Championing Filipino literature in the vernacular
iwayway, Bannawag, Bisaya and Hiligaynon magazines are the literary treasures in The Manila Bulletin’s roster of publications. These regional magazines were founded by legendary Filipino publisher Don Ramon Roces. They have survived two World Wars, the influence of American colonialism, and years of economic and political upheaval. Today, they are among the longest-running weekly publications in the Philippines.
They were given a new lease on life when they were acquired by Don Emilio T. Yap and henceforth came under the umbrella of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp.
Today, these magazines are published weekly and feature a balanced mix of literary fiction, poetry, comics, and feature articles on popular personalities as well as human interest stories. Under The Manila Bulletin, they keep alive the rich history of almost a hundred years of Filipino literary work.
The oldest among these magazines, Liwayway, was founded in 1922. It was jointly edited by Roces and Don Severino Reyes, who filled its pages with literary masterpieces that became popular with the masses.
Today, Liwayway, anticipating its 95th year of existence, remains the country’s leading Filipino literary magazine. Liwayway continues to publish literary masterpieces by great authors as well as developing a new breed of promising and talented writers.
Many notable Filipino literary pieces were serialized in Liwayway. Through its pages, many writers were discovered and became pillars of Philippine literature. In fact, some of them were recognized as National Artists for Literature, including Amado V. Hernandez (Mga Ibong Mandaragit and Luha ng Buwaya), Lazaro A. Francisco (Maganda pa ang Daigdig and Daluyong), poet and critic Virgilio S. Almario (also known as Rio Alma), and Cirilo F. Bautista (Asoge).
Likewise, three National Artists for Visual Arts, namely Fernando Amorsolo, Vicente Manansala and Francisco Coching (one of the country’s greatest illustrators and also recognized as the Dean of Filipino comics), have been part of Liwayway magazine. many people know it, but before he became known as Joma, Jose Maria Sison published one of his Ilokano short stories in Bannawag magazine before he went to college. Then a young writer from Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, Sison would later found the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Joma Sison was only one of the many writers of the magazine whose names have been enshrined in the minds of serious students of Ilokano literature.
F. Sionil Jose, one of the country’s National Artists for Literature, used to sell Bannawag magazines when he was growing up in Rosales, Pangasinan. When he did become a writer, he dared not write in his native Ilokano, maybe for fear of bastardizing it. He, however, had some of his English stories and novels translated into Ilokano and many of his works were published in his beloved Bannawag.
Dr. Godofredo S. Reyes, a medical doctor who once served as governor of the province of Ilocos Sur, may not have been a by-word in the national literary scene like Jose, but he was a giant among his provincemates as a poet. His poems and stories graced the pages of Bannawag, especially during his younger days.
Today, Bannawag has in its roster of active contributors, veteran Ilokano writers like retired Bannawag editors Dionisio S. Bulong, Jose A. Bragado, and Juan S.P. Hidalgo, Jr. Prominent journalists like Zac B. Sarian, Ric Agnes, and Honor Blanco Cabie are diligent contributors of the magazine.
Bannawag has also in its list award-winning