Haiku----Aklanon Literature----

Between The Dawn and The Dusk

Melchor F. Cichon

Introduction

Haiku came to my life rather late.

I started writing haiku in 2002 after I spotted the Heron’s Nest, an ezine in America. This journal publishes high quality haiku.

As Christopher Herold has said in his letter to me, haiku is simple yet difficult. Once studied one can find layers and layers of ideas from haiku.

Herold is the managing editor of Heron’s Nest, an international haiku in the English language.

I like haiku not only because it challenges my imagination in weaving it, but it also allows me to record the things that I observe.

Also, not many Filipinos are writing haiku.

The old haiku has 17 syllables divided into 3 lines. The modern English haiku retains its three-line structure but it does not stick any more to the 5-7-5 structure.

I am using the modern structure.

I wrote the following haiku from 2002 to 2005.

This collection is my modest contribution to Philippine haiku.

I hope you enjoy reading them as I enjoyed in writing them.

January 24, 2005

New Moon--
he walks away
from an empty dining table

Sunday afternoon—
she grips my hand
as we cross the city street

Friday morning—

a young mother

refuses to bath her first son

Sunday mass—

a thief begs

at a cathedral’s door

early sunny morning—

an elderly couple

pick up sea shells at the shore

once again

butterflies respite

on our orchids

at the airport—

people come, People go

unnoticed

a bleeding night
approaches
a shining dawn

a boy
pushes
the night

a dew
clings
to the last leaf

dawn
five black ants
carry up a dead cockroach

morning—
a narra leaf falls on a still
lake

a promenade
gentle waves wash the sand
on my feet

a wild flower
blooms in a cracked
concrete road

a woman keeps on steering
her coffee
her boyfriend

a woman’s heart
replacing it with
chimpanzee’s

above a bridge
a boy looks down
at the black river

aching back--
my wife’s kiss
puts me to sleep

after a cataract operation
wrinkles
become unbearable

after a drizzle---
coral-like ice
at a rainbow’s end

after a forest fire
with my wife
the sun breaks a new dawn

after Typhoon Undang--
roosters
begin to sing again

after a hard rain
the skies are trapped
in our bedroom

after cloning a monkey
a scientist thinks of cloning
a new Einstein

after harvest--
Fundidor instead of Tanduay
on the table

after lunch
the kitten in the cage
does not feel sleepy

after a tropical summer
my grasses
are still green

after the flood
a boy picks up
a wet puppy at the riverbank

after the flood
a puppy barks faintly
at the riverbank

after the quake
the dawn
meets the setting sun

after the rain
the cows
face the moon

after the rain
the streets turn the cars
into cradles

after the riot--
a couple of activists
share the rising full moon

afternoon
a child smiles
from a nipa hut

afternoon
a kitten in the cage
does not feel sleepy

afternoon
at Mt. Diwaldiwal
crosses line at its foot

afternoon
molds begin to form
on the corn cob

afternoon
mother smoothens
the edges on her dining table

afternoon
teachers hold classes
at Mendiola Bridge

Aklan River bank
after the flood
the river smiles

All Saints Day--
I know I saw
my spirit pierces a stone

all that remains
after a kiss--
a moistened rose

along the railway--
music from the sound
of a passing old train

an airplane flies
I hold the heirloom
of my mother

grandpa
finds sunset
in the east

an old man
sweeps the fallen leaves
on the street

an old man
throws away live coal
from his hands.

as He washes my foot

my heart

clenches my tongue

at a country street
a young boy
kisses an old woman’s hand

at the cliff of Guimaras Mt.
a blue water below
awaits for me

at the Guimbal Cemetery
cows graze
beside their owner

at the Heaven’s Gate--
Gloria quivers
as she opens her book

at the museum
a boy looks
at the bottled Pandaka Pygmea

in a resettlement

atop a bald mountain
my parents and I
plant a mahogany tree

atop Manduyog Hill
the silhouette of Aklan
rests my mind

atop Mt. Apo
a plastic bag waves
from a twig of a leafless narra

August
cows and goats walk reluctantly
toward the market

August
leveled hills for subdivisions
a bridge flows with flood water

August
mushroom
sprouts on the banana stump

avalanche of logs
crashes down

a concrete bridge

Badjao children
beg
at the busy stop light

Basho--
his road
is empty

before every rain
I check every plant
in my garden

before the rain
a leaf falls
on a still lake

before the show--
Darling, he said,
may I borrow your bra?

behind Pilma
a moon shines
brighter

behind
the posh palace
mothers beg

beneath my window
a hen and her chicks
scratch on a sack of palay

beside my wife
Rafflesia opens
its flower

betel nut chewing
an apocalypse
among my grandparents

blackened Pasig River
a paper boat sails
toward Malacaňang

Boracay Beach
a blue butterfly rests
on a yellow coconut leaf

Boracay Beach
coconut trees give way
to beach houses

Boracay Beach
half-naked blonde women
bath in the sun

Boracay Beach
the setting sun
peeps through the cloud

butterflies
flop
back to earth

butterflies
have countless ways to flop
back to earth

by the sea
a girl carries
a fresh sea onion

lighted candle
with my wife
we push the night

casting net
a pregnant
carp

cemetery--
a man holds the rope
of his grazing cow

cemetery--

half-buried in mud

brought in by flood

Chancellor’s visit
3:15 to 3:30 p.m.
at 4:p.m. the chair for her is still empty

childhood friend
she sees me again
after dusk

Christmas Day
a husband dies
in somebody else room

Christmas Day
boys give gifts
to prisoners

Christmas Day
pickpockets
count their stolen wallets

Christmas Day
policemen apprehend beggars
for a Christmas party

Christmas Day
two brothers die in a fire
Christmas light

Christmas morning
steams evaporate
from the puto-bongbong

city beggars spread
like brown grasses
in the meadow

city street children
finally find a home
in the waiting shed

cock crows--
sun rays
pierce thick dark clouds

cold breeze
why is the night dark
mother?

cold morning
only the smell of bread
reaches the Ati

come
my fishing net
is teeming with sardines

come...

I am a living

Bethlehem

cool afternoon breeze
black ants transport their eggs
to our roof

cool breeze--
empty grain
points straight towards the sky

cracked rice field
children enjoy a free bath
from a leaked fire hydrant

crossing a bamboo bridge--
another bamboo bridge
ahead

darkening afternoon
a butterfly finds it hard
to kiss a rose

dawn harvest
a milkfish jumps over
a fishing net

dawn
He touches
the lepers

dawn
when light is turned on
rats scramble for safety

death chamber
finally
he thinks of his father

December breeze--
a naked Ati child
begs at the city sidewalk

deep well--
red ants grouped together
to stay afloat

December breeze--

Rizal's fall

uplifts the spirits of Filipinos

departing vessel
a mother waves goodbye
to her child

Dinagyang festival
beggars
are suddenly gone

Dinagyang
Iloilo City
City of Nineveh

distant shore
a baby breastfeeds
in a front porch

Divisoria
a leaf that is always
overturned

Diwata ng Dagat knows
that a fig leaf
is not enough for her

downhill path
sharp, slippery boulders
line toward a cold hidden spring

downhill trip
the silent water
of Tinagong Dagat

dry boulder
meerkat stands straight
on its hind toes

dusk
a man goes to Estancia
wife sobs

dusk--
a beggar drinks beer
in a nearby restaurant

dusk
a pier laborer picks up a fallen apple
for his sick child

dusk--
an old spinster
paints her eyebrows

early morning
a candidate for chancellorship
embraces her adversary

early morning--
a dog nuzzles an abandoned kitten
along a sidewalk

early morning
a security guard
stares at the passing cars

early morning
calm sea
my mother

early morning
hen with her chicks
a snake nearby

early morning
meerkat stands erect
on a dry boulder

early morning--
women pull the fishing nets
to the shore

early Sunday morning
I can still see the eyebag
of my mother

early sunny morning--
an elderly couple
pick up seashells on a beach

El Nińo
to a farmer
more mangoes

El Nińo
to a farmer
more watermelons

El Niňo
two electric fans
heat the living room

election day
a presidential candidate
balances on a footwalk

\even the kings

kneel before Him

even before He could talk

evening
a drunk man tries to walk
straight on the pavement

evening
end of training
heroism begins

evening breeze
the full moon
is behind a cloud

every morning
I record every butterfly
that drops by in my garden

falling leaves
sway down
to the ground

flood water sweeping
a puppy
keeps of swimming

flood water
claims the city streets
children’s playground

floody day--

loggers shirt their chain saws

from bare to virgin forests

first millennium sunrise--
a plastic bag waves
from a bare narra tree

floody city street
women in mini-skirts
smile at the passing military truck

fresh sampaguita
a girl joins a crowd
in pushing a tank at EDSA

Friday afternoon--
I discover light
behind His shadow--

Friday morning--
a young mother
refuses to bath his first son

from the peak of Mt. Apo
an explorer
brings home his empty can

full moon
four tears
fall on my open book

full moon
Oblation smiles at
Diwata ng Dagat

full moon...

Pilma's kiss

puts me to sleep

full moon
you are beyond
the seas

funeral procession—
a child crawls
towards his cradle

going downstairs
the portraits on the wall
keeps on staring at me

golden rice field
all coconut leaves
billow toward the west

golden rice field
Typhoon Milenyo
is approaching

graduation--
mother stops counting
her wrinkles

grandpa
slowly looks back
at the east

grandpa ignores
the murmurs
of his pocket

gray day
what a pleasure
to see her smile

gray sunrise
unexpectedly
acacia fails to open its leaves

grey afternoon
tornado
in my path

her gentle touch
leaves a print
on my heart

high noon
a kitten stares
at a fly on a fish bone

high noon
a mother is still playing
tong-its at her neighbor’s house

high noon--
mother plays tong-its
beside her, a child cries

Holy Friday
a farmer
plows his rice field

Holy Friday
Mary Magdalene finally meets

her Son on the Cross

dusk--

lessened wind
beneath her wings

I climb a mountain
to see eagles in flight
but I see plastics and cans

I swear
I saw my shadow
on the shore, crooked

I swear
my shadow pierces
the stone

in a city of man—
fallen tears dry up
unnoticed

in a cracked concrete road
a wild flower blooms
a boy looks back at it

in a drizzling afternoon
at her house window
a grandma looks at the orange horizon

in my room
your lingering perfume
our bridge

in the air
an eagle looks back
at the chick

in the dark abyss
blind fishes
swim and catch their preys

inside a cathedral
a boy picks up rice
showered to the newlyweds

inside a house
a child looks at a musical show
in an absent tv

into the woods
an uprooted
bamboo on the way

Jaro Market
camuros rice
is sold

jeepney strike--
women in miniskirts
wave at the passing government trucks

July
a little girl plants rice
in somebody’s rice field

July
frogs are up in concert
all night

king’s academy
termites finds
a home

kitten__
my hands
her lost mother

late afternoon--
for the first time
she counts the notes she plays

late afternoon
wealth fails to smoothen
the edges of tears

leafless narra
I miss the shade
the cool breeze

leaving all
the blooming orchids and roses
to his wife

leaving his home,
a soldier hugs his son
then kisses his wife’s lips

lightning flashes
mushrooms sprout
beneath a decaying banana stalks

lightning
a girl lies dead
beside a store

like my tear,

a dew clings

to the last leaf of a narra tree

limestone
ancient pyramids
yield to trees

Manila Bay--
the sun
kisses the sea

Manila--
sampaguita invites
unknown bees

March
young boys play softball
in a rice field

May--
after an arduous mountain climb
I bring back empty cans

meerkat tiptoes
atop
a dry boulder

meerkat tiptoes
on fallen
brown leaves

Mid-afternoon
a boy breaks a block of rice
with a hollow in the middle

mid-afternoon--
a boy finds a way
from a cross

mid-afternoon
child breaks
the ice

mid-afternoon
my mother lights a candle
Mt Pinatubo just erupted

midnight--
a small boy roams to beg
at Boracay beach

midnight--
an Ati child roams to beg
at Boracay beach resort

midnight
wild Rafflesia slowly opens
its flower

midnight
wild Rafflesia
begins to spread its scent

Midway
relatives throw flowers
to the water

Monday morning
rain falls
the sun is shining

moonless night
a shark cuts through
the fishing net

moonlight night--
a voice is cut off
by a bang

mother and child
on the pavement
not seen by the city of men

mountain once covered with trees
now covered
with brown cogon

Mt Apo—
once there were so many monkeys

and monkey eating eagles

Mt Pinatubo--
the world admires its fury
rivers and houses gone

Mt. Apo
misses
the butterflies

my ankle aches
from a slip on this road--
but thanks—I found you!

my old hat
only its string remains
my puppy forgets her fleas

my 60^th birthday gifts
a lighted pink candle
a blue fountain pen

my ankle aches

for slipping in this road--

but thanks--I found you

Mylene awakes
when the flower vase
she was holding dropped

narra root
reaches out
to acacia’s

resolutions

New Year
what a sorrow
to be ignored by a colleague

New Year’s eve--
firecrackers’ smoke
claims the city streets

now a grandfather--
the look of Pilma
still in my mind

no karaoke sound
men fish at the river--
Holy Friday

old man
a tear drops
on his wedding ring

old man
sees sunrise
on his cane

old man—
throws a live coal
from his hand

on crutches
a farmer misses the plow
land mine

on the rock
near the shore
a monkey stands

once again--

orange horizon
crickets start to blend
their voices

journey--
untarnished wood
for a half-filled vessel

out from an art gallery
a group of hanged paintings
and a black termite

out in the rice field
bending golden grains
and a smiling old farmer

passing white clouds
your first kiss
stays

Pilma
I close my eyes
to see her beauty

Rafflesia
fails to tickle
the full moon

raging flood water
all garbage by the riverbank
gone

rained in
I miss the crows
of my fighting cocks

rainy afternoon
a bird in a branch
my boy smiles

rainy afternoon
a butterfly tightly clings
to a sampaguita flower

rainy afternoon
policemen demolish
the squatters’ shanties

rainy day
drip by drip
a boulder yields

rainy night
I open the gate
to let my pet dog come in

rapids
the scared shrimps
hide beneath the stones

returning from a market
my shirts smell
fish

rice fields
going home
with a rice grain in my pocket

rising full moon--
Mylene kisses the daisies
after his goodbye kiss

rocks--
to the youth’s eyes
a challenge

rose
it makes every petal
a center piece

Sahara desert
camels stare at the skeletons
on the roadside

si Mommy Glo,

pasyal doon, pasyal dito

pasyal din dito pati bagyo

sun setting--
an elderly couple
sits on the chair in the shore

sidewalk
Badjaos’ unwilling
home

sidewalk
the sun is already up
the children are still sleeping

singing in karaoke
oops!
off beat

snail
moves
with someone else shell

snails
move
with their shells

spring
salmon swims to the river
to pay her parents

standing on the footwalk
I feel the drizzling rain
pattering on my head

stormy night
a boy lights his grandpa’s
candle

summer afternoon
at the front porch
my neighbor finally smiles at me

summer afternoon
doves keep on flying around
our neighborhood

summer forgets
to say goodbye
to withered grasses

summer solstice
a woman slowly
crosses a bamboo bridge

summer
a lone rice in our rice field
bears fruit

summer--
a woman walks
on a smoky mountain

summer
cracked rice fields
bottomless pockets

summer
silent teacher
of farmers

Sunday afternoon
the spirit of the beer
becomes heavier as I drink

Sunday evening
dogs eat fallen foods
on the floor

Sunday mass
suddenly
a cellphone rings

Sunday mass--
a thief begs
at a cathedral’s door

Sunday morning
a boy digs in the lahar
that buried a cathedral

Sunday morning
a boy offers three roses
to an old woman

Sunday morning
a man visits
a jail

Sunday morning
a son commands his father-in-law
to sweep the street

Sunday morning
along Boracay beach
an old man holds an old man’s hand

Sunday morning
along Boracay Beach
two men strolling

Sunday morning
notes from a xylophone touches
a young man’s heart

Sunday morning
old man holds
a young girl’s hand

Sunday afternoon--
she grips my hand
as we cross the city street

sunny afternoon
a man sits in their front porch
a woman neighbor finally waves to him

sunny afternoon
the calm sea meets
the calm heart

sunrise
blonde half-naked women
bath at Boracay beach

sunrise
rainbow greets
Buswang Beach

sunrise
spawning salmon migrates
to pay its parent

sunset
a blue light
passes beyond the earth

sunset
again I long for my mother’s
lullaby

sunset
beside my wife
the moon shines brighter

sunset
Flor returns home from Singapore
in a box

sunset light--
milkfish wriggles
outside the pond

surfing
open waves
closed spirits

tears
more tears
after a kiss

tender leaves
a soothing touch
of a mother

termites
hidden members
of a family

this starlet
now walks
on cloud ten

three o’clock in the morning
a man serenades
his beloved

uphill from a hidden lake
a man goes home
with a heavy heart

volcano
a new air line
is formed

waking alone
a boy pumps
drinking water

wet field
inclined bamboo
whispers to the grass

Rafflesia blooms in Antique
Iloilo smiles
sidewalk garbage stinks

wild Rafflesia blooms—
a garbage picker
gathers plastics from a black river

wild Rafflesia blooms
the moon shines
as usual

windy afternoon
a butterfly tightly clings
to a sampaguita flower

windy evening
again I light

my grandfather’s kerosene lamp

with Bing
air temporarily suspends
a falling leaf

woman
coconuts
juices of life

woman
a city is designed
after you

woman
why are you so difficult
to catch?

woman’s
words
clouds

World Cup—
the final whistle is blown
nobody notices the rain

young doves--
a nest
in the sky

3:00 p.m., Friday
Jesus says
His last words

a child
a shower
in all seasons

a girl conspires
reluctantly
with a man

a grain of corn--
adding a piece
of insecticide

a marble Goddess of the Seas
stands smiling
students cry for new books

a mime
vows
sunrise

a sign
at the gate of a cemetery
“A Gateway to Heaven”

a small envelop
from a dealer
blinds a woman

a tv sitcom--
a breather
between a father and his son

after a hard day’s work
employees become corned beef
in a shuttle bus.

after the fight,
father looks at a bloody Mike Tyson
and says: “My God!”

after the last whistle was blown
every player in Japan
goes home in yellow

AIDS
why does it come
to an innocent child

airplane flies
a boy holds her mother’s
hairloom

At Mendiola Bridge
rallyists and soldiers
exchange tiger looks

at sea
fishermen with dynamites
mangled arms

at stop light
children go up the jeepneys
to wipe passengers’ shoes

at the battlefield
time stops
humanity

at the delivery room
a father seizes
the nine-month waiting

at the waiting room
a father wants to seize
the nine-month waiting.

at the window
my grandmother
texts on my cell phone

before a meeting
an executive collects
her yes men

before, inspiration
perspiration
now, frustration

block of ice
with a hole
in the middle

bundy clock strikes five
again
a man walks slowly back home

cataract operation
wrinkles
unbearable

cemetery
finally, a mother meets her long lost
daughter

Cross at the Calvary
its shadow
a light in my path

crowd praying
a girl turns her back
to face a camera

disserted house
a cat nurses
her three kittens

distant park
a car suddenly stops
in front of a woman

dying
why is it
so painful

dying
why is it
so costly

EDSA
the final
answer

final examination period
two librarians
talk inside a library

finally
Mike Tyson
lies his back on the canvass

first day in school
what a pleasure
to meet old friends

first goodbye
her smiles penetrate
a man’s pillows

from the door
a soldier looks back
to his sobbing wife

funeral procession--
mourners
dance cha-cha in the street

Ground Zero
slowly, a dog walks back
to his master

Hiroo Onroda
World War II
finally ends in 1986

in a temple
ancient pieces of arts
lie like spoils of war

in bikini
women wash cars
beside a restaurant

in tears
a mother holds
her bottled child

in the air
a romantic reunion
a chick is born

independence Day
my father
finally says the final word

inside a church
loudly
a boy recites his prayer

inside a megamall
a small boy cries for losing
his mother

inside a shuttle bus—
two women talk about Ground Zero
while a man sells lotto tickets

inside an air-conditioned room
a woman
mechanically fans herself

internet--
smiles and tears
hold the earth

Karaoke
new singing talents
are discovered

library
five students go home
smiling

Malacanang Palace
really, height
does not matter

Manny Pacquiao
a diamond
in the south

Mike Tyson--
finally rests his back
on the canvas

mother goes home
from Hong Kong
in a box

mother in the ICU
everybody
cleans the house

mother
leaves home to a new home
gracefully

Mr. Moon
goes out to buy rice
and ends up in North Korea

office hours
a woman
chats in the internet with her boyfriend

one goal of Ronaldo
turns everybody
yellow

Oton Plaza
again, Bonifacio’s bolo
is cut off

outside a school gate
a boy in tattered clothes
stares at the children inside the classrooms

pay day
children sleep in the sala
waiting for their father

pay day
husband’s favorite tinulang manok
still untouched on the dining table

pay day
the karaoke bars
are filled with men

playing chess
office typing works
waiting

Presidential Palace
smoking
is allowed in this room

Pyramid of Pisa
Kufu dreams of
eternity

recess time—
teachers sell chocolates
to their pupils

resting
why is it
so costly?

Ronaldo-
foot ball
unexpectedly rolls faster to the goal

September 11, 2001
December 7, 1941
black days

September 21
teachers hold classes
at Mendiola Bridge

silent goodbye
tears just
fall down

siren sounds
children quiver
in the underground tunnel

soiled floor
in from a Sunday Mass
a wife shouts at her servant

step by step
my mother makes
every corner a center piece

Sunday afternoon
a woman prays her rosary
the other two backbite their neighbor

Sunday TV talk show
after a tearing confrontation
the two starlets hug and kiss each other

tears
more tears
after a kiss

two women smiling
one pushing up a neighbor
the other pushing down a colleague

Tyson-Lewis bout
the wheels stop
with a bloody memory

unlike my grandfather
this young boy
smokes cigarettes on his way to school

untarnished jar
a journey vessel
to eternity

Valentine Day
a widow reads
her husband’s yellowed love letter

Valentine Day
a woman opens a box
fresh outlook on love letters

Vatican--
all the doors are left
half open

waiting shed
thanks God
no rain tonight

wedding eve--
a bride-to-be
refuses to touch her wedding gown

when he looks at the mirror
she cries
the ring of her mother

world billiard tournament
suddenly
a housefly rests on the cue ball

World Cup
Ronaldo’s eighth goal
turns everybody yellow

Zachaeus—
he lost his wealth
but he smiles

Inay, uli eon
si Tatay may pasalubong
bag-ong Nanay

late afternoon--
again, my boss tells me
of her retirement

all that remains
of EDSA Revolution
a coffee table book

He walks
into the shores
the shores walk with Him

after a tsunami
more bridges
are built

father's funeral
his last hug
still warns me

a birthday gift for Mama
a golden box
filled with kisses

the setting sun
quivers atop the Great Wall
of Ice

_____

The Poet

Melchor Francisco Cichon was born in Sta. Cruz, Lezo, Aklan on April 7, 1945. He is the youngest of eight children of the late Jose N. Cichon and Desposoria Francisco of the same place. Dr. Leoncio P. Deriada calls him as the present leading Aklanon poet.

After finishing the elementary grades at Lezo Elementary School in Lezo, Aklan, he studied at the Mindanao Regional School of Fisheries in Rio Hondo, Zamboanga City. From there he went to U.P. Diliman to study fisheries. He continued his studies at Manuel L. Quezon University where he majored in Library Science and minored in English. He finished his Master in Library Science at U.P. Diliman and his Master in Management at U.P. in the Visayas in Iloilo City. He took his certificate in Governmental Management also at the U.P. in the Visayas.

He is married to the former Pilma Dollolasa of San Remigio, Antique, with whom he has four children: Melchor, jr., Vanessa, Ranel Vincent and Eugene.

The poet is now working as Head, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Library, U.P. in the Visayas, Miag-ao, Iloilo.

He attended the U.P. Miag-ao Summer Creative Writing Workshop, the Cultural Center of the Philippines-Liwayway Publication Creative Writing Workshop in Baguio City, the National Summer Creative Writing Workshop in Dumaguete City and the Third Iligan National Writers Workshop and Literature Teachers Conference in 1996. He represented Aklan in the 1995 and the 1998 National Writers Assembly held in Intramuros, Manila.

Some of his poems have been published in Hiligaynon, Yuhum, Philippines Free Press, Philippine Graphic, Home Life, Ani, Philippine Collegian, Aklan Reporter, Philippine Panorama, Pagbutlak, Dagyaw, Bueabod, Banga, Patubas, Busay, Media Watch, Mantala, and Heron’s Nest. He won first prize in the first Home Life poetry contest in 1994. He is also the first Aklanon CCP grantee for Aklanon poetry in 1994. He edits Bueabod, the poetry journal of Aklan Literary Circle, together with John Barrios and Alex de Juan. He won third prize in the Sentro Ng Wikang Filipino; U.P. essay writing contest in 1994 and won second prize (Aklanon category) and third prize (Filipino category) in the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts. He won third prize in Hari/Hara Sang Binalaybay (King /Queen of Poetry) in 1998 poetry contest sponsored by U.P. in the Visayas Sentro ng Wikang Filipino. In 2002, he was a finalist in a regional poetry writing contest sponsored by the Sentro Ng Wika, U.P. in the Visayas, Iloilo City. He maintains the website, Aklanon Literature (http//www.geocities.com/aklanonliterature.com). His electronic book Philippine Oddities was published by Electromedia, Makati City, in July 2001.

On August 25, 2001, he was a recipient of the 2001 Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas Award “for his outstanding achievement and pioneering work on poetry in Aklanon that have marked his considerably significant and permanent contribution to Philippine literature. Using the peculiarities of his mother tongue to its full potential, he has, in articulate poetic terms, expressed the lamentation and celebrations of his fellows, transcending the local milieu to become one of the country’s esteemed poets.” The award was presented to him by the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Filipinas (UMPIL).

On July 22, 2004, the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. Miag-ao, Iloilo presented him the Chancellor’s Award for Most Outstanding Research, Extension and Professional Staff (REPS) “for his meritorious performance as Outstanding Research, Extension and Professional Staff (REPS). As head of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Library, his accomplishments to introducing the use of the subscribed database, OVID, pioneering the compilation of Philippine Oddities, and First Facts; and co-editing fisheries publications among others are beyond the call of duty and exemplify the innovative spirit, creativity, and initiative of the entrepreneurial character that promotes the total well-being of both the workers and clientele of U.P. in the Visayas.”