Through Resolution Number 2026-429, a commendation was awarded to the team behind the publication of the Humadapnon (Ginlawan): Sugidanon (epics) of Panay, book 8 volume 4 for winning the best book of poetry in Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a Poetry at the 43rd national book awards conferred by the National Book Development Board and the Filipino Critics Circle on May 26, 2026 at the Iloilo Provincial Board Session Hall.
Sponsored by Hon. Esara Aldeguer Javier and co-sponsored by Hon. Nathalie Ann F. Debuque, Hon. Amalia Victoria F. Debuque, the commendation was received by the UP Visayas Suguidanon Team led by Professor Emeritus Alicia P. Magos, Researcher Anna Razel L. Ramirez, Chanter Teresita Caballero (representing the Caballero Family) and other members of the team that included Analina Caballero (Kinaray-a Translator), Caiden Ramirez (Cover Designer) and Ramon Ramirez (Photographer).
The commendation which was initiated by Vice Gov. Lee Anne Debuque was turned-over by Hon. Rolando B. Distura, Hon. Rica Jane L. Garin, Hon. Jo Ann B. Germinanda, Hon. Rolito C. Cajilig, Hon. Mark P. Palabrica, Hon. Dominic Paul C. Oso, Hon. Nielito C. Tupas, Hon. Jo Jan Paul “JP” J. Penol, and Hon. Esara Aldeguer Javier
The book forms part of a comprehensive ten (10) Sugidanon (Epics) of Panay series in 13 volumes, “a landmark literary and cultural project that documents, translates, and preserves the sacred epics of the Panay Bukidnon, thereby safeguarding an invaluable body of indigenous knowledge,” the citation said. It also stated that “Suguidanon, the ancestral epics of the Panay Bukidnon, are long chanted narratives that embody the customary laws, belief systems, heroic traditions, and worldview of an indigenous group whose history was preserved not in ink, but in voice and memory across generations.”
The epic was recorded by Magos and Ramirez in Garangan, Calinog, Iloilo starting 1993 with the support of UP Visayas and the National Commission Culture and the Arts. Publication of these works was supported by the University of the Philippines through the UP Press. (UPV IPO)
