As tribute to the man widely deemed as Bohol’s most illustrious son, President Carlos Polistico Garcia, a literary contest called ‘Indigay sa Balak’ is set on November 3 at 1:30 in the afternoon at the CPG Heritage Grounds.
Said venue is the one fronting the CPG Heritage House, corner Hontanosas and F. Rocha Streets in Tagbilaran City.
The competition was hatched by the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) under the helm of Gov. Edgar M. Chatto, through the collaboration of the Center for Culture and the Arts (CCAD) and the Provincial Economic Enterprise Management Unit (PEEMU), with its Heads of Office, Romulo Tagaan and Ana Loinda Saluan, respectively.
Known for his eloquence in writing poems or “balak” during his time, Pres. Garcia earned the nickname “Prince of Visayan Poets” and the “Bard from Bohol.”
Boholanos all over the world are so proud of this moniker for purposes of comparison, Pres. Garcia is considered to be in the same category as that of William Shakespeare and Rabindranath Tagore, who are legendarily known as “the Bard of Avon” and “the Bard of Bengal” respectively.
‘Indigay sa Balak’ is exclusive for college and senior high school students within the province wherein the contestants are given a contest piece, the “Dalagang Pilipinhon”, written by no less than the late President Garcia, himself.
The Open Category on the other hand, is open to all Boholanos wherein each contestant shall write his or her own piece using the standards in poetry writing using the Visayan Language.
The composition must adhere to the topic about Patriotism (makinasudnon), with a minimum of ten (10) and a maximum of twelve (12) stanzas using four (4) verses/lines per stanza.
The Contest Committee reserves the right to reject entries which are not adherent to patriotic topics.
Under the Open Category, there will be a separate set of winners for the poem writer/composer and another set of winners for the poet (magbabalak).
The poet could be the composer himself, or he or she could have another person deliver his or her piece on stage.
Criteria for judging the compositions are: Originality (40%), Relevance to the theme (20%), Rhyme (20%) and Measurement (20%).
On the other hand, criteria for judging the delivery for both Junior and Open Categories are: Voice projection (30%), Mastery of piece (30%), Costume/props (20%), Stage presence (10%) and Audience impact (10%).
To ensure the success of the event, both CCAD and PEEMU are inviting all colleges, universities and senior high schools throughout the Province of Bohol to join the Junior Category.
Each participating school shall have one official entry/nominee only. For those who are interested to join, you may call telephone number 412-3946 or send a message or call mobile numbers 0918-7150314 and 0917-3021701. (JANETV/PGBh/EDCom)