The Philippine chapter of PEN International, sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), conducted its annual literature conference on December 6 and 7 at the Silangan Hall of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

This is part of their 55th anniversary celebration and the conference is grounded with the theme “The Writer as Public Intellectual.”

The conference was opened to the public which was graced by National Artists Bienvenido Lumbera and F. Sionil Jose. It was also attended by Filipino writers and students, among others.

Former University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication dean Luis Teodoro was the keynote speaker of the event.

The sessions of this year’s conference were Philippine Intellectual Tradition, Writer and National Discourse, Writer as Social Commentator, Writer and Popular Culture, Writer and Social Media, and Writer and Current Concern (Quest for Peace in Mindanao). A paper by Carmen Guerrero Nakpil was also read by Amadis Ma. Guerrero for the gathering’s Jose Rizal lecture.

Critic Nicanor Tiongson, fictionist Charlson Ong, wirter Angela Stuart-Santiago and critic Tito Valiente, among others, participated in the panel discussions.