Central Visayas (Cebuano: Tunga-tungang Kabisay-an) is a region of the Philippines,

numerically designated as Region VII.

It consists of four provinces (Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor) and three
highly urbanized cities (Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue).

Major islands are the eponymous Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor, together with the eastern
part of Negros. The regional center and largest city is Cebu City. The region is
dominated by the native speakers of four Visayan languages: Cebuano, Bantayanon,
Boholano, and Porohanon. The land area of the region is 15,895.66 km2 (6,137.35 sq
mi), and with a population of 7,396,898 inhabitants, it is the second most populous
region in the Visayas.

On May 29, 2015, the region was redefined, when Central Visayas (Region VII) lost
the province of Negros Oriental to the newly formed Negros Island Region. However,
the region was dissolved, with Negros Oriental returned to Central Visayas on August
9, 2017.

Etymology

A panaromic view of Cebu City

The name of the region was derived to denote the centrality of the islands within the
bigger Visayas area. The name was mostly chosen by American colonialists. There
have been proposals to rename the current Central Visayas region, which is
dominated by the Sebwano ethnic group, into Sugbu region, the former name of the
region prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century. The term is in reference to
the former kingdom of the region, the Rajahnate of Cebu, which is simply called as
Sugbu in native Sebwano.[2][3]

History
Regions first came into existence on September 24 of 1972, when the provinces of the
Philippines were organized into 11 regions by Presidential Decree No. 1 as part of the
Integrated Reorganization Plan by President Ferdinand Marcos. The provinces of
Cebu, Bohol, and Negros Oriental (including its then-subprovince of Siquijor) were
grouped together to form the Central Visayas region.

By virtue of Executive Order No. 183 issued on May 29 of 2015, by President

Benigno Aquino III, the province of Negros Oriental was removed from Central
Visayas to form the Negros Island Region along with Negros Occidental and its
provincial capital, Bacolod City.[4] But later regained Negros Oriental and its capital,
Dumaguete City back into Central Visayas on August 9, 2017 when President
Rodrigo Duterte dissolved the Negros Island Region, revoking Executive Order No.
183, s. 2015 through the signage of Executive Order No. 38, citing the reason of the
lack of funds to fully establish the NIR according to Benjamin Diokno, the Secretary
of Budget and Management.[5]

Geography

Political map of Central Visayas

Central Visayas consists of the two major island provinces of Cebu and Bohol, as well
as the smaller island of Siquijor and several outlying islands. It also includes the
eastern half of the larger island of Negros. The straits of Cebu and Tañon are also part
of the region as well. The region is bordered to the north by the Visayan Sea, west by
the province of Negros Occidental in Western Visayas, south by the Bohol Sea, and
east by the Camotes Sea and the island of Leyte in Eastern Visayas.

Administrative divisions
The Central Visayas region consists of 4 provinces and 3 independent cities:
Populatio
Province Citie Mun Baran
Capital n (2015)[1 Area[6] Density
or HUC s i. gay
]

sq /k /sq
km2
mi m2 mi

1,31
Tagbila 21. 4,820.9 1,86 70
Bohol 3,56 270 1 47 1,109
ran 7% 5 1.38 0
0

2,93
Cebu 48. 4,943.7 1,90 1,5
Cebu 8,98 590 6 44 1,066
City 6% 2 8.78 00
2

1,35
Negros Dumag 30. 5,385.5 2,07 65
4,99 250 6 19 557
Oriental uete 7% 3 9.36 0
5

1.6 95,9 130. 73

Siquijor Siquijor 337.49 280 0 6 134
% 84 31 0
 Populatio
Province Citie Mun Baran
Capital n (2015)[1 Area[6] Density
or HUC s i. gay
]

sq /k /sq
km2
mi m2 mi

Cebu 15. 922, 121. 7,5

† — 315.00 2,900 — — 80
City 3% 611 62 00

18,
Lapu-L 6.8 408, 22.4
† — 58.10 7,000 00 — — 30
apu % 112 3
0

37,
Manda 6.0 362, 14,40
† — 25.18 9.72 00 — — 27
ue % 654 0
0

7,39
15,885. 6,13 1,2
Total 6,89 470 10 116 3,003
97 3.61 00
8

† Cebu City, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu are highly urbanized cities; figures are
excluded from Cebu province.

Demographics[edit]

Population census of Central Visayas

Year Pop. ±% p.a.

1990 4,594,124 —

2000 5,706,953 +2.19%

2010 6,800,180 +1.77%

2015 7,396,898 +1.61%

Data in 2015 includes Negros Oriental.

Source: Philippine Statistics
Authority[1][7][8][9]

According to the 2015 census, it had a population of 7,396,898. The population

density was 700/km2 (1,800/sq mi). The 2015 census showed an average annual
population growth rate of 1.76% from 2010 to 2015, slightly higher than the national
average of 1.72%.[1]
Languages
The native languages of Central Visayas are:

 Bantayanon, spoken in Bantayan Islands of Cebu province.

 Boholano, a Cebuano dialect spoken in Bohol.
 Cebuano, spoken in Cebu, Negros Oriental, Bohol, and Siquijor. It is the
regional lingua franca.
 Hiligaynon, spoken in western Negros Oriental.
 Porohanon, spoken in Camotes Islands of Cebu province.

Mass media
Cebu City is the main media hub for both the region. Large media networks
– ABS-CBN, GMA Network, 5, People's Television Network, and CNN Philippines –
maintain their respective local stations and branches for viewership, commercial and
news coverage purposes. Most of these stations broadcast local news and public
affairs as well as entertainment and dramas to cater the local viewers.
Aside from the 24 national daily newspapers available, Cebu City also has 20 local
newspapers. Among the widely read are Sun.Star Cebu, Cebu Daily News, and The
Freeman. The country's main Islamic news journal, The Voice of Islam, was founded
in 1961 and published in this city.

Transportation
Ports

Fastcraft terminal for ferrying passengers from Cebu to Negros.

The Port of Cebu is the region's main gateway. There are also ports
in Tagbilaran in Bohol, Larena in Siquijor, and Sibulan and Dumaguete both
in Negros Oriental. Inter-island shipping is served by numerous shipping lines, two of
them fastcraft companies which serve all the provinces in the region.
Airports

Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located in Lapu-Lapu City, is the country's

second busiest airport (after Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila) and
one of the only three airports in the Visayas serving international flights (aside
from Kalibo International Airport and Iloilo International Airport). It is the
primary airline hub of Cebu Pacific, and secondary hub for Philippine Airlines and its
subsidiaries, with flights to locations throughout the country. It also serves
international flights to other Asian and intercontinental destinations.[10]
Other airports in the region are Bohol-Panglao International Airport which serves
Tagbilaran and the rest of Bohol, and Sibulan Airport which serves Dumaguete and
the rest of Negros Oriental.
Literature 1 Central Visayas Oral Notes

1. I. MAP OF REGION VII Central Visayas, designated as Region VII, is a region of

the Philippines located in the central part of the Visayas island group. It consists of
four provinces - Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor and the highly urbanized
cities of Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Mandaue City. The region is dominated by
the native speakers of Cebuano. Cebu City is its regional center.

2. II. PROVINCES AND CAPITAL

A. POVINCE CAPITAL CITIES
1. Bohol - Tagbilaran City
2. Cebu - Cebu City
3. Negros Oriental - Dumaguete City
4. Siquijor - Siquijor

B. HISTORICAL SITES and TOURIST SPOTS

1. Bohol
a. Chocolate Hills - The little mountains “burol” a.k.a. the Chocolate Hills are one of
the best wonders in the Philippines. They are located in Carmen, Bohol.

b. Blood Compact Monument - “Datu Sikatuna, who was the Datu (lord) in the island
of Bohol in the Philippines, made a blood compact (“Sanduguan”) and alliance with
the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi on March 16, 1565

c. Sandugo Festival - This festival commemorates the Treaty of Friendship between

Datu Sikatuna, a chieftain in Bohol, and Spanish conquistador Miguel López de
Legazpi.

2. Cebu
a. Magellan’s Cross - Magellan's Cross is a Christian cross planted by Portuguese and
Spanish upon arriving in Cebu
b. Basilica Menore del Santo Niño - is a minor basilica in Cebu City in the Philippines
that was founded in the 1565.

c. Sinulog Festival - is an annual cultural and religious festival held on the third
Sunday of January in Cebu City, and is the center of the Santo Niño Catholic
celebrations in the Philippines.

3. Negros Oriental
a. Kanlaon Volcano - also spelled as Kanla-on or sometimes Canlaon, is an active
stratovolcano on the island of Negros in the Visayas section of the Philippines.

b. Buglasan Festival - is an annual week-long festival a celebration of the island's

history and diversity of cultural riches

4. Siquijor a. Solili Festival - The celebration is to reminisce the courtship period

between Tukmo and Punay, and as a tribute to the newlyweds, merrymakers dance the
Solili, capping the festivity with shouts of "Solili Binalaye".

III. MAJOR AND MINOR LANGUAGES

Major Language
A. Cebuano - Language mostly spoken in Central Visayas by most of its speakers as
Bisaya or Binisaya. Second-most-spoken language in the Philippines next to Tagalog
Sample: usa one (adj.); before (adv.); deer (n.) siya chair (n.); set of three consecutive
mahjong tiles (n.); he (pron.); she (pron.) sila they (pron.) kini this [nominative/near
you and me] (adv.); this (pron.) anak child (n.); offspring (n.); progeny (n.) dili nay
(adv.); no (adv.); not (adv.) ako I (pron.); mine (pron.) niini this [possesive/near you
and me] (adv.); thus (adv.) gikan from (prep.); depart (v.); emanate (v.); leave (v.)
alang for (prep.) apan but (adv.); yet (adv.); defect (n.); demerit (n.); fault (n.); flaw
(n.); handicap (n.); liability (n.); obstacle (n.) diha there [near] (adv.); upon (adv.)
aron in order to (adv.) kaniya hers (pron.); him (pron.) tawo character (n.); human (n.);
individual (n.); man (n.); mortal (n.); person (n.) Minor Languages

B. Boholano - variant of the Cebuano spoken in the province of Bohol in the

Philippines and eastern parts of Southern Leyte. C.Hiligaynon - often referred to as
Ilonggo. Almost 5% in Negros Oriental speaks Hiligaynon (2011 survey).
IV. ETHNIC GROUP
A. Visayan - an ethnic group native to the Visayan islands, to the southernmost
islands of Luzon and to the northern and eastern parts of Mindanao. They are speakers
of one or more Visayan languages, the most widely spoken being Cebuano,
Hiligaynon and Waray-Waray.

V. LITERARY PIECES

A. Sicalac & Sicavay (A Visayan Creation Myth) Summary Once there were two
gods, Captan and Maguayan.One day, Captan planted a bamboo in a garden. It grew
and split into two sections, and stepped out a man who was named Sicalac and woman
named Sicavay. Sicalac asked Sicavay's hand for marriage because there were no
other people on earth. She refused because they were brother and sister, having been
conceived out of the same reed. Sicalac persistently pleaded with her and finally they
decided to consult the tunas of the sea, the doves of the air and the earthquake, who
agreed that they should marry so that the world will be populated. Finally, they
decided to go ahead and got married and had a son named Sibo. Then they had a
daughter named Samar. Sibo and Samar had a daughter named Luplupan who grew
up and married Pandaguan, who was also a son of Sicalac and Sicavay. Lupluban and
Pandaguan had a son named Anoranor. Pandaguan invented the fishing net and he
caught a shark when he used it but the shark did not survive for long out of the water.
He cried loudly to the Gods. The god Captan, sent the flies to find out why Pandaguan
was making such a loud lamentation but the flies refused to obey so they were
condemned to scavenge among filthy and rotten things from then on. Then, the god
sent the weevils and he discovered about Pandaguan’s grief and he struck him dead by
a thunderbolt. Pandaguan stayed in the infernal regions but the gods took pity on him
and brought him back to the world. Pandaguan discovered that his wife Luplupan
became the concubine of Maracoyrun. Pandaguan got angry and went back to infernal
regions, vowing never to return to the world. Theme The Story is about how the first
people appeared on earth. It tells a story of equal birthing of man and woman
throughout the archipelago that assert a woman equal position with a man within the
tribal system Moral Lesson We should only do things or decision if necessary. We
should always accept that everything in world has its own reason. We should obey the
authority and only those that with moral policies or rules. We should not to love or
marry somebody else other that the one we married and we have promised to love
forever.

B. Legend of Dumaguete (Legend) The story dates back at the distant past. It was the
glorious and chivalrous time of Spanish Señors and the Moros. The Moros were
plundering the neighboring islands, abducting the women and the children who were
being ground and minted into money and gold by the Moros. Terrible rumors spread
that Moros were coming to Dumaguete. The people then prayed hard for protection.
Families gathered at night to pray to the Neustra Señora and Santa Catalina who had
special patronage and affection for these people. She was swift in giving them her
protection. Every time the Moros intended invading the island, she would send a
swarm of bees to protect the place so that it would look like a big cloud from afar, and
that the Moros could not find the island. Moros could not go near to the island
because of fear the bees could attack them and because of that, they were not able to
daguit (meaning to abduct). In other words, the people were "dili-na-daguit" (meaning
not abducted). Years passed by, the island was known as Dumaguete. Theme: It is a
story of the faith and hope of the people of Dumaguete during the times when their
land is in trouble. Moral Lesson: Have faith and trust in God and no harm will come.

C. FOLK SONGS Usahay English Translation Usahay nagadamago ako Nga ikaw ug
ako nagkahigugmay Nganong damhugon ko ikaw Damhugon sa kanunay sa akong
Kamingaw Usahay nagamahay ako Nganong nabuhi pa ning kalibutan Nganog
giti-awti-aman Ang gugma ko kanimo, kanimo dae. Sometimes I do find that I dream
That you and I are indeed in love, Why do I keep dreaming of you I keep dreaming of
you In my loneliness. Sometimes I really do regret, That I should ever be Born into
this world. Why do you keep on belittling The great love that I have for you, For you
alone
Theme: Usahay’s theme is loneliness, pain and suffering is a universal feeling too
strong to bear. But because these are attainable odds, joy and happiness and triumph
are inevitable and couldn’t be far behind

Moral Lesson: We should always remember that the one we love may not be always
be the one for us.

Matud Nila Matud nila, ako dili angay Nga magmanggad sa among gugma Matud nila,
ikaw dili malipay Kay wa ako’y bahandi Nga kanimo igasa Gugmang putli, mao day
pasalig Mao’y bahandi labaw sa bulawan Matud nila, kaanugon lamang Sa imong
gugma ug parayeg. Dili molubad kining pagsalig Bisan sa unsa nga katargan Kay
unsa may bili ning Kanauji Kung sa gugma mo hinikawan Ingna ko nga dilimo
Kawagoe Damgo ug pasalig sa gugma mo. English Translation They say I am not
capable To crave your love They say you are not happy Because I have nothing to
offer you. Love that is unrequited Is more precious than gold, But they say it is only a
waste Of love and caring. Never will my love for you fade, As long as life shall last
Never will I forget you Without you there is no love. If you do not believe I am
possessed by love, At least have pity I dream and hope for your love. Theme: Its
lyrics depict a romantic love, usually portraying the hopeless pleadings of a lover
willing to sacrifice everything on behalf of his beloved. It is a mournful wail of the
rejected lover or the broken-hearted. It is a story of unrequited love. Moral Lesson:
Love is not all about money. It is sometimes the acceptance and faith.

D. RIDDLES (TIGMO in Cebuano/Binisaya) English Translation

1. Gipalit ko bisan ug mahal, Apan magpulos lamang ug magbitay. I bought it and it's
costly, But I use it for hanging only
2. Na-ay kaban sa pari, Ukbon dili mauli. There's a priest's trunk, But when opened, it
could not be closed.
3. Ako, apan dili ko magamit, Laing tao ang mogamit. I own it, but I don't use it.
4. Mohilak, apan walay mata, Molakaw, apan walay tiil. It cries without eyes, it walks
without feet.
5. Ang dahon na-a sa bunga, Ang bunga na-a sa dahon. The leaves are on the fruit,
The fruits is on the leaves.
6. May ligon nga balay, Ang haligi atua sa taas, Ang atop atua sa ubos, Ang ulan
gikan usab sa ubos? What house has post on top, A roof at the bottom, While the rain
comes from below?
7. Hikit-an sa tanang adlaw, Apan dili nimo makamkam. You can see it everyday, But
cannot touch it at will.
8. May baba apan dili makasulti. It has a mouth, but cannot talk.
9. Didto ang buno, Dinhi ang dugo. The murder happened there, But the blood flowed
here.
10. Dili mananap, ug dili tao, Walay tiil, apan makalakaw; Walay baba, apan maka
sulti. Neither an animal nor a person; It has no feet, but can walk; It has no mouth, but
can talk. Answers: 1.) earrings 2.) an egg 3.) your name 4.) a pen 5.) a pineapple 6.) a
boat 7.) the sky 8.) a cave 9.) a flood 10.) a letter

E. ANG AMONG KABANTANG (POEM) ni Fernando Buyser-Aquino Kami

mapaubsanon sa mga mapaubsanon, Apan dili muduko sa atubangan sa manlulupig;
Alang kanamo ang tanang tawo managsoon, Magsama ang mga lungsod ug ang
magpuyo sa bukid. Kining hunahuna-a dili kay pagbalabilabi, Nga sa daghang mga
tawo maoy nakaala-ut; Kon dunay magpaka-adlaw, kami magpakagabi-I, Apan sa
pagpanaugdaug dili gayud kami motugot. Ang gugma ug kagawasan mao ang among
dalan, Padulong sa kinatumyan sa among mga ginguha; Sa way lipudlipud itug-an
namo ang among ngalan, Aron kami hikaplagan madtong danamo mangita. Kon
Kanhi maoy nagaduko ang mga matarong, Samtang ang dautan maoy nagapata-as sa
ilang agtang; Dili na kini mahitabo kanamong mapaubsanon, Kay dili namo ika-ulaw
kabus naming kahimtang Kami wala manguta sa himaya ng kabantugan Ang
gitinguha namo mao ra ang kaayuhan sa lungson; Ngano man nga dili managsama
kita nga tanan Nga magtupong man unta ang atong mga katungkod? Ang among
hunahuna kanamo magapasalig, Nga ang kawad-on ug kakabus dili kanamo
maka-ugtas; Ang among mga kabantang malig-on pa kay sa bukid, Bisan kami
hamubo pa kay sa mga masitas.
 OUR PRIDE translated by Juliet B. Samonte We are humble among the humble But
to the tyrant we bow not Brothers we are all Equal are the city folks and the country
folks. This thought is not arrogance That led people to failure If they want to shrine
like the sun we will be dark like the night But tyranny we tolerate not. Love and
freedom are our pathways Our guide in our aspirations Without hesitation our name
we reveal To those who wish our name to know. If the good bow their heads And the
bad hold their heads high No difference will it make to the humble For what we are
no shame we feel. We seek not fortune nor fame Our country’s welfare is our only
desire Why can’t we all unite as one When we all have the same goals and right? We
have faith in our ideals Misfortune and poverty our enemies More formidable than the
mountain Though like a little plant defeated we’ll never be. Theme: It is about
courage from cruel ruler or dictator. People are equal and must unite against the ruler
to attain freedom. Moral Lesson: Don’t be afraid. Stand for your right.

F. LETTER TO PEDRO, U.S. Citizen, Also Called Pete (POEM) by Rene Estella
Amper Pete, old friend; there isn't really much change in our hometown since you left.
This morning I couldn't find anymore the grave of Simeona, the cat we buried at the
foot of Miguel's mango tree, when we were in grade four, after she was hit by a truck
while crossing the street. The bulldozer has messed it up while making the feeder road
into the mountains to reach the hearts of the farmers. The farmers come down every
Sunday to sell their agony and their sweat for a few pesos, lose in the cockpit or get
drunk on the way home. A steel bridge named after the congressman's wife now spans
the gray river where Tasyo, the old goat, had split the skin of our young lizards to
make us a man many years ago. The long blue hills where we used to shoot birds with
slingshot or spend the summer afternoons we loved so much doing nothing in the tall
grass have been bought by the mayor's son. Now there's a barbed wire fence about
them; the birds have gone away. The mayor owns a big sugar plantation, three new
cars, and a mansion with the gate overhung with sampaguita. Inside the gate are guys
who carry a rifle and a pistol. We still go to Konga's store for rice and sardines and
sugar and nails for the coffin. Still only a handful go to mass on Sundays. In the
church the men talk, sleep; the children play. The priest is sad. Last night the storm
came and blew away the cornflowers. The cornfields are full of cries.
13. Your cousin, Julia, has just become a whore. She liked good clothes, good food,
big money. That's why she became a whore. Now our hometown has seven whores.
Pete, old friend, every time we have good reason to get drunk and be carried home in
a wheelbarrow we always remember you. Oh, we miss both Pete and Pedro.
Remember us to your American wife, you lucky bastard. Islaw, your cock-eyed uncle,
now calls himself Stanley after he began wearing the clothes you sent him last
Christmas. P.S. Tasyo, the old goat, Sends your lizard his warmest congratulations.

Theme: The poem is very funny though it doesn’t sound bad as it was. The poem
displays the closeness of the persona and Pedro. He summarizes there childhood
memories before the road and bridge was made. The creation of road gives the
farmers access to the market and many other things. The rich becomes richer, poor
becomes poorer, and women are left to become whores.

Moral Lesson: Never forget the past, learn from it. Stop colonial mentality if not
minimize.

Central Visayas, designated as Region VII, is a region of the Philippines located in the
central part of the Visayas island group. It consists of four provinces—Bohol, Cebu,
Negros Oriental, and Siquijor— and the highly urbanized cities of Cebu City,
Lapu-Lapu City, and Mandaue City. The region is dominated by the native speakers of
Cebuano. Cebu City is its regional center.

There are, as of now, 16 cities that complete the Central Visayas Region; these are:

1. Tagbilaran City

2. Bogo City

3. Carcar City

4. Cebu City

5. Danao City

6. Lapu-Lapu City
7. Mandaue City

8. Naga City

9. Talisay City

10. Bais City

11. Bayawan City

12. Canlaon City

13. Dumaguete City

14. Guihulngan City

15. Tanjay City

PIUX KABAHAR

Pio Abelgas Kabahar (October 11, 1892), also known as Piux A. Kabahar, was a Filipino Visayan
composer, playwright, journalist, and director in Cebuano language from Cebu, Philippines. Best
known as a playwright, he was the director of the first Cebuano moving picture, Bertoldo ug Balodoy.

Pio Kabahar was born to the couple Justo Kabahar and Margarita Abelgas[1] in San Nicolas,
Cebu on October 11, 1892. He was influenced by his father who was a musician, and he played
violin for the Mauricia Gahuman's dancing hall, as well as other musical instruments such as the
mandolin, guitar, cello, banjo, bandurya, subing, and percussions. When he had saved enough, he
paid for his studies at the Cebu Provincial High School.
He first taught at Recoleto Central School for four years[1] and then became a writer. His time saw
the emergence of the press that regularly published works of the local artist, whose styles were
imitations of American novels and influenced by the translations of European fiction. Kabahar's
works in stage drama exhibited similar shift, added with social criticism and entertainment as
evident in the works of other playwrights such as Buenaventura Rodriguez and Florentino
Borromeo.[3]
Stage plays
Later, he became a playwright, particularly of zarzuelas. The music of his zarzuelas were his own
composition as well as the compositions of Manuel Velez, Jose Estella, and Pidong Villaflor. In
addition, he also directed his plays and the works of his contemporaries including Buenaventura
Rodriguez, Jacinto Alcor, and Fernando Alfon. He also wrote the Rosas Pandan.
In 1935, he co-founded Cebu Musical Dramatic Art Studio together with Fernando Alfon and
Vicente Castillo. The organization's aim was to develop the arts in Cebu.[1]
Kabahar's stages plays were influenced by Rodriguez, with the distinction that Kabahar wrote
comedy while Rodriguez wrote reflective drama. Gugma sa Inahan (Mother's Love) was
considered the best among his works that featured themes of national independence and criticism
on the effects of colonization.
Director
Kabahar was the writer and director of the first Cebuano moving picture, Bertoldo ug Balodoy in
1939 and Rosas Pandan.
Journalism
Aside from writing and directing, he also edited Cebuano section of the periodicals La Revolucion,
La Solidaridad, El Espectador, and The Advertiser. He was editor in chief of the following
publications: Ang Bandila, Ang Buhat, Ang Sidlakan, and The Freeman, as well as publisher of the
newspapers Ang Katarungan,Juan dela Cruz, El Espectador, Nasud, The Freeman, and Ang
Tigmantala.
His column in The Freeman entitled Katawa (Laughter) was a popular humorous section of the
periodical in the late 1920s, which formed part of the Bertoldo ug Balodoy that he would create
years later.
Cebu municipal board
Kabahar also served as secretary to the Municipal Board of Cebu[10] and became member of the
council from 1932 until 1962.[1]
He was awarded Rizal Pro Patria Award on June 19, 1961.

Historical commemoration

A street in Guadalupe, Cebu City was named in his honor.[11]

Works
Zarzuelas

 Nagun-uba sa Lan- git (1917)

 Ang Ismirismis (1919)
 Hm! (1919)
 Alaut(1919)
 Fe, Esperanza, Caridad (1920)
 Fifi (1929)
 Gugma sa Inahan (1933)
 Mr ug Mrs (1940)
Plays

 Limbong ni Tintay (1916)

 Miss Dolying (1920)
 Kasingkasing (1921)
 Aling Pulana (1923)
 Santo Papa (1931)
 Sinakit (1933)
 Tulo Ka Adlaw sa Langit (1933)
Films
 Bertoldo ug Balodoy (1939)
 Rosas Pandan

Simeon Dumdum Jr.

(born March 7, 1948) is a former Regional Trial Court Judge in Cebu City, The Philippines, and is a
published poet. He once studied for the priesthood in Galway, Ireland, but left the seminary to take
up law. After years of practicing law, he was appointed Regional Trial Court judge. He won prizes
for his poetry, which he has published and read in the Philippines and abroad.
He was born in Balamban, Cebu, where he grew up and had his early schooling. He attended St.
Francis Academy for his secondary education, and then went to St. Clement's College in Iloilo City,
where he did a year of college. In Ireland, he went to Cluain Mhuire and University College,
Galway.

Author/Awards
He has published 14 books - The Gift of Sleep (poems), Third World Opera (poems), Love in the
Time of the Camera (essays), Poems Selected and New (poems), My Pledge of Love Cannot be
Broken (essays), Ah, Wilderness: A Journey through Sacred Time (essays), If I Write You This
Poem, Will You Make It Fly (poems), To the Evening Star (poems), Eighty-four Words for
Sorrow (poems), The Poet Learns to Dance (the Dancer Learns to Write a Poem) (poems), Letter
from Fatima (poem), Partly Cloudy (poems), Aimless Walk, Faithful River (poems) and Marawi
and Other Poems (poems). In 2001, he received the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni
Balagtas Award for Poetry in English from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL).
He won second and third prizes in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for English poetry five
times, and the Manila Critics Circle's National Book Award five times.[3] Three of his books (Ah,
Wilderness: A Journey through Sacred Time in 2010; If I Write You This Poem, Will You Make It
Fly in 2012; and Aimless Walk, Faithful River back to back with The Poet Learns to Dance, the
Dancer Learns to Write a Poemin 2018) were given by the National Book Development
Association of the Philippines the Gintong Aklat (Golden Book) Award. In 2005, he received a
medallion for writing the best decision in a criminal case, second level courts, in the Judicial
Excellence Awards sponsored by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.[4]

Lina Espina-Moore
 Lina Espina-Moore
(born Austregelina Espina) (May 20,
1919 – 2000) was a Cebuano writer. She
was a recipient of the S.E.A. Write
Award.
She was born in Toledo, Cebu, the fifth
child and second daughter of Yrinea
Regner and Gerundio Espina. Her
formative academic years were spent at
the Cebu Central School and at the Cebu
Intermediate High School. She then
graduated from the Southern Colleges
with an Associate of Arts degree. A brief
stint as a law student at Far Eastern
University in Manila was followed by a
job as a cub reporter for the Manila
Times.
Among her awards are the Philippines
Free Press Literary Award for 1994,
Born 1919 when she won first prize in the short
story contest and for her “outstanding
Toledo, Cebu, Philippine Islands contribution to Philippine arts and
letters.” She was also the “unanimous
Died 2000 choice” by the Creative Writing Center
at the University of the Philippines for
Occupation Novelist, Short Story Writer, Essayist, Poet
the 1995-96 National Fellowship in
Literature, an honor she couldn’t accept
because of health reasons.
Along with other female reporters, Espina established the Philippine Association of Women
Writers (PAWW) in 1950. While in this group, Espina’s Just Like A Dream was published in the
Graphic; it was her first fiction piece to see the light of day in a regionally-circulated magazine. This
was followed by the Sunday Times Magazine’s publication of her Timeless Waters. While more of
her stories began making the rounds of other magazines, Espina flitted from one writing job to the
next, running the gamut of editorial work, ghost writing and public relations. With many writing
successes in English under her belt, Espina decided to pen manuscripts in her native Cebuano and
send these to Liwayway Publications’ Cebuano magazine Bisaya.
Previous awards include: Outstanding Achievement in the Field of English Literature from the
Province of Cebu (1975), Pan Pacific Southeast Asian Association Award in the Field of the
English Novel (1975), Magsusulat Award for Exemplary Contribution to Literature in Cebuano
(1987), and the much-esteemed Thailand Southeast Asian Write Award presented by HRH Crown
Prince Vajiralongkorn for her novel Heart of the Lotus in 1989. In 1992 she received both the
Women in Travel Award in the Field of Literature and the Literary Award from the Mariano F.
Manguerra Foundation.
In 1960, Espina married Climpson S. "Kip" Moore, manager of a lumber company in the
Cordilleras.[2] The couple made their home in Mt Data until Kip Moore's death in 1977. During her
stay there, Espina-Moore wrote about tribal minorities. She resided in Alabang, Metro Manila, but
moved to her hometown Cebu in recent years to be with her son and his family.
Lina Espina-Moore died in 2000, and to fulfill a promise to Lina, Edna Zapanta Manlapaz
wrote Austregelina: A Story of Lina Espina Moore's Life and Selected Works (Anvil, 2000).
Espina-Moore wrote three novels: The Heart of the Lotus, A Lion In The House, and The Honey,
The Locust. Her short stories are found in two collections: Cuentos, and Choice. She edited a
collection of writings by Cebu writers, Cebuano Harvest I (New Day Publishers, 1992). She also
collected and edited, The Stories of Estrella D. Alfon(Giraffe Books, 1994.

Works
Novels

 Heart of the Lotus (1970, 1982)

 A Lion in the House (1980)
 The Honey, the Locusts (1992)
Short story collections

 Cuentos (1985)
 Choice (1995)

Books she edited

 Cebuano Harvest I (New Day Publishers, 1992)
 The Stories of Estrella D. Alfon (Giraffe Books, 1994)

Awards, honors and prizes

 Gawad Bambansang Alagad ni Balagtas by the Writers Union of the Philippines in 1992
 S.E.A. Write Award (Southeast Asian Writers Awards) in 1989
 Mariano F. Manguerra Literature Award in 1992
 National Fellow for Fiction by the Creative Writing Center of the University of the
Philippines in 1995
 Women in Travel Award in the Field of Literature in 1992
Lina Espina-Moore

(1919 - 2000 )

Three acclaimed novels fire up Lina Espina Moore’s bright star in the skyworld of Philippine fiction.
These are The Heart of the Lotus (1970), A Lion in the House (1980), and The Honey, The Locust
(1992). Two story collections, Cuentos (1985) and Choice (1995), further boost her reputation. Born in
1920 in Toledo, Cebu, she received the unique baptismal name of Austregelina. Edna
Zapanta-Manlapaz took it as the fitting title for her biographical cuento about this much-loved Cebuana.

Espina Moore plumbs the war’s terror in all three novels. This has left critics wondering if the motif
persists because she has but one grave and searing story to tell. That unblinking gaze, they concede,
reflected her rapt meditation on a tragic theme. Espina Moore peered at the hidden trauma still smarting
in the national psyche, exposing it aptly from the southern vantage point of her Cebu homeland.

Espina Moore’s folders at the ALIWW archive yield interesting typescripts of her short fiction in
translation. She wrote the story “Ang Besita” originally in Cebuano. Much later on, she worked on an
English version to accommodate a story-request from The Quill journal. Both texts present a curious
case of how source and target languages challenge the storyteller to wrestle with the art of expansion
and compression, even as she chants in two tongues.
Tiempo, Edilberto

Fiction-writer and literary critic Edilberto Tiempo was born in 1913. He obtained his
M.F.A. from the University of Iowa and his Ph.D. in English from the University of
Denver. In addition to having been a Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellow, Ed Tiempo,
alongside wife Edith L. Tiempo, spent around four years studying literature and
creative writing in the Iowa Writers Workshop. Upon returning to the Philippines in
1962, the Tiempos founded the Silliman National Writers Workshop after the
objectives of the Iowa writers’ clinic. The annual writing workshop in Dumaguete
City is the longest running in Asia.

In the 1960s he taught in two American schools, but it was the Silliman University
which Tiempo chose as his base, serving as department chair, graduate school dean,
vice-president for academic affairs, and writer-in-residence. He reaped numerous
honors for his writing, among them the Cultural Center of the Philippines Prize,
Palanca Awards, the National Book Award, and a prize in the U.P. Golden
Anniversary Literary Contest.

He authored over a dozen books in his lifetime. Titles include the collections A
Stream at Dalton Pass and Other Stories (1970), Snake Twin and Other Stories(1992)
and Literary Criticism in the Philippines and Other Essays (1995); as well as the
novels Cry Slaughter (1957), which had four New York printings and six European
translations, To Be Free (1972), the award-winning More Than Conquerors (1982),
and Cracked Mirror (1984). Tiempo died in September of 1996, but his final
novel, Farah, saw print in 2001.

Edilberto Kaindong Tiempo (1913 – September 1996), also known as E. K. Tiempo, was a
Filipino writer and professor. He and his wife, Edith L. Tiempo, are credited by Silliman
University with establishing "a tradition in excellence in creative writing and the teaching of
literacy craft which continues to this day"[4] at that university.

Career
During his tenure there, he was department chair (1950-69),[4] graduate school dean, vice-president
for academic affairs, and writer-in-residence.Tiempo was also part-time professor in St. Paul
University Dumaguete teaching Fine Arts ,Drama and Graduate School.
As a Guggenheim writing fellow in 1955,[5] he submitted a collection of short stories, A Stream at
Dalton Pass and Other Stories, for his Ph.D. in English at the University of Denver. This collection
won a prize at the same time that his second novel, More Than Conquerors, won the first prize for
the novel.
Tiempo and his wife studied with Paul Engle in the Iowa Writers' Workshop, graduating in
1962;[6] their experience there inspired them to found the Silliman National Writers Workshop, the
first in Asia, which has been in operation since then.
Tiempo was also a Rockefeller fellow. In addition to his career at Silliman, Tiempo taught fiction
and literary criticism for four years in two American schools during the 1960s.

Works
His novel, Cry Slaughter, published in 1957 was a revised version of his Watch in the Night novel
published four years earlier in the Philippines.[9] Cry Slaughter had four printings by Avon in New
York, a hardbound edition in London, and six European translations.[8]

Awards[edit]
 Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Prize
 Palanca Awards
 U.P. Golden Anniversary Literary Contest
 National Book Award

Marjorie Evasco

Marjorie Evasco at the International Poetry Festival of Medellín, 2008.

Marjorie Evasco is an award- winning Filipino poet, born in Maribojoc, Bohol on September 21, 1953. She writes
in two languages: English and Cebuano-Visayan and is a supporter of women's rights, especially of women writers.
Marjorie Evasco is one of the earliest Filipina feminist poets.[1] She is a recipient of the S.E.A. Write Award.
Biography
Born into a family of teachers who were "always talking English", she was brought up and educated as a Roman
Catholic and her formative years in school were spent under the tutelage of German and Belgian nuns.[2] Evasco and
her family then moved to Manila. She finished her B.A. in 1973 from Divine Word College of Tagbilaran, Masteral
Degree in Creative Writing in 1982 at Silliman University and her Doctor of Philosophy in Literature (Ph.D. Litt.)
at De La Salle University-Manila. She became a member of the faculty at De La Salle University, while completing
her doctoral degree in 1998.For many years, she was Director of DLSU's Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing
Center. She is currently a University Fellow at the same university.

Works
Origami (from Dreamweavers)
This word unfolds, gathers up wind
To speed the crane's flight
North of my sun to you.
I am shaping this poem
Out of paper, folding
Distances between our seasons.
This poem is a crane.
When its wings unfold,
The paper will be pure and empty.
(in Cebuano-Visayan)
Mibukhad kining pulong, mitigom sa hangin
Pagpadali sa lupad sa talabon
Amihanan sa akong adlaw, ngadto kanimo.
Gilalang ko kining balak
Gikan sa papel, gipilo-pilo
Ang gilay-on sa atong panahon.
Kining balak usa ka talabon.
Inig bukhad sa iyang pako,
Ang papel motin-aw ug mahawan.

Marjorie Evasco, 1987[3]

Evasco's prize-winning poetry books are: Dreamweavers: Selected Poems 1976-1986 (1987) and Ochre Tones:
Poems in English and Cebuano (1999). Ochre Tones was launched last May 1997 at National Artist Edith L.
Tiempo's residence on Montemar (Sibulan, Negros Oriental). Evasco calls this volume a " book of changes,"
following Dreamweavers which for her was a " book of origins."
She is currently working on a third poetry collection and hopes to finish it soon.
Evasco's other books include A Legacy of Light: 100 Years of Sun Life in the Philippines, Six Women Poets:
Inter/Views (co-authored, with Edna Manlapaz), Kung Ibig Mo: Love Poetry by Women (co-edited with Benilda
Santos, A Life Shaped by Music: Andrea O. Veneracion and the Philippine Madrigal Singers and ANI: The Life and
Art of Hermogena Borja Lungay, Boholano Painter
Evasco was a founding member of two organizations espousing the cause of women writers: Writers Involved in
Creating Cultural Alternatives (WICCA) and Women in Literary Arts (WILA). She has written many essays on
women's poetry, several of them finding their place in various anthologies.
She served as editor of a special issue of Ani in 1998 that featured writings and art work by Filipino women.
She is an associate fellow of the Philippine Literary Arts Council (PLAC).
In September 2002, she was invited for a three-month residency at the International Writing Program in the
University of Iowa.

Awards
Evasco has received several Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, National Book Awards from the Manila Critics'
Circle, Arinday (Silliman University), Gintong Aklat (Book Development Association of the Philippines) and
Philippine Free Press prizes for her poems and essays. Her poems have appeared in many important anthologies
including Luna Caledonia and Six Women Poets. She has been published extensively in Asia, Europe and North
America. She has also received various international fellowships; among them, a writing fellowship at
the International Retreat for Writers in Hawthornden Castle, Midlothian, Scotland in 1991; a Rockefeller grant and
residency in Bellagio, Italy in 1992; 10th Vancouver International Writers' Festival in 1997; International
Writers'Program fellowship at the University of Iowa in 2002; University of Malaya Cultural Centre grant in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia in 2003; the Wordfeast 1st Singapore International Literary Festival in 2004 and the Man Hong
Kong Literary Festival in 2006, and the XVIII International Poetry Festival in Medellin, Colombia in 2008.

G. THE CLAY PIPE (SHORT STORY) by Marcel M. Navarra translated from

Cebuano by Teresita Gimmenez-Maceda Characters:

Malta – the main character of the story. Wife of Imok

Imok – husband of Malta
Tura and Talino – children of Malta and Imok
Lieutenance Minggoy – guerilla officer
Sepa – residents of Lipata, neighbors of Malta.
Teroy – husband of Sepa
Teban – one of the soldier
Guerilla Soldiers

Setting: Set during the Japanese - Filipino War at Barangay Lipata, Municpality of
Carcar, Province of Cebu

Summary: Malta built a fire, but instead of cooking for breakfast, he sat cross-legged
with a clay pipe in her mouth. While holding her clay pipe she also thinks how they
survive with less food, eating only twice or once a day. She also thinking about the
seven soldiers guarding the cliff and she remembered that today was their turn,
together with six of other neighbors to provide breakfast. Malta went to the house of
Teroy-Sepa to ask for a bowl of cornmeal for one soldier as additional supply. Then
she runs to Peli to barter her two chickens for corn. After she has done cooking, she
carried a fishing creel (basket) to the soldier’s camp site that contained two small
pots, one is the cornmeal and the other is vegetable soup. She also brings a roll of
young tobacco leaf. While waiting for the other volunteers to arrive, Malta twisting
around to find a comfortable position and took a chip from the burning wood and
putting it in her clay pipe and went back to squat. Her eyes wandered to the soldiers
inside the hut. The soldier who had requested the roll of tobacco was playing dama
with the other soldier.
Suddenly, Malta is alarm with sudden firing of a gun. When she turned her back she
saw that it came from the soldier and aiming it towards the sea. Malta wanted to
 protest the firing but was afraid for the sailboat. After a while when the tension was
gone, the other soldier asks Malta about a beautiful, charming and friendly girl. He is
very interested and says she’s in love with that girl. Their conversation was
interrupted by the arrival of the three volunteers carrying heavy baskets. The soldiers
began to eat and the volunteer are ask to join with them but they refuse because they
already eaten. Malta was about to say something but she just remained silent. There
were times when one could afford to forget hunger but that moment when Malta
stared at the abundance of food. When the soldiers finished eating, Malta ask if they
are going to throw away the left-overs and begged as if she will feed them to her
dogs. The soldiers let Malta bring the left over while in her mouth was the clay pipe
which had nothing within except ashes.

Theme: The Clay Pipe’s theme was about a family who didn't have much and
demonstrates the kindness and courtesy to their guests. Providing food for the guest
even though they have no food on their plate is not good. They often help their fellow
Filipinos soldier find food and shelter, opening up their own homes to provide a
temporary home whenever necessary. This exhibits the natural hospitality of
Filipinos.

Moral Lesson: Filipinos receive guests, even strangers, in a warm and pleasant way,
often going out of their way to make the visitor comfortable. Being hospitable is not
confined to the upper class and can be found among the poorest members of society.
Too hospitable isn’t good at all.

1. The story was about a family who didn't have much. The mother would cook with
what she had, but she was not worried about the future because she knew in her heart
that somehow they would manage.
2. "Clay Pipe" was written by Marcel M. Navarra. The theme of this story is about
war and the hardships suffer by everyone because of war.
3. story about the people of the barrio and their survival. She has spent a lifetime
making six loaves out of two. So while she ruminates with the empty clay pipe she
constantly holds in her mouth, her knowledge that her family, neighbors and even the
soldiers they are challenged to feed from already meager supplies, will endure is
unshaken by circumstance.
4. The theme of the story is the allowed oppression towards women.
The theme of Clay is similar to the theme of the collection of short stories it's found
in, Dubliners,' that being "paralysis," or to put it another way, an "unlived,"
dispassionate life. In Clay, specifically, Maria, the main character's, life can be
described as common or tidy, resulting in her being caught up in trivial matters that
mask and repress the more difficult sides of life. Maria refuses to face these difficulties
which would enable her to confront actual reality, so therefore appears "dead."
 Marcel M. Navarra

Marcel M. Navarra (1914-1984) is known as “The Father of Modern Cebuano Literature.” He was born in
Tuyom, Carcar. He spent most of his life writing almost 80 short stories which were published in Cebuano
magazines; namely, Bisaya, Alimyon and Bulak.

His first story, Tungod sa Kayagang, was published in Nasud in 1931. His best-known story is Ug Gianod
Ako, a Bisaya prizewinner.

Marcel Navarra also became editor of two of the most popular Cebuano magazine – Bisaya and Bag-ong
Suga.

Marcel Navarra stopped writing after he wrote his last work entitled Si Zosimo in 1955.

Marcelino M. Navarra (June 2, 1914 – March 28, 1984) was a Filipino Visayan editor, poet, and writer
from Cebu, Philippines. He was regarded as the father of modern Cebuano short story for his use of
realism and depictions of fictionalized version of his hometown, barrio Tuyom in Carcar, Cebu.

Early life

Navarra was born and grew up in Tuyom, a small barrio[1] in Carcar, Cebu on June 2, 1914.[2] He later
was laid to rest upon his death on March 28, 1984 in his hometown. A product of American education, he
finished up to second year in high school, and then moved to Manila to seek employment. Later, he
settled back in Tuyom, got married and had nine children.[1]

Literary career

He wrote poetry and over 80 short stories before and after World War II[1] from 1930 until 1955[3] with
the pseudonym Marcel Navarra.[2]
Modern Cebuano fiction

His works were marked with the employment of realism[4] at a time when fantasy,[5] didacticism and
sentimentalism were in vogue,[3] earning him the recognition as the father of modern Cebuano poetry.[2]
His reputation as the best fictionist in his generation was cemented from the short stories he wrote after
World War II.[6]

Navarra is best known for the short story Ug Gianod Ako (And I was Carried Away) that won first prize in
literary contest by Bisaya magazine in 1937.[2] It was hailed as the first modern short story written in
Cebuano language for its lyrical language, psychological realism[6] and depth.[7] According to literary
critic Erlinda Alburo, Ug Gianod Ako and another of his short story, Apasumpay (Postscript), were
landmarks in Cebuano literature for their innovative use of point of view and the manner in which they
blended local materials and Western narrative techniques.[4]

Fictionalized Tuyom

In particular, Navarra's subjects often were the poor people in his barrio of Tuyom and their daily
struggles for survival.[5] Critic Sam Harold Kho Nervez claimed that the environment inhabited by his
characters that was ravaged by war, poverty, and moral decay was a representation of their inner
traumatized selves and considered his "brand of social realism outstanding."[3] Teresita Maceda also
commented that his fiction illustrated that the "barren land could yield beauty too, beauty of the more
lasting kind... He showed Cebuanos a way of coming to terms with the difficult life demanded of them, a
way that was the result of his realistic appraisal of his people's experience."[8]

Editor

He edited several Cebuano periodicals. He was the editor of Lamdag (Light) in 1947, associate editor of
Bulak (Flower) in 1948, literary section editor of Republic Daily from 1948 until 1952, and editor of
Bag-ong Suga (New Light) from 1963 to 1967.[1]

From 1938 to 1941, he was the literary editor of Bisaya magazine.[1] Before his appointment as its
editor-in-chief from 1969 until his retirement in 1973,[9] the magazine's circulation decreased that was
partly attributed to the general decline of sales among regional magazines with the rise of the movie
industry[7] and the stream-of-consciousness writing introduced by its former editor, the University of the
Philippines graduate Godofredo Roperos, which was not received well by its readers.[8] During Navarra's
term, the magazine's readership was sustained[7] and increased[9] despite the fact he maintained
storytelling that continued to depict everyday human experiences that appealed to readers at a time
when other periodicals resorted to sensationalism to attract readers.[7]

LUDABI

After Navarra stopped writing in 1955 upon the publication of the short story Zosimo, he remained active
in the literary circle.[1] Together with his contemporaries, he helped establish[5][1] and once led[10] the
writers' group Lubas sa Dagang Bisaya (Core of Cebuano Writing) or LUDABI for short[8] in 1956.[5] The
group, which has chapters in many parts of Visayas and Mindanao, had initiated annual literary contest in
short story, poetry, essay, and one-act play[8] that encouraged younger writers to creative writing and for
older writers to shift in style and attitude.[10]

He retired on December 1973 and died on March 28, 1984.[1]

Historical commemoration

The book Marcel Navarra's Mga Piling Kwentong Sebuwano (Marcel Navarra's Selected Cebuano Short
Stories) contained 12 of his short stories[4] that were compiled, edited, and translated into Filipino and
English by Teresita Gimenez Maceda. It was published in 1986.[11]