A YEAR away from marking its third decade, the annual Gawad Ustetika again brought together budding and acclaimed writers in celebrating the glory of the Thomasian pen at the Plaza Mayor last December 14.
The prestigious Parangal Hagbong was given to drama enthusiast, literature pedagogue, and textbook writer Piedad Guinto-Rosales and the late writer-editor Norma Miraflor. The Parangal Hagbong is a lifetime achievement award given by the Varsitarian to Thomasian alumni who made remarkable contributions to the development of Philippine literature. Both Rosales and Miraflor are also Varsitarian alumni.
Asked to whom she was dedicating the award, the 83-year-old Rosales held back tears and said she owed everything to her alma mater.
“The University is my home,” she said in a video interview in her home. “I met my husband there, married my husband there. The University was my life. I still think of it as my second mother.”
Poet Marne Kilates received the posthumous award for Miraflor, who died last year.
Now on its 29th year, Ustetika is the country’s longest-running campus literary derby.
“Baraha” by Kris Joven Medalla (Arts and Letters) bagged the first prize for Dulang May Isang Yugto, while Christine Emano’s (Arts and Letters) “Sarung Bangi” and Danielle Joyce Factora’s (Arts and Letters) “Ang Kasalanan sa Kasalanan” won the second and third prizes, respectively.
First prize in the Sanaysay category went to “Cuatro Aguas” by Rommel Roxas of the Faculty of Engineering. Other winners: “Si St. Jude Thaddeus” by Hexene Giselle Daya of the Faculty of Arts and Letters (second prize); “Pan de Coco” by Marie Giselle Dela Cruz of Artlets (third); and “Bilog” by Jansen Joel Romero of Artlets (honorable mention).
In Katha, winners were “QWERTYUIOP” by Christian Mendoza of the College of Accountancy (first); “Kuwentong Kuwentista” by Ryan Jamil Ario of Engineering (second); and “Langoy” by Christine Emano of Artlets (third). Honorable mention prizes went to “Seis” by Rijel Immanuel Reyes and “Seldang Babasagin” by Joshua Carlo Pile; both writers are from Artlets.
Rommel Roxas received first prize in the Tula category for his entry “Katalik ng Palad.” Elaine Lazaro (Graduate School) won second place for “Paglayas at Iba Pang Tula,” while Paul Castillo (Graduate School) grabbed the third spot for “Hulagway.”
“Tahing Kamay ni Nanay” by Marie Giselle Dela Cruz was named the first-prize winner in the Maikling Kwentong Pambata category. “Ang Pagtupad sa Kahilingan ni Lucia” by Hope Jael Perez (Arts and Letters) and “Ang Nanay kong Tatay” by Christine Emano won second and third prizes, respectively.
There were no major winners for the Essay category. Honorable mentions were given to “On the Woman’s Anatomy” by Sophia Beatrice Lazo of Artlets and “Thread” by John Evan Orias from the Graduate School.
There was no first-prize winner in Fiction, but Paul Castillo from the Graduate School won second prize for “Reply Slip” and Karina Pe Benito of Artlets won the third prize for “Parlor Geis.”
Joshua Carlo Pile received the Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta Award after bagging the first prize in Poetry for “The Vanishing Sea.” Other winners: “Unresolved Geometries” by Jan Marvi Atienza of the College of Architecture (second); “Melancholia” by Maria Karen Valera of Artlets (third).
Honorable mentions in Poetry were “Borderline Between Déjà Vu and Jamais Yu” by Hans Lawrence Malgapu of Artlets, and “Taking the Moment of Inertia” by Rommel Roxas (honorable mention).
Jurors for the 2013 Ustetika were: Carlomar Daoana, Mookie Lacuesta, and Mariano Kilates (Poetry); Joselito de los Reyes, Benilda Santos, and Vim Nadera (Tula); Jun Cruz Reyes, Abdon Balde, Jr., and Eros Atalia (Katha); Sarge Lacuesta and Kit Kwe (Fiction); Oscar Campomanes, D.M. Reyes, and Shirley Lua (Essay); Romulo Baquiran, Jerry Gracio, and Jose Wendell Capili (Sanaysay); Victor Torres, Ralph Galan, and Chuckberry Pascual (Dulang May Isang Yugto/One-Act Play); and Michael Coroza, Eugene Evasco, Luis Gatmaitan, and Rebecca Anonuevo (Maikling Kuwentong Pambata).
The Varsitarian, in partnership with the Office of Student Affairs, brought back to the competition the “Maikling Kwentong Pambata” category, in which winners would have their piece published and illustrated. According to Thelma Maraña, a representative from the Office of Student Affairs, the project collaboration between the OSA and the Varsitarian was one of their prime projects this year as part of their “Kwentomasino” series. The winners would have their works published separately as individual storybooks for children. The published materials would then be sold by the different university-wide organizations in UST.
The Rector’s Literary Award—chosen by the Father Rector himself from among first-prize winners and bestowed on the work that best reflects “the Catholic vision of grace and redemption”—has yet to be named. J.B.M. Ramil and M.D.L. Macalino
