STUDENT WRITERS AS TRUTH-SEEKERS

In an email letter-complaint addressed to Mr. Franklin P. Macugay, student writers of the Candon City-based Northern Luzon Polytechnic State College asked for the explanation of the results of the on- the -spot poetry writing contest and the on-the-spot feature writing contest in the 4th TMI-Global Iluko Literary Conference at the Philippine Ports Authority in San Fernando City, May 18-20, 2012. They claimed that the guidelines in judging the winning poems were not followed as given by University of the Philippines Baguio instructor Mr. Junley Lorenzana Lazaga, lecturer in daniw. In an e-mail message, Mr. Severino V. Pablo, the lone judge in the category, said he was not aware of the guidelines and that Mr.Lazaga did not mention the guidelines when he (Mr. Lazaga) gave the poems for final judging. With respect to the on- the- spot feature writing contest, Mr. Macugay and I regret that it was aborted for one reason or another. We admire and highly commend the student

writers and their adviser, the poetess Yolanda Ablang, for their effort in sending the letter of inquiry to the president of the Timpuyog Dagiti Mannurat iti Iluko iti Filipinas. The student writers did not put the issue to rest but pursued it to find out what really happened. They did not make assumptions or conclusions without basis in fact. Indeed, there was fly in the ointment in the on -the- spot writing contests. It appears there was lack of coordination on the part of Timpuyog. What has been done can no longer be undone. All we can offer is an apology. But for their courage in looking for the truth, I would like to suggest that the student writers and their adviser be given free subscriptions to Timpuyog Journal. It is their kind that we in TMIF are trying to develop, writers who have a code of ethics that requires them to seek and write and speak the truth.

PETER LA. JULIAN, TMIF Adviser

Where Did the Years Take you?

I know not where the years took you/ What height you scaled/ What song you sing now./ I only know a face virtuous/ And beautiful/Like the morning dew. --From "Elegy" by the blogger

SHOULD BONGBONG MARCOS SHUT HIS MOUTH?

Does Bongbong Marcos still want Chief Justice Renato Coronado Corona to continue as the country's number one interpreter of the law? When the CJ appeared in the Senate Impeachment Court, he was already a goner. When he opened his mouth and admitted he did not declare in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth his dollar deposits and other deposits in the banks , he has already self-destruct. Twenty senator-judges including the 88-year-old fellow-Ilocano Juan Ponce Enrile were not that stupid to convict the CJ. We advise Mr. Marcos to win back the trust and confidence of his fellow Ilocanos, at least most of those we interviewed, who were disgusted over his vote to acquit Corona. Anyway, as a true- blooded Ilokano, son of Amianan, I would still

vote for Bongbong as President of the Philippines when the time comes. Sta. Monica Church in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte near the Padsan River.

THIS ILOKANO WRITING GROUP SHOULD TAKE THE CUE FROM THE CORONA VERDICT

This Ilokano writing group, in existence for more than 40 years, should take the cue from the Corona verdict of the Senate Impeachment Court regarding the moral fitness of a leader. If you are not honest in what you write, who will believe you? As unofficial legislators of the world, writers are bound by a code of ethics that impinges on human behavior. Why are members of this group silent on what appears to be corruption in the organization that collected money from Hawaii, the US Mainland and the Philippines for the construction of the writers' house in Suso, Sta. Maria, Ilcos Sur? Afraid of being banned, like us, from writing in the magazine controlled by the son-on-law of the president of the association when that house of writers was being erected in 2002? The incumbent head of the organization, a Quezon City judge, should not sit on the letter of a bangolan regarding the dugol of the group.

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN: CORONA IS MORALLY UNFIT TO LEAD THE SUPREME COURT

I, member of the teeming masses, have spoken through the senator-judges--Sotto, Legarda, Trillianes, Revilla, Villar, Recto, Pimentel,Estrada, Pangilinan, Drilon, Lapid, Osmena, Guingona, Pia and Peter Cayetano, Escudero, Enrile, Honasan, Lacson--Renato Coronado Corona is morally unfit as Chief Justice and should be ousted from the position. His honesty and integrity has been shredded by his undeclared wealth--dollars and pesos--part of which I believe was obtained through deceit and subterfuge.

, Arroyo, Defensor--Santiago, Marcos did not speak for me." Bongbong",a big letdown among the Ilocanos, should now forget his ambition to become President of the Philippines. The historic event gave him opportunity to redeem his father but he blew it. Kudos to his fellow Ilokano, the reformed Rudy Farinas of the prosecution teem. Agbiagka, Apo Rudy!

NO CORONA DEFENDER IN MY VILLAGE

Almost all the villagers

I talked to were hoping for the conviction of Chief Justice Renato Coronado Corona. Otherwise, they said, this country will go to the dogs--scoundrels, money launderers, grafters, and the highest bidder in every election. Amen. The Senate Impeachment Court will announce the verdict today, after the judges-senators explain their votes.

ILUKO POETRY WRITING CONTEST POSTED IN ASIA WRITES

Asia Writes has posted announcement of the Iluko Poetry Writing Contest (Severino and Eufemia Lacar Commemorative Award in Iluko Poetry). The online publication was inquiring about the deadline and we said that all the poems should be published in Timpuyog Journal from May 2012 to April 2013. The poem must bear the true name of the author--we discourage the use of pen names. The poems should be at least 20 lines each and must reflect Ilokano culture and tradition. A writer must submit three poems--in one batch or on a piece meal basis. He or she may include a short bio.

BARKING AT THE WRONG TREE

There is supposed to be a threat made by a rival Ilokano writing group to condemn TMIF for not giving the cash awards to the winners of an Iluko literary contest. They should consult their president who is a lawyer and a supposed professor in journalism among them. As usual, this group is not thinking, this group that allowed their officers to spend the money of the writers without explaining how they spent it. The ghost of this perfidy is found in Suso, Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur.

Photo Caption: The blogger and the late Ilocos Sur Gov. Godofredo S. Reyes, 13-time president of the Ilokano writing group. He did not live to see the completion of the Ilokano writers' house (right)erected on a lot he and his wife donated to the organization. The patta (Iluko for skeleton of a house) was started in 2002 and has remained a patta as of May 28, 2012.

The Silent Paper Bells

O twin mountains, O

great forest! But I hear them paper bells ringing,/The Mangyan Maiden singing

/In my dream

MANUSCRIPTS IN HARD COPY FOR ENTRIES IN ILUKO POETRY CONTEST

There was a problem we encountered in the recently-concluded "Salip iti Salaysay Para kadagiti Agdadamo 2012." when some entries sent via email did not reach us. Sayang. One entry could have won one of the major prizes. Either the writer did not get our address correctly or it (the manuscript) was lost in cyber space. Or it could have landed in Spam. Aside from e-mail, therefore, entries in the Severino and Eufemia Lacar Commemorative Awards in Iluko Poetry should also

be sent to Peter La. Julian, 23 National Road, Oscariz, Ramon, Isabela.

SOME RULES IN ILUKO POETRY CONTEST

The Iluko Poetry Contest, sponsored by the Lacar Family of Australia and Canada, has so far offered the biggest major prizes in any Ilokano contest in the genre with P10,000 first prize; P7,000 second prize and P5,000. There will be three consolation places at P1,000 including a certificate of recognition or writing excellence. The poem should be

at least 20 but not more than 50 lines.The writer is free to select his theme but the poem should weave into it Iluko culture and tradition. Three poems should be submitted for publication in the Timpuyog Journal, but the poems can be sent on a piecemeal basis via postal delivery and e-mail (andrewlab2011@hotmail.com.) There is no need for the writer to use a pseudonym. We reserve the right to edit the poem before publication.The original poem is the basis for judging the entry.

SCENES FROM THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY

One Hundred Islands in Pangasinan

Basco, Batanes Islands

Sunset in the Ilocos

ROOTS

Root of the balete or the dalipaoen? None of the above? My nephew, a Ph.D holder, is photographed amidst roots of an unknown tree, his fingers looking like roots, his arms branches. What is important, I say, are the roots--the roots of things, the roots of conflict, the roots of his Ilocanoness even if he now speaks, most of the time, other people's tongue.

SHAMELESS SHOW OF FORCE

Reports have it that China has sent more ships to the disputed shoal near the province of Zambales, which is inside Philippine territory. This is a shameless show of force by a Big Power that has not hidden its intention to grab what is not its property. Filipinos should be one in resisting this violation of the country's sovereignty by boycotting Chinese products, most of which are cheap but inferior.

photo caption: Currimao, Ilocos Norte Beach which is nearer to China

SEEKING SOLACE

TO THE MANGYAN MAIDEN I see you as a song in the wind/ caressing my face/ enchanting the will-less leaf/

seeking solace in the streams/ of your twin mountains.

SALIP ITI SALAYSAy PARA KADAGITI AGDADAMO A MANNURAT 2013

There will be a 2013 edition of the Salip iti Salaysay Para Kadagiti Agdadamo a Mannurat. Lady Fele Mann, a Filipina civic leader in Darwin, Australia, made the announcement during the 4th TMI-Global International Iluko Literary Conference at the Convention Hall of the Philippine Ports Authority in Poro, San Fernando City over the week-end. Like last year's contest, three major prizes and three consolation prizes will be at stake. Rules as well as theme of the contest will be published in Timpuyog Journal. To the young Ilokano writers: please subscribe to Timpuyog Journal, a struggling magazine designed to develop young responsible and incorruptible writers.

3 CONSOLATTION PRIZES AT P1,000 EACH IN ILUKO POETRY CONTEST

The Lacar family, originally from Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, has added three more consolation prizes to the recently-launched Severino and Eufemia Lacar Commemorative Award in Iluko Poetry. The annual contest, of which a memorandum of agreement was signed during the 4th TIM-Global International Iluko Literary Conference in San Fernando City, offers three major prizes as follows: P10,000, first prize; P7,000, second prize; and P5,000 third prize. Timpuyog Journal starts publishing the rules in its June 16 issue.

AN ARTICLE ABOUT FERDINAND MARCOS

I have just come across an article about the late Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos in an old issue of a national magazine. It's the usual attack, almost a refrain against the Ilokano dictator. Was he entirely evil? Is there a man who is entirely good? Or was Ferdinand both bad and evil? Was there goodness in him?

Where was his goodness? The only reality is the present but we should also look back to the past for inspiration and guidance.Instead of crucifying a dead man, why not learn from him? Let us discover why he failed as president of this country despite his enormous talents and the best technocrats at his beck and call. A man should take a cue or two from his enemy even as he must learn how to forgive and not to fall to the eye-for-an-eye mentality of Biblical barbarians. To forgive is to live, so they say.

WHY DID THE LACARS CHOSE TIMPUYOG JOURNAL TO ADMINISTER THE ILOKANO WRITING CONTEST?

Thank you, Francisco Lacar, a mannaniw (poet) in Bannawag, the Ilokano weekly, for choosing the Timpuyog Journal to administer the Severino and Eufemia Commemorative Award in Iluko Poetry. We assure your family that no one will be excluded in the contest. The Lacar siblings, at least three of them, are now based in Australia and Canada. Timpuyog Journal is a struggling magazine with only 40 issues to its name. Bannawag dates back before World War 11.

P10, 000 FIRST PRIZE IN ILOKANO POETRY CONTEST

A friend who has been writing "daniw" (poem) in Bannawag, the weekly magazine, has expressed surprise at the "big" cash prizes offered by the sponsor of Severino and Eufemia Lacar Commemorative Award in Iluko Poetry: P10,000 first prize; P7,000 second prize and P5,000. third prize. He said that even if his poems were

published on a weekly basis in the so-called Biblia ti Amianan, he could not earn that much in one year. We say "Amen" because we, too, before the editor banned us, have been writing in the magazine for as long as we can remember. If he can publish weekly in the magazine, he is lucky. Why "lucky"? Because he could be a friend of Cles Rambaud or a gang member of Jose Bragado and his son-in-law. They are the exclusive writers of Bannawag. One thing about Bragado: he was the president of Gumil Filipinas, the national association of Ilokano writers, when the Gumil House was being erected in Suso, Sta, Maria, Ilocos Sur. During a conference (Arturo Padua, bless his soul, was there) of Ilokano writers in Suso, Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur, Bragado was asked how the money was spent--at least P500,000 was spent for the construction of the building, according to the GF Financial Report. Where are the receipts for the purchase of materials? Where is the plantilla? How many workers started the project? Their rate per day? Could Bragado explain how the money of the writers was spent? His explanation before writers in the annual conference: dig the foundation (of the Gumil House) because that's where most of the money was spent. They just laughed him off. The writers knew that the father-in-law of Cles Rambaud was lying.

POETRY WRITING IN ILUKO MEMO OF AGREEMENT SIGNED

     Poro, San Fernando City, La Union-The Severino and Eufemia Commemorative Award in Iluko Poetry was launched here with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Francisco Lacar, representative of the Lacar Family, originally from Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, and sponsor of the contest and Peter La. Julian, representing the Timpuyog dagiti Mannurat iti Iluko iti Filipinas, which would administer the project. 
     The award aims to: foster capacity in Ilokano poetry writing, recognize and reward deserving Ilocano poets, and perpetuate the legacy of the late Severino and Eufemia Lacar for their dedication to Ilocano culture, language and service to the community. The sponsorship comprises a total of P22,000 per year for three yeas, with awards provided to the most deserving entries as follows: First Prize, P10,000; Second Prize, P7,000.00 and Third Prize, P5,000.

     NOTA BENE: The first edition of this contest was desecrated by Severino V. Pablo when he, without consulting the senior staffers of the magazine, choose as one of the members of the board of judges a person who is not a poet and another who is not in good graces of senior members of the organization. Pablo brazenly violated the rules of the contest. Now, the organization has plans to choose winners from entries of bona-fide or card-carrying members of TMIF in violation of the spirit of the contest. 
     Also, in the first edition of the contest, there was supposed to be a sort of literary criticism on the entries, especially the major winning poems, but nothing was made and published in Timpuyog Journal. Pablo and those who believe they can handle the contest should be blamed for this fiasco, Apo Francisco Lacar.

ZEN AS SIMPLE EXPRESSION, COMPLICATED THOUGHT

A red sun,/Falls into the sea: /What summer heat!--Natsume Soseki

So many years have passed now. Where this photo was taken we can
only guess: Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte or some beach in La Union (San Fernando
or Bauang)

WORLD WITHOUT ART?

     Modern technology has practically wiped out traditional arts and culture, Dr.Edwin Antonio, chair of a committee of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, told an audience of writers and students attending an International Ilokano Literary Conference at the Convention Hall of the Philippine Ports Authority, Poro, an Fernando City.


"It is the job that is never started that takes longest to finish."--J.R. R. Tolkien

THE WRITER AS LAW-GIVER

A writer must be decent--in word and deed. As the unofficial legislator of the world, what he does in public and in his private world, must reflect the spirit of the law he or she enacts with respect to human behavior. He is the model of the human specie. Like Epitectus, the Greek philosopher of the ancient world, he must subscribe to the notion that no matter how intelligent and skillful you are, no matter how good you are in your craft, be it as a lawyer or even dancer, you are nothing if you have no personal integrity.

A MEMORY OF LONG, LONG AGO

To the Mangyan Maiden/ Before me now is a La Union hazy sea (while writing this blog)/ the water is murky and simmering/ and i think of you, my dearest, calm as the silent waves./ i thank the blessings of the Unseen Mover of things./

i touch you the untouched beauty of tenderness.

ILOKANO WRITERS SHOULD READ CYNTHIA OZICK

I have just completed reading "Rosa", a 32-page fiction by Cynthia Ozick, one of America's best writers. (Started reading "Rosa", one of the stories in PRIZE STORIES O. HENRY AWARDS 1984, in Oscariz while on our way with the Isabela writing group to San Fernando City for the 4th TMI-Global International Iluko Literary Conference. My mouth is watering and saying to this jaded mannurat (that's me): you are nothing, you are still a baby in this writing business. You have no right to say you are a writer, Pedro.

TOP BLOGGER AND BOOK AUTHOR ILOKANO WRITING AWARDEE

San Fernando City-Herdy La. Yumul, author of the best-selling book, "The Herd Mentality," and one the country's top bloggers, led winners of the annual Iluko Feature Writing Contest in receiving their cash prizes during the awarding program at the Convention Hall of the Philippine Ports Authority here. A total of P20,000 in cash was given personally by Lady Fele Mann, a Filipina civic leader in Darwin, Australia, sponsor of the contest administered by the Timpuyog dagiti Mannurat iti Iluko iti Filipinas, the country's most prestigious writing Ilokano group. The winners included Nhia Paddayuman, a wheel-chair- bound young writer from Oscariz, Ramon, Isabela. Yumul, an instructor of the Mariano Marcos State University in Batac City, who writes mostly in English, said it was the first time he won a writing contest in his language. The winning entries will be published in Timpuyog Journal, an Iluko-English magazine of TMIF.

SALIP ITI SALAYSAY PARA KADAGITI AGDADAMO 2013

San Fernando City, La Union--The annual Feature Writing Contest in Iluko was launched here last night with the sponsor announcing the opening of the competition during the 4th TMI-Global International Iluko Literary Conference at the Convention Hall of the Philippine Ports Authority here. Lady Fele Mann, a Filipina civic leader in Darwin, Australia said that the rules of the contest, cash prizes and other details remained the same and would be published in the June 1-15, 2012 issue of

Timpuyog Journal, the publication of the Timpuyog dagiti Mannurat iti Iluko, the most prestigious Ilokano writing group in the Philippines.

NALINAC A SHADOW OF ITS FORMER SELF

OUR ISABELA GROUP-Franklin P

. Macugay, Rodel Ramos and his brother who is taking up a masteral degree in Baguio, the driver and I--checked in last night at two of the cottages of Nalinac Beach Resort. (We took the Aritao Road to Baguio and went down via the winding Naguilian Road.) We are on our way to the 4th Global-International Iluko Literary Conference at the Philippine Ports Authority in Poro, San Fernando, La Union. Nalinac in the early 1960's was one the country's best beach resorts along with the nearby Long Beach Resort. It (Nalinac) has deteriorated all these years. The water from the tap in the bathroom smelled, probably because of the rusting pipes. Everything is old here--from the creaking bamboo slats and the toilet bowls that did not function. From the cottage where I am now doing this blog, there is a view of the sea. Earlier, at past 6 in the morning were in the water and one them them waved at us as we came out brushing our teeth. I waved back. This our only consolation for spending the night at the cottage.

TIMPUYOG JOURNAL HAS BECOME COMPETITIVE?

There should be no comparison between the Timpuyog Jou

rnal, the magazine of the emerging Timpuyog dagiti Mannurat iti Iluko iti Filipinas, and the weekly Iluko magazine. For one, TJ is an Iluko-English magazine while the latter is all- Ilokano in content. But if they insist that TJ is an alternative to the said weekly, it's okay with us. Those managing the weekly Iluko magazine and their supporters should instead realize why TJ came into existence.

NO PROXY ALLOWED FOR TMI CONTEST WINNERS

From the Committee on Awards: A winner of contests sponsored by the Timpuyog dagiti Mannurat iti Iluko iti Filipinas is obligated to personally received his or her cash prize money/certificate in rites during the annual TMI-Global International Literary Conference. The concerned

person who, for one reason or another, could not make it to the program may send his or her closest kin as proxy but with authorization letter duly signed by the winner. This year's awarding program will be held May 19 at the Philippine Ports Authority, Poro, San Fernando City, La Union Please be guided accordingly. Calling attention to the following: Herdy La. Yumul, Nhia Paddayuman, Mayvelyn Gapuzan, Jessica Aiza Lictao and Jean Marie Dulay.

A POEM FOR THE CONTEST WINNERS OF SALIP

A Lesson in Humility We did not come to remain whole./We came to lose our leaves like the trees,/The trees that are broken/And start again, drawing up from the roots. Franklin Macugay, presidente ti Timpuyog dagiti Mannurat iti Iluko iti Filipinas has maintained that the policy of the organization regarding the awarding of the prizes of contests sponsored by the Timpuyog dagiti Mannurat iti Iluko iti Filipinas will remain: the winners will personally claim the cash money and certificate.

NO PROXY FOR TMI CONTEST WINNERS

Winners of Timpuyog dagiti Mannurat iti Iluko iti Filipinas-sponsored

Feature Writing in Iluko are exhorted to attend the awarding program on May 19 at the Convention Hall of the Philippine Ports Authority, Poro Point, San Fernando City, La Union. The sponsor, Lady Fele Mann, has come all the way from Darwin, Australia to personally give the cash prizes and certificates to the following: Herdy La. Yumul, Nhia Paddayuman, Mayvelyn Gapuzan, Jessica Aiza Lictao and Jean Marie Dulay.