Filipino poet Rogelio Mangahas dies

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Prize-winning poet Rogelio G. Mangahas died early Wednesday morning, July 4. He was 79.

Professor Fe Buenaventura-Mangahas, the late poet’s wife, confirmed this in a message shared by fellow writers on social media. 

Mangahas, who hailed from Palasinan, Cabiao in Nueva Ecija, studied AB Filipino at the University of the East (UE), where he and fellow poets National Artist Virgilio S. Almario and Antonio Lamberto led the second successful modernist movement in Filipino poetry.

He won first prize in the Palanca awards for his collection of poems, Mga Duguang Plakard, and for his critical essay on Edgardo M. Reyes’ novel, Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag.

He co-authored and edited Manlilikha, an anthology of poems, and was the editor-in-chief of Phoenix Publishing House and of SIBS Publishing House.

Mangahas taught Filipino language and literature at De La Salle University, UE-Manila, and St Scholastica’s College. He served as a consultant for literature at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and as country editor of Tenggara, a literary journal of Southeast Asia published in Malaysia.

He was a recipient of “Poet of the Year” award from SWP and Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas from UMPIL (Writers Union of the Philippines).

The Philippine literary community mourned the death of Mangahas and paid tribute to him by posting his works and their recollections about their friend.

The wake for Mangahas is at St Peter’s Chapels in Quezon City beginning Thursday, July 5. On Saturday, July 7, his remains will be brought to his hometown. – Rappler.com