21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the
World
PHILIPPINES LITARATURE
December 2011, Chief Justice Renato Corona was
impeached by the Philippine senate, with 16 senators
voting to impeach him and 3 senators voting for
acquittal.
 He was impeached because he did not declare
183 million pesos in the SALN, a public
document required for all government officials.
Delsa Flores
a court interpreter was fired after she had failed
to declare a market stall in her SALN.
JUSTICE
by Ralph Semino Galan
1 These are the accoutrements of her office:
2 the blindfold symbolizing impartiality;
3 a golden pair of scales measuring the validity
4 of evidence given, both pro and con;
5 the double-edged sword that pierces through
6 the thick fabric of lies; Thoth’s feather
7 of truth which ultimately determines whether
8 the defendant’s life is worth saving.
9 In J. Elizalde Navarro’s oil painting titled
10 Is this Philippine Justice? The figure
11 of the Roman goddess Justitia slowly fades
12 into thin air, swallowed by pigments
13 cloudy as doubts. In my uncertain country
14 where right and wrong are cards
15 that can be shuffled like a pile of money bills,
16 even the land’s Chief Magistrate
17 is not immune from culpability; found guilty
18 he has to face the music of derision.
Ralph Semino Galan
 Ralph Semino Galán is a poet, literary critic and
translator.
 He is an Associate Professor of Literature, the
Humanities, and Creative Writing at the UST
Faculty of Arts and Letters and the UST
Graduate School.
 He has an A.B. in English (Major in
Literature) magna cum laude from the
Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of
Technology.
 He had his M.A. in English Studies (Major in
Creative Writing) from UP Diliman, where he is
currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Comparative
Literature.
 His works both creative and critical, have been
published in numerous national and
international anthologies and literary journals.
 His poems in English and Filipino have won
prizes in the Philippine Panorama (1993)
and Home Life Magazine (1998) poetry
contests.
accoutrement- a piece of clothing or equipment that is
used in a particular place or for a particular activity.
Culpability- deserving blame; guilty of doing something
wrong.
Derision- the use of ridicule or scorn to show contempt;
a state of being laughed at or ridiculed; the feeling that
people express when they criticize and laugh at
someone or something in an insulting way.
Meaning of Symbol
Blindfold- impartiality of justice; justice has no
favorites, it is objective.
Thot’s feather of truth- in order to find out whether the
defendant is guilty or not, one must find out the truth
and give the right verdict.
ON SYMBOLISM as a LITERARY DEVICE
 an artistic and poetic movement or style using
symbolic images and indirect suggestion to
express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of
mind. It originated in late 19th century France
and Belgium, with important figures including
Mallarme, Maeterlinck, Verlaine, Rimbaud, and
Redon.
ON THEME as an ELEMENT
 is the central idea that the poet wants to
convey.
SOCIOLOGICAL CRITICISM
Six ways in which a work can be approached from a
sociological standpoint:
1) humanistic historic approach,
2) Marxist social theory,
3) cultural studies,
4) theory of art in analytical philosophy,
5) anthropological studies of art, and
6) empirical studies of contemporary art institutions May mga gusto akong ihapot, tay
(Harrington, 15). by ADRIAN REMODO

Tay,

AUREA may mga bagay na gusto ako ihapot.

by MARISSA REORIZO-REDBURN
bako naman
Marissa reorizo-redburn
itong kung ano
• Born and raised in a remote town of a sub-
ta an bulan
island of an island province at the margins of a
peripheral region, San Pascual, Burias, Masbate, nagiba-iba nin porma
and Bicol, respectively
o tano ta an mga bitoon
• Formerly a teacher and now an entrepreneur
nadadaog kan mga panganuron
• Writes poems and short fiction in Bikol
sa banging madiklomon?
• Resides in Naga City
bako man itong mga hapot
Masbate
na pakalagapas sa langit,
• At the center of the Philippines as the
southernmost island of Luzon ano na an masunod,

• It has three islands: Burias, Ticao, and Masbate. o kun kaluton ta an daga,

• It has magnificent beaches and rich natural dai daw malabot an kinaban?
resources that have attracted tourists and travel bako na an mga hapot
bloggers such as Journeying James, Ironwulf,
and Lakwatsero. kun isay an nagibo

• It is known for its Isla Rancho festival (rodeo kan saldang,

festival every May) and for Montreal Stones in o kun tano may uran?
Ticao.
Tay,
• Its income sources are agriculture, fishing,
livestock raising, and trade. pano an pag gibo kan

• It is high in statistical indices for poverty. surat para sa babayi?

• In 2009, 36 of every 100 families or about 45 in ito po kayang sinurat ko,

every 100 individuals were poor, but Masbate
sabi ni nanay,
had the highest poverty incidence at 42.5.
dai daa dapat sinasabi sa babayi.
• Several languages are spoken: Masbateno
(Bisakol), Hiligaynon, Bikol, Waray-Waray, ano baga an dapat
Cebuano, Romblomanon, and Tagalog.
na sabihon kan lalaki sa babayi?
Overseas Filipino worker (ofw)
ano ta an lalaki kaipuhan
• In 2015, there were 2.4 million overseas
na para sa babayi?
Filipinos, 97.1 percent whom had work
contracts while the rest worked without ano po an turi?
contracts. There were slightly more female
supog kuta ako na
OFWs at 51.1% over male OFWs at 47.9% and
one-third of the OFWs are laborers and haputon ka kaini
unskilled workers.
alagad dai na ako

napapanultol
The story is told from the first person point of view
by Aurea’s friend, her classmate in Grade 5. pakatapos kong

magklase o pakatapos

kun magkawat o dawa

pakatapos kung mag ihi.

ano po ta kun pag kaaga, • Adrian Remodo is currently pursuing his
doctorate in Philosophy at the De La Salle
niririsa ko na iba man
University in Manila. He teaches at the Ateneo
an pagkatagas de Naga University. His first collection of poetry
entitled Ini An Sakuyang Hawak asin Iba Pang
kan sakong pikoy, Berso sa Bikol was published by the National
na garo baga may buot Commission on Culture and the Arts in 2011 as
part of the Ubod New Authors Series. His areas
magluwas alagad dai sa oras? of research include Political Philosophy,
ano po ang salsal? Hermeneutics, Postmodernism, and Philosophy
of Culture (Bikol Studies 1)
sasampalingon kuta

ako ni nanay
kan hinapot ko siya kaini.
pano po an tama
na pagdribol?
dai ko kaya makua an
tamang pagpauntol.
kun inaarog
ko an sakong kakawat,
minadulag sako
an bola asin kun ako man
sana an minadribol,
garo mayo nin gana
“Coming of age” is another term that refers to older
children, going through a transition phase from
childhood to adulthood in the characteristically
stormy period of adolescence. This time, the child
may, or sometimes is afraid to ask, vital questions
which disturb him or her.
The three types of parenting styles, according to
Baumrind, are PERMISSIVE, AUTHORITATIVE, and
ASSERTIVE. The permissive parent is consultative,
nonpunitive, and affirmative to the child. The
authoritarian parent is the oppositive, non-
consultative, restrictive, and punitive. The assertive
maintains his/her role as an adult who enforces
discipline but through reason rather that punishment,
and affirms the child actions and special qualities
(1967).

an tanog.

ano ta an mga lalaki dapat na

tataong magkakan dawa

mayo nin plato?

ano ta kaipuhan apelyido

mo an isusurat ko sa papel?

o kaipuhan na dai

nagsusurat an lalaki?

tay, ano baga an buhay?

ano baga buhay sa mata mo

na magigi ko man na mata

bilang sarong lalaki.

dai ko aram ngunyan

kun kaipuhan ko ngani

na iharapot an mga bagay na ini.

baka dai dapat naghahapot

an lalaki?