ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
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Saturday, May 11, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 207
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BANK LENDING GROWS 9.4% TO ₱11.8T IN MARCH
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EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
2024 NICK JOAQUIN LITERARY AWARDS: A CONTINUATION OF A PROUD LEGACY
By Cai U. Ordinario
Data showed domestic liquidity increased 5.7 percent to P17.18 trillion in March 2024 from P16.26 trillion in March 2023. Bank lending, BSP said, expanded 9.4 percent to P11.8 trillion in March 2024 from P10.78 trillion in March 2023.
“Domestic claims expanded by 10.8 percent year-on-year in March from 9.6 percent (revised) in the previous month,” BSP said. “Claims on the private sector grew by 10.9 percent from 10.3 (revised) in February with the susContinued on A2
Public high school students interact with National Artists, poets, short fictionists, members of the diplomatic community, and big business at NJLA 2024
NONIE REYES
OMESTIC liquidity increased on the back of bank lending to companies and households, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
NJLA 2024 makes good on its ‘Next Level’ promise ‘C
D. EDGARD A. CABANGON, chairman of the ALC Media Group, welcomed NJLA’s more than 200 invited guests and thanked NJLA’S major sponsors and supporters. He said the deep friendship between his father, the late Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua, and National Artist Nick Joaquin, is the main inspiration for the awards named in honor of the latter. BERNARD TESTA
By Jt Nisay
AN we bring back those days again?” mused Connie Escobar, the titular character in The Woman Who Had Two Navels, the celebrated 1961 novel of National Artist Nick Joaquin. Literature’s popularity may not be what it was once, but every year, around the birthday of the seminal Filipino writer on May 4, the luster of the written art form—those golden days—shines anew. The Nick Joaquin Literary Awards (NJLA) returned for its 2024 edition, celebrating once again the best of the best in Philippine literature today. Named after the late National Artist for Literature and former Philippines Graphic editor-in-chief, the NJLA is hosted by the magazine Philippines Graphic, and honors the most outstanding short story writers and poets. “Sir Nick Joaquin conceptualized the Graphic Literary Awards, which was renamed in his honor after his passing in 2004, thus establishing the tradition that we proudly continue today,” ALC Media Group chairman D. Edgard A. Cabangon said during the 2024 NJLA at Samsung Hall SM Aura Premier on May 7. Cabangon’s father, the late visionary businessman and philanthropist Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon-Chua, held a strong friendship with Joaquin, and appointed him the first editor-inchief of the Philippines Graphic in 1990. “We owe it to Sir Nick Joaquin that the Philippines Graphic remains as a home for talented writers, inspiring and encouraging them to pursue their craft through initiatives like these awards,” Cabangon added. “I am confident that Sir Nick, along with my father, is looking down upon us with pride and joy, witnessing the fruits of our labor and the legacy that they have left behind.”
Back-to-back ‘Poet of the Year’ winner and other awardees
NJLA 2024 WINNERS Dr. Jose “Butch” Dalisay (left), noted writer, teacher and chairman of the NJLA Board of Judges, poses with the winners of the 2024 edition of the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards: Rosario
Garcellano, who won first prize and a cash prize of P50,000 for her short story, “The Heart Wants What It Wants.” Second place and a cash prize of P30,000 goes to Criselda Yabes (represented by Karina Bolasco) for her short story, “Near Paradise.” Third place and a cash prize of P20,000 was won by Yvette Tan for her short story “Horror Vacui.” Named Poet of the Year was F. Jordan Carnice (second from left) for “Two Poems for 2023.” Carnice also won Poet of the Year for NJLA 2023. Joining Dalisay onstage were the two other judges, Susan Lara and Marra PL Lanot, editor of the Graphic Reader. BERNARD TESTA
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TARTING them young, the 2024 Nick Joaquin Literary Awards (NJLA) belonged to the Filipino hearts and minds of tomorrow. Public high-school students experienced their first time to meet close to a hundred short story writers and poets in one gathering. The students came from various public schools in the City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas; Biñan City and the municipality of Pakil, both in Laguna; and in the City of Manila. They were the first beneficiaries of the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards-Local Government Unit (NJLA-LGU) Advocacy for Proficiency in English through Literature Appreciation project. A brainchild of the Philippines Graphic, the NJLA-LGU Advocacy project will benefit Grade 9 and Grade 10 students in the country’s public high schools. Named NJLA 2024 LGU Champions were City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas Mayor Arth Jhun Marasigan, Biñan City Mayor Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila, Continued on A2
THE annual NJLA recognizes exemplary pieces published in the Philippines Graphic Reader, established in 2022 as the companion literary magazine of the Philippines Graphic. The Graphic Reader serves as the country’s first and only nationally circulated monthly magazine completely devoted to Philippine literature in English, featuring emerging and established Filipino writers and poets. Hailed as the NJLA Graphic Salute Awardees for 2024 were all 82 short story writers and poets whose literary works were featured in the Philippine Graphic Reader’s 2nd cycle, spanning February 2023 to January 2024. From this pool of writers, three winners were selected in the short story category, along with the Poet of the Year. Aside from the individual awards, the 2024 Awards also recognized five local government units (LGUs) as partners of the NJLA in promoting literature at the grassroots level, particularly Continued on A2
NJLA-LGU ADVOCACY FOR ENGLISH AND LITERATURE PROJECT. T. Anthony C. Cabangon, publisher of Philippines Graphic and the BusinessMirror; Atty. Jer B. Samson, secretary to Vice Mayor John Martin C. Nieto of Manila; Benjamin V. Ramos, president, Philippines Graphic and BusinessMirror; City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan; D. Edgard A. Cabangon, chairman, ALC Group of Companies; City of Biñan Vice Mayor Angelo Alonte; and Pakil Mayor Vincent L. Soriano pose for posterity at the 2024 Nick Joaquin Literary Awards held at the Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier in Taguig City. BERNARD TESTA
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.3830 n JAPAN 0.3691 n UK 71.8722 n HK 7.3432 n CHINA 7.9465 n SINGAPORE 42.4274 n AUSTRALIA 37.9818 n EU 61.8761 n KOREA 0.0421 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.3005 Source: BSP (May 10, 2024)