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| (Image Source: Facebook/Batangas PIO) |
The provincial government of Batangas capped off its month-long
celebration of honoring and appreciating the Filipino language as mandated by
Presidential Proclamation No. 1041 with the staging of the second annual Spoken
Word Poetry competition which was taken place last August 28, 2019 at the Event
Center of SM City Batangas.
As reported by Mark Jonathan S. Macaraig and shared on the official
Facebook page of the provincial capitol's information office, the event is an
initiative of 5th District Senior Board Member Claudette Ambiba-Alday in partnership
with the Batangas Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office and in
cooperation with JCI Batangas Caballero and SM City Batangas. Guided by the
theme "Peace In The Minds Of Youth", fifteen participating Senior
High School students from different public and private schools across Batangas
City were given five minutes to showcase their prowess in performing their own
original poem.
In the end, it was Clariss B. Perillo of Golden Gate Colleges who is hailed
as the best spoken word poet in Batangas City and took home a trophy, a balisong
souvenir, an SM gift certificate worth Php2,000 and Php7,000 cash. James Andrei
B. Villajuan of Alangilan Senior High School, Moira Matthew L. Aclan of St.
Bridget's College and Nicolle Ann D. Catral of Conde Labac National High School
were also hailed as second, third and fourth placers respectively. The
participants were judged based on various standards which include contents of
the piece used, presentation, memory and clear speech.
Spoken word poetry is now known in the Philippines as a trending form
of literature in the millennial generation where word play corresponding to the
theme of the poem as well as intonation are being used while music may be
complemented to express one's thoughts and gain the attention of its audience.
Board Member Alday sees the now annual spoken word poetry competition as among
the most relevant projects regarding Batangas' appreciation for and patronizing
Filipino language and culture which aims to give importance to the Filipino
language and boost its consciousness especially to the youth. Alday plans to open
and expand the competition across the province of Batangas in the near future
as well as other related programs and activities that would surely benefit both
the provincial government and the youth sector.
