THE PETER’S Prize was created right after The Peter Solis Nery Foundation was established in 2012.
The first Prizes for poetry and short fiction were awarded in 2013.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Peter’s Prize.
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Since its creation, I personally financed the Peter’s Prize.
Aside from the conduct of the contests, and the awarding of cash prizes, we also had awards ceremonies that traditionally were held in restaurants.
And then, we moved on to awarding in schools.
And then, we even had an awarding during a radio program.
And then, we had it at town plazas.
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And then, the pandemic happened.
We announced the winners online, and even awarded e-certificates, but always with the thought of holding an award ceremony post-pandemic.
I thought that 2022 would be the year.
But things were still pretty uncertain in October.
And then, the tragedy of the typhoons.
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But I am itching to award the medals, a backlog that goes back to 2020.
And from the looks of it, I may have to travel to many places, and different islands in the Philippines to accomplish the task.
The Peter’s Prize winners are no longer just from Panay Island.
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More than just the growing geographical diversity of our winners, I am also very proud and grateful for the expanding donors and contributors to the Peter’s Prize Fund.
This year, I am most grateful for the support and donations of friends.
Some of them are first-time donors to the Prize Fund, others are returning sponsors—meaning, they have donated to our cause at least once before.
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Probably more important than the money that they put in (their money relieves me of some financial responsibility in the award of cash prizes, or in the conduct of the awards ceremony that is usually over a meal), the show of faith strengthens my belief that what we are doing is worthwhile.
I totally understand that art and literature are never a priority of most Filipinos; or of most people in the world, period.
But when I lay awake at night, I still see this vision of a world made more gentle, more beautiful, more humane by art, and words, and ideas.
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Sometimes, I wonder if it is only I who see this vision.
Sometimes, I tell people what I see, or the things that I envision.
Often, people hear, but they don’t listen.
And then, there are those who understand, but are not in a position to help.
And then, there are friends.
Friends who got lucky in life.
Friends who are blessed to bless others.
Friends who are thankful for their lives, and who want to practice generosity as a way of giving back.
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I got many rich friends.
Accomplished people, wealthy, and financially successful friends and acquaintances.
But not all of them see things my way.
And it is not their fault.
I can be quixotic. Romantic. Idealistic.
Still, I am lucky to have friends who believe in what I do, or who simply love me enough to support any and every crazy thing that I do.
For them, I am always grateful.
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This year’s first donor is Roselle Buyco-Nardell.
Roselle is a college classmate at UPV.
We took up Biology, and unlike most of our classmates, we didn’t end up being doctors.
Roselle went to the US, and “reinvented herself” (her words).
Aside from being a happy mother and wife, she is also now a successful school administrator (of her own school!) in Northern California.
I usually set the donation cap at $100 or P5,000.
But Roselle donated $200 saying, “To adjust for inflation.”
I did not want to jinx things (just in case others would really like to give more this year), so I accepted the $200.
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Florence Tupas is also a Biology classmate at UPV.
She went into Nursing after Biology, and now works in Las Vegas.
I’m not sure now if Florence is a returning donor to the Peter’s Prize Fund (it is likely), but I clearly remember her sending me a check donation way back in 2012 to help fund my film, “Gugma sa Panahon sang Bakunawa.”
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Several friends have helped the Peter’s Prize Fund this year.
Know some of them in my next column. (To be continued)/PN
