DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/02 Sept) — Four Mindanawons, three of them Dabawenyos, are among this year’s winners in the prestigious Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature (Palanca Awards).
Two Dabawenyos won the first prize — Charisse-Fuschia “Peachy” A. Paderna in the Poetry category for her collection, “An Abundance of Selves” and Errol A. Merquita for the Tula para sa mga Bata category, for “Ang Iisang Paa ng Tsinelas,” a collection of poems on children displaced by war and climate change.
Another Dabawenyo, Miguel Antonio N. Lizada, won third prize for the Essay category for “The Bangkok Masseur” while Elyrah L. Salanga-Torralba won 3rd prize in the Poetry written for Children category, for “The Cockroach’s Prayer.” Salanga-Torralba, who received her fourth Palanca, is the eldest daughter of Alicia Loyola of Zamboanga City and the late Alfrredo Navarro Salanga of Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, a seven-time Palanca awardee.
A total of 57 literary artists were honored at the 65th Palanca Awards ceremony at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City on September 1. This year, the Palanca Awards, considered the most prestigious and longest-running literary contest in the country, accepted 895 entries in 22 categories.
Named in honor of businessman and philanthropist Don Carlos Palanca, Sr. , the Palanca Awards aims to develop Philippine Literature “by providing incentives for writers to craft their most outstanding literary works as well as serve as a treasury of Philippine literary gems.”
Winners
Paderna, who finished high school at the Stella Maris Academy in Davao City, works as Issues and Media Manager/Public Information Unit Head ad the Department of Budget and Management in Manila.
Paderna, 32, graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University (AB Philosophy 2007).
In March 2005, she received the Loyola Schools Award for the Arts (Poetry in Englihs), an award given to “select seniors in the Ateneo de Manila University in recognition of hteir accomplishments in various creative fields, ranging in scope from creative writing and theater to visua and performance arts.”
The 34-year old Merquita, a resident of Los Amigos in Tugbok District, Davao City and presently the Deputy Program Manager of the Catholic Relief Services in Tagum told MindaNews that his experience with internally displaced persons (IDPs) “which is the theme of my winning work is based on my experience when I worked for UNHCR and UNDP” (United Nations High Commission on Refugees and United Nations Development Programme).
Merquita posted on his Facebook wall that the 14 poems in “Ang Iisang Paa ng Tsinelas” is about children evacuees – Moro, Lumad and Christian.
For children ‘bakwits’
“Nilalarawan dito ang takot at pangamba ng mga bata tuwing may nakaambang giyera o papalapit na bagyo. Nilalahad dito ang mga banta at ang kanilang kahinaan, gayundin ang kanilang kakayahan, pangarap at pag-asa para sa kapayapaan at pagbabago” (It portrays the children’s fears and worries during armed conflicts or impending typhoons. It also depicts the threats they face, their weaknesses as well as their strengths, dreams and hopes for peace and change), he said.
He shared his award with the children evacuees. “Ang pagkilala ng mga hurado ng Palanca sa mga tulang ito ay tagumpay rin ng mga batang bakwet. Maraming salamat po dahil lalo along magsusumikap magsulat para sa may mahihinang boses,” (The Palanca judges’ recognition of these poems is also a triumph for the children evacuees. Thank you because I am inspired to write more for the marginalized voices), Merquita wrote on his Facebook wall.
This is Merquita’s second Palanca Award. The UP Mindanao alumnus (BA Social Science 2002) won Second Prize in the Palanca Awards in 2011 in the Short Story-Cebuano category for “Isla Verde.”
In 2010, Merquita also won the Second Prize in the Bisaya Fiction Writing Contest sponsored by the Davao Writers Guild and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for his entry titled “Kinsa ang Nagpatay sa Pari sa Calinan?”
Lizada is an English instructor at the Ateneo de Manila University. He was a Fellow for Creative Non-Fiction at the 54th Silliman University National Writers Workshop in May this year.
Salanga-Torralba, 36, is an Assistant Professor at the Filipino Department of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. She teaches popular culture, gender, Philippine literature and creative writing and has won several Palanca awards – 2nd Prize, Poetry Written for Children for “Punny Poems” in 2014, 2nd prize for Sanaysay for “Utang Ina” in 2012 and 2nd prize for Sanaysay for “Talambalay” in 2006. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
The winners of the 65th Palanca Awards, as posted on the website of the Palanca Awards:
FILIPINO DIVISION
NOBELA
Grand Prize Charmaine Mercader Lasar Toto O.
DULANG PAMPELIKULA
1st Prize Eloisa Angeli Andrada Palileo Pink o Blue
2nd Prize Brylle B. Tabora Sekyu
3rd Prize Nita Eden So Alyas FPJ
DULANG GANAP ANG HABA
1st Prize Kanakan Balintagos Mga Buhay na Apoy
2nd Prize Edgardo B. Maranan Diwata ng Bayan
3rd Prize George A. De Jesus III Maniacal
DULANG MAY ISANG YUGTO
1st Prize Allan B. Lopez Sa Isang Hindi Natatanging Umaga,at ang mga Ulap ay Dahan-Dahang Pumaibabaw sa Nabubulok na Lungsod
2nd Prize Vladimeir B. Gonzales Mal
3rd Prize Marco Antonio R. Rodas Igba
TULA
1st Prize Christa I. De La Cruz Mula sa Silong
2nd Prize Abner Dormiendo Sa Antipolo pa rin ang Antipolo
3rd Prize Christian Jil R. Benitez Sapagkat Umiibig: Mga Tula
TULA PARA SA MGA BATA
1st Prize Errol A. Merquita Ang Iisang Paa ng Tsinelas
2nd Prize John Romeo Leongson Venturero Si Iking Pasaway
3rd Prize N O W I N N E R
MAIKLING KUWENTO
1st Prize John Carlo I. Pacala Ang Reyna ng Espada at mga Pusa
2nd Prize Lilia Quindoza Santiago Mag-ambahan Tayo
3rd Prize Andrian M. Legaspi Johnson at Putol
MAIKLING KUWENTONG PAMBATA
1st Prize Manuelita Contreras-Cabrera Sulat sa Birhen
2nd Prize Salvador T. Biglaen Ang Alamat ng Gulugod Baka
3rd Prize Corazon L. Santos Ang Hiling sa Punso
SANAYSAY
1st Prize Adelma L. Salvador Silat
2nd Prize Dionie Cabral Tañada Tawag ng Pangangailangan
3rd Prize Jayson Bernard B. Santos Ang Tiktik sa Kalye Moriones
KABATAAN SANAYSAY
1st Prize Karl Gabrielle B. De Los Santos Hindi Ko Alam
2nd Prize Lance Lauren L. Santiago Ang Nakakikiliting Kalabit ngBukang- Liwayway
3rd Prize Jason Renz D. Barrios Kahimanawari: Mga Kwentong Aswang ni Lola Basyang
ENGLISH DIVISION
NOVEL
Grand Prize Victorette Joy Z. Campilan All My Lonely Islands
FULL-LENGTH PLAY
1st Prize NO W I N N E R
2nd Prize Jose Maria Manalo Obando
3rd Prize Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza Haiyan
ONE-ACT PLAY
1st Prize Layeta P. Bucoy The Adopted Healthy Baby
2nd Prize Jose Elvin Bueno Looking for Ulysses
3rd Prize Jonathan R. Guillermo The Hawk and the Viper
POETRY
1st Prize Charisse-Fuschia A. Paderna An Abundance of Selves
2nd Prize Arkaye Kierulf There Are No Monsters
3rd Prize Rodrigo V. Dela Peña Jr. Aria and Trumpet Flourish
POETRY WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN
1st Prize Peter Solis Nery The Rainbow Collection
2nd Prize Patricia Celina A. Ngo Ordinary Adventures
3rd Prize Elyrah L. Salanga-Torralba The Cockroach’s Prayer
SHORT STORY
1st Prize Exie Abola Phallic Symbols
2nd Prize Maria Carmen G. Aquino Sarmiento The Backroom Angels
Buggaloo
3rd Prize Hammed Q. Bolotaolo The Storyteller
SHORT STORY FOR CHILDREN
1st Prize Raymond G. Falgui Monster Rescue: A Children’s Story for Adult Readers
2nd Prize Victoria Estrella C. Bravo The Bear
3rd Prize Jonathan R. Guillermo The Three Questions of Tarongoy
ESSAY
1st Prize Eli Rueda Guieb III Symphony of Dry Winds in a Time without Rain
2nd Prize Jennifer Dela Rosa Balboa Violence, A Biography
3rd Prize Miguel Antonio N. Lizada The Bangkok Masseur
KABATAAN ESSAY
1st Prize Catherine Regina Hanopol Borlaza That Man, That Hero in Our Stories
2nd Prize Richard C. Cornelio A Loaded Gun in the House Next
Door
3rd Prize Annicka B. Koteh Until Transcendence
REGIONAL DIVISION
SHORT STORY – CEBUANO
1st Prize Lamberto G. Ceballos Tuba
2nd Prize Manuel M. Avenido Jr. Sa Lalaking Naligsan sa may Interseksyon
3rd Prize Januar E. Yap Liboa’g Usa Ka Hugon-Hugon Kabahin sa Tagulilong
SHORT STORY – HILIGAYNON
1st Prize Jesus C. Insilada Amburukay
2nd Prize Ritchie D. Pagunsan Kalamay Nga Pula
3rd Prize Gil S. Montinola Ang Lapsag sa Taguangkan ni Belen
SHORT STORY – ILUKO
1st Prize N O W I N N E R
2nd Prize N O W I N N E R
3rd Prize Rhea Domasing Berroy Ti Naimas a Luto ni Inangko ken Dagiti Babbai iti Biwong
