the 2017 Makata ng Taon competition for his collection Balak na Maikling Dokumentaryo Tungkol sa Isang Binatilyo sa Badjao Village.
Other winners are Fr. Arnel S. Vitor, who nabbed second prize for his collection May Nakakatawa Ba Sakaling Mamatay: At Iba pang Tula sa Panahong Eksayting ang Pagkakahimlay, and Richard R. Gappi, who scored third for his collection Dulok: Gunita ng Tubig. Both hail from Rizal province’s Angono town, long considered as the country’s art capital.
The parish priest of the Transfiguration of Christ Church in Antipolo City, Vitor is also a fictionist, having won third prize at the 2000 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature for his Filipino short story “Logos sa Lotus.”
A previous fellow of the University of the Philippines and IYAS La Salle national writers workshops, Gappi is editor of Angono Rizal News Online and a founder of the Neo-Angono Artists Collective and Angono 3/7 Poetry Society.
In addition to being named Makata ng Taon, Tumamac received a cash prize of P30,000. Vitor and Gappi received P20,000 and P15,000, respectively.
Tumamac joins a distinguished group of writers who have been named Makata ng Taon in previous years. They include National Artists for Literature Virgilio S. Almario (1984) and Cirilo F. Bautista (1993); Palanca Hall of Fame inductees Ruth Elynia Mabanglo (1992), Reynaldo A. Duque (1998), Eugene Y. Evasco (2000) and Reuel Molina Aguila (2008); and Christian Ray P. Pilares (2015), Mark Anthony S. Angeles (2016), Aldrin P. Pentero (2017) and Christian Jil R. Benitez (2018).
Also honored during the celebration were singer-songwriter Rey Valera and playwright Rody Vera, this year’s recipients of the Gawad Dangal ni Balagtas.
Valera was cited for his contributions in enriching Philippine music, while Vera was praised for teaching young Filipinos about theater and further modernizing Philippine drama.
Some of Valera’s best-known hits are “Kung Kailangan Mo Ako,” “Malayo Pa ang Umaga,” “Tayong Dalawa” and “Maging Sino Ka Man.” Vera’s works include the plays “Kung Paano Ko Pinatay si Diana Ross,” “Ralph at Claudia,” “Luna: Isang Romansang Aswang” and “Indigo Child,” and the screenplays for “Die Beautiful,” “Signal Rock” and “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral.”
Valera attended the awarding ceremony at the Pambansang Kampong Balagtas held at the school, where he serenaded the audience. Prior commitments prevented Vera from attending, but he expressed his thanks in a video played during the event.
Previous Dangal ni Balagtas awardees are poets Lamberto E. Antonio (2013), Teodoro “Teo” T. Antonio (2014), Rogelio G. Mangahas (2015) and Jose “Pete” F. Lacaba (2016); novelist and screenwriter Lualhati Bautista and Mabanglo (2017); and screenwriter and novelist Ricardo “Ricky” Lee (2018).
The awarding ceremony was part of the government’s arts and language agencies’ celebration of the Araw ni Balagtas in Orion, where the Bulacan-born author of Florante at Laura settled and raised 11 children with wife Juana Tiambeng. He died there on Feb. 20, 1862 at age 74.
The annual celebration also saw flowers offered at Balagtas’ monument in the Hardin ni Balagtas in Orion’s Wawa village and Aeta children from Abucay town performing songs and indigenous dances.
It also saw the start of the three-day Pambansang Kampong Balagtas, in which 200 student-writers from all over the country learned more about writing poetry, short stories and essays. KWF organized the camp, led by its chief Almario, also the chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
The camp kicked off the country’s celebration of April as National Literature Month, which is spearheaded by the NCCA, KWF and the National Book Development Board. WITH ALVIN I. DACANAY
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