10 CANONICAL AUTHORS OF THE

PHILIPPINES
AND THEIR WRITINGS
 1.Francisco Arcellana’s “The Other
Woman”
soft hair, white brow, eyes young
I have watched her in stillness, nose fine, sweet lips, sweet mouth, tongue
how still and white and long. proud chin, neck white, graceful, long
I have followed her about with my eyes,downy nape, smooth, shoulders strong
how silent and swift and strong. under the arms soft, arms long
sweet and exquisite, white and strong
When she is still, it is musical. wrist small and supple
When she moves, it is a song. hands neat, exquisite
I have looked at her fearlessly, fingers - petals of the lotus
openly, and without shame: breasts like apples
white body shining, sweet and long
it is quite true that I desire you, hips broad and ample, wide and strong
it is quite true that lust is my name. thighs like pillars, white and long
I know, I always know where she is, legs like cedars, firm and strong
when she is around and about: feet that are sweet
toes like the rose
it is in my body like a shout.
 Francisco Arcellana’s “The Other Woman”
I know her name, I have called to her
but she does not hear, she will not listen.
I call to her but she does not come.
The Lord is my shepherd but I want. 
2. Virgilio S. Almario’s“Sa Alaala ni Inay”
Ang tulang ito ay para sa mga anak na di kadalasang napapansin
ang mga maliliit at makukulit na bagay na ginagawa ng ating
mga ina (nanay, inang, nanang, nana, mommy, mudrakels,
ermats, etc.). Pasaan ba’t iyan din ang tatahaking landas sa
takdang panahon…
Siya
(Sa Alaala ni Inay)
Kapag binuksan ko ang pintuang ito
Ay may sasalubong na puyat na tinig
Na naninita ma’y walang hinanakit
Bagkus naggigiit ng alala’t payo.
Siya ang aninong laging naghihintay
Sa dulo ng aking malikot na oras;
Pag ako’y dumanas ng ginaw sa labas
 Virgilio S. Almario’s“Sa Alaala ni Inay”
Minsang masaktan ko ang gayong
salubong
kapag tumatabang ang aking
pagbati;
Ngunit kahit lungkot ng
dumaming puti
At ang lumalalim na gatla ng taon
Ay di nakapigil sa tila tungkuling
Ipinataw niya sa kanyang sarili.
Bugtong naman noong di ko
inintindi
Kung bakit ang anak ay dapat
hintayin.
Naiisip ko pang ang gayong
pagsuyo
Ay bahagi lamang ng nakamihasnan
At isa sa bitag na dapat igpawan
Para masunod ko ang gusto ng puso.
Nanatili siyang bantay na anino,
Mahinahong tinig na ngayong
mawala’y
Kinasasabikan kahit sa gunita
Tuwing bubuksan ko ang pintuang ito.
(22 Oktubre 1984, Mga Retaso ng
Liwanag)
ni: Virgilio Almario (National Artist
for Literature)
mula sa: “Sentimental: Mga Tula ng
Pag-ibig, Lungkot at Paglimot”
(Mga Tula para sa Mag-aaral)
 3. Cirilo Bautista’s “Patalim”
Araw-araw
sinusubok naming mag-asawa ang talim
ng aming balaraw
Halimbawa
kung umiiyak ang bunsong anak
at hindi kumikilos ang sintang mahal
sasaksakin ko siya sa likod
at patawang pagmamasdan
habang duguang pasususuhin niya ang bunso
 3. Cirilo Bautista’s “Feeling Blue in
Switzerland
Kung pundi ang bumbilya sa aming kusina
at ako’y abala sa paglikha ng tula
hindi niya ako titigilan ng saksak sa batok
hangga’t ang ilaw ay di napapalitan
patas lang ang aming labanan
lagot kung lagot walang dayaan
Kaya’t sa katapusan ng araw magbibilang kami ng sugat
at tila mga gulanit na kaluluwa
ay magtatawanan magsusuntukan pa
Ganito kaming lagi sapagkat
labis ang pag-ibig namin sa isa’t isa. 
 Cirilo Bautista
 4. Anecdote about Carlos P. Romulo
At the third UN General Assembly, held
in Paris in 1948, the USSR's deputy foreign
minister, AndreiVishinsky, sneered at Romulo
and challenged his credentials: "You are just a
little man from a little country." "It is the duty of
the little Davids of this world," cried Romulo, "to
fling the pebbles of truth in the eyes of the
blustering Goliaths and force them to behave!"
During his meeting with Josip Broz
Tito of Yugoslavia, Marshal Tito welcomed Gen.
Romulo with drinks and cigars,
 4. Anecdote about Carlos P. Romulo
to which the general kindly refused. Their
conversation went as follows:
Tito: "Do you drink?"
Romulo: "No, I don't."
Tito: "Do you smoke?"
Romulo: "No, thank you."
Tito: "What do you do then?"
Romulo: "I etcetera."
At this, Marshal Tito was tickled by his reply and
loudly exclaimed around the room, "I etcetera,
etcetera, etcetera!“
Anecdote about Carlos P. Romulo
Romulo was a dapper little man (barely five feet
four inches in shoes). When they waded in at
Leyte beach in October 1944, and the word went
out that General MacArthur was waist deep, one
of Romulo's journalist friends cabled, "If
MacArthur was in water waist deep, Romulo
must have drowned!"
In later years, Romulo told another story himself
about a meeting with MacArthur and other tall
American generals who disparaged his physical
stature. "Gentlemen," he declared, "When you
say something like that, you make me feel like a
Excerpt of “I Walked with Heroes”
 “Our teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Grove, were frequent guests in our home,”
CPR recalls in I Walked with Heroes. “While Mr. Leo J. Grove seemed
relaxed and amiable there, I could not lose my dread of him, because he
represented the mathematics I could not master in school.
 “But Mrs. Grove was my first English teacher in the Camiling grammar
school, and to me she represented the magic world of books. It was due
to her skill as a teacher that much of that magic rubbed off on me. I was
a shining star in her class, and one of the dullest in her husband’s.
 “She was quick to recognize my love of words and helped my interest
along.
 “She introduced fields of reading I might never have known but for her.
Years after I had left school and much I had learned was forgotten I
remembered the Groves, and I even remembered the American town
from which they came—Ovid, Michigan.
 “I thought a great deal about them after I escaped from Bataan and
came to America. I wrote a letter to them addressed to Ovid but it was
 5. Summary of “Footnote to Youth” by Jose
Garcia Villa
 Dudong,17, is impatiently waiting for his father to return home so
that he can tell him of his love for Teang and his desire to marry
her.  He feels that at 17 he is a grown man and is ready for the
next important step in his life.  When he tells his father that he
has asked Teang to marry him and wants his blessing, there is a
long and cruel silence. His father asks if he must marry her
because Dudong is very young. Dudong resents his father's
question, and finally his father gives his consent.
Nine months later, Dudong is waiting outside while
Teang gives birth to their first son, Blas.  He feels young
and inexperienced, a contrast to how he felt nine months
ago. Dudong did not want any more children, but they
came anyway.  For the next six years, Teang gave birth. 
 Summary of “Footnote to Youth” by Jose
Garcia Villa
Teang did not complain.  However her body was now
shapeless and thin from bearing so many children and
from the hard work of caring for them and the
household.  Even though she loved Dudong, she cried
and wished that she had not married so young. There
had been another suitor, Lucio, who was nine years
older than Dudong. She chose Dudong because he was
so much younger. Lucio had married after she married
Dudong, however, he was childless. She wonders if she
had married Lucio, would she be childless? She feels
that would have been a better lot in life.  But she loves
Dudong, even though life has made him old and ugly.
 Summary of “Footnote to Youth” by Jose
Garcia Villa
ne night Dudong goes outside and thinks about his life. 
He wants to have the wisdom to know why life does not
fulfill Youth's dreams. Why did life forsake you after
love?  He never finds the answer.

When Blas turns 18, he comes home and tells Dudong

that he wants to marry Tena.  Dudong at this time is only
36 years old, but he is portrayed as a much older man.
Dudong does not want Blas to marry so young. He asks
the same question his father asked him. 
 Summary of “Footnote to Youth” by Jose
Garcia Villa
Does Blas have to marry Tena?  He does not want him
to make the same mistake he did. Blas also reacts with
resentment.   Dudong realizes that he is dealing with
Youth and Love, and they will triumph over this
situation.  After that, comes real life. He gives his
consent, feeling sad and sorry for his son.
He called this "Footnote to Youth" because a footnote is
an additional comment or reference on the content of the
text. He is telling youth to pay attention to the lesson of
this story.
6. ‘Isang Dipang Langit” by Amado V.
Hernandez
Sa paniniwalang tungkulin ng manunulat na maging
budhi ng lipunan at magpatunay sa kadakilaan ng diwa
ng tao sa harap ng kalupitan, hindi inalintana ng may-
akda ang kanyang  pagkabilanggo. Ang kanyang mga
akda ay lagi nang pumapaksa sa nasyonalismo,
demokrasya, at  panlipunang katarungan. Makatwiran
bang ikulong ang isang taong nagpapahayag lamang ng
kanyang malayang damdamin at kaisipan? Layunin ng
may-akda na maimulat ang bawat Pilipino sa kawalan
ng katarungan at pakikipagsapalaran ng mga
manggagawa sa lipunang bulok na sistema ang umiiral.
 Isang Dipang Langit by Amado V.
Hernandez
Ang uri ng tulang ito ay isang tulang sanaysay, may
lalabindalawahing pantig ang sukat at may katinig at patinig ang
mga tugma. ang mga posibleng tono ay paghihimagsik at
pagdurusa. Gumamit ang awtor ng tayutay. Ang mga salitang
ginamit ay kakaiba. Maaring ang paksa sa tulang ito ay buhay sa
loob ng kulungan may diwa ito tungkol sa mga karanasan ng mga
nakakulong, buhay ng mga bilanggo sa araw araw at pwede ring
para ipaglaban ang iyong karapatan. Ang himig ng kwento ay
pagdurusa, dahil sa pag tukoy sa kanyang pinagdaanan na
kanyang inilahad sa loob ng kulungan at naghahagid ng kanyang
kalayaan.
Ang istilong may akda ay pangkaraniwan sa iba ngunit kung
ikukumpara ang kanyan istraktura ng paraang pagkakasulat, ang
unang tatlong linya sa bawat saknong ay nasa karaniwang ayos,
7. Portrait of an Artist as a Filipino by
Nick Joaquin
SYNOPSIS. 
 Standing among ruins of Old Manila (Intramuros) is a young
manwho reminisces about an era gone by. Bitoy Camacho (Joel
Trinidad) shifts backand forth from the past to the present as he
recalls the precious moments thattook place in the house of Don
Lorenzo el Magnifico.

The audience is given a portrait of the Marasigan family living in

Old Manilain October 1941. 

The story revolves around two of Don Lorenzo's daughters,

Candida and Paula . They are both unmarried in their advanced
age. 
 Portrait of an Artist as a Filipino by
Nick Joaquin
Candida and Paula are dependent on their married brother
Manolo and their married sister Pepang After leaving
their ancestral home, the two have become obsessed
with material things, prompting them to take an interest
in their father's self-portrait, which could fetch a small
fortune when sold. 
However, Candida and Paula resist the temptation to sell
their father's masterpiece. Not even their charming
boarder Tony Javier coax them to change their minds. 
 Portrait of an Artist as a Filipino by
Nick Joaquin
Though smart and of good breeding, Candida and Paula find
themselves now bereftof money and resources. They are forced to
leave utility bills unpaid, grovelfor work, and become the
laughing stock and talk of the town. In spite of allthese, however,
both Paula and Candida carry within them the glory of daysgone,
the glory that allowed them to pursue a life filled with poetry,
music,conversation, and great art. The glory that is Filipino.

Imminent war, practice-blackouts, and sleazy figures from

Manila's nightlifemake a wonderful context for Portrait of an
Artist as Filipino. 

Read more at http://www.pep.ph/guide/arts-and-culture/3247/pep-

review-portrait-of-an-artist-as-filipino#1IF1QlPF2susFG7I.99
 8. Bonsai by Edith Tiempo
The poem "Bonsai" by Edith Tiempo is about love and how people
imbue certain objects with love for a person, and those objects
become the symbol of love. Edith Tiempo starts out her poem by
describing what she does with love. She folds it to make it
smaller so that she can keep it in a box, hollow post or shoe
 9. Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita
by Bienvenido Lumbera
Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita

(Panata sa mga Welgistang Manggagawang-Bukid

at Magsasakang Minasaker noong 16 Nobyembre 2004)
Walang kampanang kumalembang ng panangis
Nang kayo’y paslangin ng mga pulis at sundalong
Bayaran ng naghaharing uri.
Kalasti lamang ng gatilyong humaplit
sa balang inip na inip
sa baril ng mga berdugo.
 Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita
by Bienvenido Lumbera
• (Walang dalanging pumulas sa bibig
Ng mga matronang paladasal tuwing nobena
Kay San Isidro Labrador.
Buntong-hininga lamang: ay, nabawasan din
Ang bilang ng mareklamong magsasakang
Kasabwat ng mga NPA.
Walang benditang tumigmak sa amoy-lupang bihis
Ng mga welgistang humingi ng dagdag
Sa 9.50 lingguhang kita.
Dugong pumulandit sa dagsa ng bala,
Laway na tumalsik nang hatawin ng truncheon,
Plemang idinahak ng panginoong maylupa.
 Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita
by Bienvenido Lumbera
Hindi kalembang, hindi dasal, hindi bendita,
Ang dala ng ipo-ipong nagpupuyos
Sa mga dalisdis ng Sierra Madre –Bienvenido
Na papatag sa mga tubuhang CojuangcoLumbera
At sa mga kamalig at pabrika ng asendero.
May titis na nagliyab sa dibdib Agunyas. “Tugtog ng
Ng bawat isa sa amin, kampana para sa
At ang mga dila ng lagablab namatay.”
Ay sasanib sa ipo-ipong dumarating,
Hahawanin ang lupaing sasaksi Binasa noong 21
Sa itatanim naming lipunang Nobyembre, 2004, sa
Malaya at hindi na paaapi. lamay sa Hacienda
Luisita para sa mga
 10. Tree by F. Sionil Jose
Tree is a 1978 historical novel by Filipino National
Artist F. Sionil José. A story of empathy and
subjugation, it is the second in José’s series known
as The Rosales Saga or the Rosales Novels.The tree in
the novel is a representation of the expectations and
dreams of Filipinos.