APRIL is National Literature Month, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF), National Book Development Board (NBDB), and Department of Education are one in championing the various forms of literature in the country and spreading the love of literacy and peace.

April has been proclaimed Literacy Month by Proclamation 968, signed in 2015 by then-president Benigno Aquino 3rd. Proclamation 968 also marks the celebration of Francisco "Balagtas" Baltazar Day and the anniversaries of the birth and passing of notable writers, including Emilio Jacinto, Paciano Rizal, Nick Joaquin, Edith Tiempo, and Bienvenido Lumbera.

Literacy Month this year is celebrated with the theme "Literature and Peace;" it is dedicated to recognizing works of esteemed writers and scholars of Philippine literature and promoting the history and cultural legacy of Philippine literature among Filipinos of today and the younger generation.

"Through this, the discourse on the concept of peace will be enriched, and the role of literature in society will reach more Filipinos," the NCCA said in a statement.

To kick off the celebration, the KWF on Tuesday, April 2, marked the 236th birth anniversary of Balagtas, touted as the "Prinsipe ng Panulaang Tagalog" or Prince of Tagalog Poetry. April 2, by Proclamation 964, signed in 1997, is commemorated as Balagtas Day.

KWF, in collaboration with the NCCA, NBDB, and the local government of Balagtas, Bulacan; Pandacan, Manila; and Orion, Bataan, offered floral tributes at the monuments of Balagtas in those places, which also marked the formal launch of NLM 2024.

"It has become a solidified tradition to commemorate his birth in the aforementioned towns, proving their significance in his life — Balagtas, Bulacan, which is his hometown; Pandacan, Manila, where he wrote the majority of the celebrated 'Florante at Laura'; and Orion, Bataan where he spent his final days," NCCA said in a statement.

"His literary masterpieces, including 'Florante at Laura,' 'Orosman at Zafira,' 'Don Nuño at Selinda' remain relevant to this day, serving as invaluable resources for students, scholars and writers delving into the history and significance of Filipino literature," it added.

NLM 2024 has three objectives: encourage the promotion of new forms of literature, ideas and expression by holding forums/seminars; discover new arts-literature by conducting demonstrations and presentations where possible participants express and display their creativity and talent; and serve as a bridge to the integration of indigenous knowledge, traditions and history as a basis of various literary forms and community activities.

The programs and projects this year include the Writers' Congress and Balagtas, Paz Marquez Benitez and Pedro Bucaneg National Awards by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (Umpil) who will celebrate its 49th National Congress and 36th Balagtas Awards from April 25 to 27, 2024 at the Metropolitan Theater, Manila.

Besides the KWF activity at Bukidnon State University in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, on Wednesday, it will also hold a write shop at the Carlos Hilado Memorial State University in Talisay, Negros Occidental, Friday, April 5.

On April 12, "SWK: Tertulyang Pampanitikan" will be held at Central Bicol State University of Agriculture in Pili, Camarines Sur, and the NLM celebration at Biliran Province State University in Naval, Biliran on April 17.

Other activities from April 19 to 30 are held as well in Mindoro; Mati City, Davao Oriental; Iloilo City; Sorsogon City; Jolo, Sulu; Polytechnic University of the Philippines Manila; Daet, Camarines Norte; Malolos, Bulacan; Cabanatuan City; Puerto Princesa City; Virac, Catanduanes; Kabacan, Cotabato; Cebu City; Ifugao; Surigao City; Dapitan City; University of the Philippines Diliman; Legazpi City; University of San Carlos; Laoag City; San Fernando, Pampanga; La Trinidad, Benguet; Batangas City; Mindanao State University Marawi; Agoo, La Union; and Isabela.

Why Philippine Book Festival

As part of the NLM celebration, NBDB announces the much-anticipated return of the Philippine Book Festival (PBF) from April 25 to 28, 2024, at the World Trade Center Manila.

PBF is a book fair that combines education, entertainment, and tourism to give a new look to Filipino-made books and academic materials.

"In 2021, we started working with the Bureau of Learning Resources, specifically on how we can improve the Supplementary Learning Resource (SLR) Program. We disaggregated the recommended list for book purchases for government institutions and libraries and found that the majority of the titles were foreign," NBDB related.

"With the DepEd, we worked to amend this, seeing that many of the books our students read lacked not only the contexts that reflected their lives but also the language diversity necessary for better engagement and learning. We wanted to bring more quality Pinoy books to Pinoy readers — in the language and context that reflected who they were," the NBDB said.

It said this inspired them to create the Philippine Book Festival (PBF), an interactive venue that brought together the Philippine publishing sector and large-scale SLR procurers in one location to showcase Pinoy books.

The PBF was inaugurated last year, and "it's up for another run this year, so we can bring the best of Philippine books to our educators who are shaping the minds of our young students," NBDB said.

Meanwhile, since January 12, DepEd has been implementing "Catch-up Fridays" to foster a culture of reading and enhance essential skills among learners as part of the National Reading Program. Despite its implementation challenges, including a lack of materials, DepEd said it would push through with the program as it awaits feedback.

Data on learning poverty from the World Bank for 2022 shows that at least 90 percent of Filipino children 10 years old have difficulty reading or comprehending simple text. The pre-pandemic estimate put learning poverty in the Philippines at 70 percent, even before the Covid-19 pandemic hampered children's academic progress.

For more information on the Literacy Month activities, visit https://ncca.gov.ph/ and https://books.gov.ph/.

More than 500 years of literacy

Even before the Spaniards came to these islands, natives already had a system of writing called "baybayin." However, formal literature is said to have started on the island of Cebu with the arrival of Spanish navigators led by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.

The Philippines has a glorious roster of writers and poets who preserved linguistic forms of the various tribes and ethnicities within the archipelago.

The Ilocano epic story "Biag Ni Lam-ang" ("The Life of Lam-ang") is noted as the first Philippine folk epic to be recorded in written form during the Spanish colonial period. As oral literature, the poem is believed to have originated in pre-colonial times, evolving as it was passed on from poet to poet and generation to generation. The second is the Bicolano epic "Handiong."