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Ala-ala ng Bayang Filipino sa mga Bayani ng 96, the monument in front of Vinzons Hall at UP Diliman

On 30 November 2013, we mark the 150th birthday of Andres Bonifacio, the Father of the Philippine Revolution.

What became of Bonifacio’s revolution? What is his legacy? Does Andres Bonifacio matter in the 21st century? If he does, why is the manner of his death still a mystery to us? Why don’t we know for certain where he is buried? Why aren’t we sure those are his bones? Why have we not dealt with the fact that he was killed by his own allies? Why has there been no justice for Andres Bonifacio?

For this LitWit Challenge, write a letter to Andres Bonifacio. Choose your topic. The letter can be as long or as short as you wish. Post it in comments by 11:59pm on 1 December 2013. The winner (and the prize) will be announced on 3 December 2013.

This LitWit Challenge is brought to you by National Bookstore.

Ang Lee at the forum following the special screening of The Life of Pi at SM Aura IMAX.

Tikoy Aguiluz was presenting an award from Cinemanila to the director Ang Lee. He asked us to write a citation. Here’s our draft. We got our information from Glenn Kenny’s excellent interview with Ang Lee at the DGA website.

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Today we honor a filmmaker who has gracefully defied classification. His body of work encompasses the martial arts movie, the suburban American drama, the erotic thriller, the Jane Austen marriage plot, the superhero action movie, the gay cowboy love story and the big 3D adventure.

He moves effortlessly between eras and settings, riding from the American Civil War to China in World War 2, from 18th century England to 1960s counterculture, from China once upon a time to the present day.

By resisting categories he stays fresh; by constantly changing genres he steers clear of repetition and fakery. This is a man who directed an adaptation of a beloved Jane Austen novel even before he could speak English fluently–proving that film is the universal language. In that language, he is Shakespeare.

He makes movies big and small, each one distinguished by his mastery of his craft, the compassion of his vision, and his boundless humanity.

In sum, describing Ang Lee is a challenge so we’ll just have to settle for this:

Ang Lee is A Humanist and A Great Filmmaker.

1. Elect the officials who can keep you alive.

Philippine life makes so much more sense to us in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda. Elections really are a matter of life and death, and not just because the goons of the opposing parties are shooting at each other. Your choice of local government officials can literally keep you alive.

In this new era of catastrophic weather events, we need leaders who can save lives at the most basic level. Don’t judge candidates by their grand promises, their confident attitude, or their looks. Don’t choose them because one of their ancestors paid for the funeral of one of yours. Don’t choose them for their family names—after Yolanda, we should be especially wary of electing people just because we recognize their names. Don’t pick them for their showbiz connections or the hotness of their spouses. Judge them according to their ability to preserve your life and limb.

Here’s a slogan: Buhay muna bago kabuhayan. (Aanhin mo ang kabuhayan kung patay ka na?)

Read our column at InterAksyon.com.

A word from our sponsor

Book your tickets here.

Read A Tale of Two Lolitas by Galya Diment in New York Magazine.

A word from our sponsor:

According to a study commissioned by the personal care brand Dove, only 7% of Filipinas find themselves beautiful.

All together: WHAT! Given the levels of pagmamaganda we encounter on a daily—no, hourly—basis, and the national obsession with beauty pageants, we thought the Filipina’s self-image was invincible. Apparently not. (Turns out that when people say “Ang ganda mo/Ang ganda ko”, they are being ironic.)

Dove wants to turn things around with its #IAmBeautiful Movement. To join the movement, round up your friends and take photos of yourselves holding up a sign that says #IAmBeautiful. Post these photos on your Facebook/Twitter/IG, and they will be reposted by the #IAmBeautiful Movement.

Wait, we asked, many of our readers are gay, are they included in this? Yes, of course! And don’t just post it, believe it.