My Reaction To The Proposed Ordinance for the Creation of the
Provincial Council for Culture and the Arts in Aklan
by
Melchor F. Cichon
UMPIL Awardee
Aklan is rich in cultural heritage.
From the recent diggings found in Tigayon Cave, in Tigayon, Kalibo, we
can bravely say that Aklan is indeed one of the oldest civilized places
in the Philippines.
The presence of the Ati in Aklan and their
songs as mentioned by Mr. Alexander De Juan in his write-up will
certainly prove that indeed Aklan is one of the oldest civilized places
in the Philippines.
The early alphabet that was noted by
Fiorella I. Nabor in one of the poems, Hambae Inakeanon, will likewise
prove that early civilization had taken place in Aklan. The copy of this
poem in its original text is reprinted in my book, The 32 Best Aklanon
Poets, 2009.
All these cultural heritage have to be taken care
of. Not only taken care of, but have to be preserved and developed so
that our future generations will have something to look into. And be a
proud Aklanon.
Even before the founding of Akeanon Literary
Circle in the early 1980s, our early writers like Roman dela Cruz,
Manuel Laserna, Dominador Ilio, etc. have been writing poetry, short
stories, essays, dramas.
A literary renaissance took place in
the early 1980s when a group of young Aklanon writers like Alexander De
Juan, Joeffrey Ricafuente, Pett Candido, Arwena Tamayo, John Barrios,
Mila de la Rosa-Ibanez, Edna Romulo Faral, Melchor F. Cichon, and others
started writing poetry, short stories, essays, and drama in Aklanon.
Some of their works have been published in local, national, and
international publications.
Some of them have also won both
local and national poetry contests and awards. Mr. Melchor F. Cichon,
for example, is the only Aklanon Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas
(UMPIL) awardee. Dr. John Barrios and Mr. Cichon are both Cultural
Center of the Philippines awardees in short story and poetry writing,
respectively.
Among the published books that feature the works of
Aklanon writers are Ani Aklanon,1993; 32 Best Aklanon Poets,2009; and
Matimgas nga Paeanoblion, edited by Melchor F. Cichon and others.
Mr. Roman dela Cruz published the Five-Language Dictionary, so far the
most comprehensive Aklanon dictionary and Mr. Belisarius dela Cruz,
translated the first Aklanon translation of the New Testaments.
With the establishment of Akeanon Literary Circle, some poetry workshops
have been conducted to help develop the creative writing skills of our
young Aklanons. And hundreds of young Aklanons have availed of these
workshops.
Many other things can still be done by Aklanons to preserve and develop our cultural heritage.
One of this is the creation of Aklanon Archives and Museum wherein
Aklaniana print and non-print materials should be stored, preserved,
managed and served to all interested students, researchers, and
scholars.
One of the major problems being encountered by the
Aklanon writers is the financial support from our government. If only
our local government can financially support the holding of more
creative writing workshops and poetry contests in Kalibo and in the
different towns of Aklan, more and more Aklanons will be encouraged to
write poetry and other literary pieces. Soon we will have Aklanon
Palanca awardees. And more Aklanon literary works will be included in
Philippine literary anthologies.
Another problem that are being
encountered by Aklanon writers is the non-standardization of Aklanon
spelling especially in the use of u and o, and in the proper use of
Aklanon prefixes like nag, mag, etc. The Summer Institute of
Linguistics-Philippine Language has proposed a spelling guideline, but
this has not been adopted by Aklanon language experts. Part One of The
Study of the Aklanon Dialect by Vicente Salas Reyes et al, 1969, also
presents guidelines on Aklanon language. On this regards, it’s high time
that Aklanon language experts should work together to standardize
Aklanon spelling. This also needs government supports.
It is
therefore commendable that Mr. Alexander de Juan has proposed the
creation of an ordinance creating a Provincial Council for Culture and
the Arts in Aklan. I am certain that with the establishment of this
Council, our cultural heritage will be given more attention, and it will
help boast our tourism industry.
