"I did not send my entry with the intention to win or to glorify my writing skills. It was a cry for help, it was for Bagwis."
This is how former Bagwis' Editor-In-Chief Jefferson Quipit described his piece about experiences on being red-tagged and how to deal with it, leading to him standing out on top in the first-ever 'I Am Mindanao' Creative Non-fiction competition.
The said competition was conducted by the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts, National Book Development Board and Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino as part of the celebration of National Literature Month where Keamanan Inc., a young non-profit organization organized the event.
Journey to Chip
The story theme revolves around 'Literature and Peace (Panitikan at Kapayapaan)' which is related to the aforementioned festivity.
Each student created their best non-fiction story, reaching 500 entries after the deadline last May 17.
After a series of intensive evaluations and delays of announcing the winners, it was proclaimed last June 22 that the "Hipak, Shot at Red-Tag : Ang Kawalan ng Kalayaan ay lasang Lychee at Gin Pink" of Quipit, came out as the first place in the said competition.
Standing next to him was John Dave Pacheco, a fellow MSUan and a student from CSSH, which he garnered second place with his piece "Hindi na Puro Ako"; while Mohader Didaagun Gandamato placed third with his output, "Mapayapa kaya ang mga inaampon?".
Behind The Tags
According to Quipit, the piece was a confirmation that the state of Mindanao is willing to listen to stories of red-tagging in the publication.
"It was a validation. My write-up was the first-hand story of how we experienced the tangible manifestations of red-tagging in the publication,..The write-up was literally me ranting why we are red-tagged, wala man tay ginabuhat na big issue jud," he said.
He added that the issue significantly impacted the way future articles were published and caused concerns among the executives while it can also be a positive sign for the organization that will potentially drive change.
"It was stressful! Wala ko kabalo unsay buhaton. I was in a dilemma to not reveal the names of the red-tagged writers as it would cause panic, but I also was in a dilemma that they should know the reality and the gravity of the situation," the EIC disclosed.
"To an extent, Rizal would be proud of us - our forefather heroes would be proud of us," he claimed.
Quipit hopes the admin will safeguard the rights and safety of the journalists.
"Laban lang. I already instructed the execs on how they can deal with red-tagging once it resurfaces again. And I think SSC will have tangible projects on red-tagging mitigations to student journalists in the next academic year," he stressed.
The EIC challenged every aspiring writer to write the truth and create the real story.
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