THE Cebu City Government launched the Don Vicente Rama Memorial Literary Prize on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in line with the commemoration of the 146th Vicente Sotto Day at the Rizal Memorial Museum and Library in Cebu City.
Young Cebuano writers below 40 are eligible to join and submit for the prize.
This prize is supposed to be the counterpart for the already existing awards for other forms of art like the visual arts.
The four categories under the Don Vicente Rama prize are poetry, short story, drama, and literary essays.
“We are going to have four categories to be written in Cebuano... This is open only to 40 years old and below, because it is an incentive for Cebuano writers, it’s also for works that have not been published,” Commissioner Dr. Erlinda K. Alburo of the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (Chac) said.
Alburo said the winners will be announced on Flag Day on May 29.
The submission period will run for over a month, and entry forms are available on the Chac website and office.
Meanwhile, former Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who attended Tuesday’s event in Cebu City, recalled the impact of the late Vicente Sotto especially on press freedom and his work as a journalist.
“His monumental piece of legislation is being the author of the Press Freedom Law, now known as the Sotto Law. A law of transcendental importance and has been relevant for so many generations in protecting the Philippine press freedom,” Sotto III said.
Sotto added that the Republic Act (RA) 53, or the Press Freedom Law, is now the RA 11458, which extends the coverage of the law to include broadcast TV, radio broadcast, and legitimate press presence in the social media platforms.
Because the previous law only covered print media, Sotto III said that he decided to file the bill that would encompass the other forms of media.
Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama and Vice Mayor Raymond Garcia were also present during the wreath laying ceremony Tuesday, April 18. (EKV)