Playwright Bonifacio Ilagan to receive 2019 Gawad Plaridel

MULTI-AWARDED FILMMAKER and writer Bonifacio Ilagan is this year’s Gawad Plaridel recipient.

The annual Gawad Plaridel, established by the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UPCMC), recognizes Filipino media practitioners who have excelled in any media platform in the interest of public service. It is named after Marcelo H. del Pilar (Plaridel), the selfless propagandist whose stewardship of the reformist newspaper La Solidaridad gave voice to nationalist sentiments and libertarian ideas in the 1890s. 

In a statement, UPCMC said Ilagan “excelled and provided distinctive contributions in various media platforms, including film, television, theater, among others. For his 43 years of steadfast and outstanding recognitions, Ilagan has practiced critical, socially responsible, and morally upright service.”

Ilagan is also a staunch human rights advocate and critic of the Marcoses. He was among the hundreds of youth activists imprisoned during the Marcos dictatorship. His sister Rizalina was forcibly disappeared in 1977 by state security agents. She remains missing to this day.

Previous recipients of Gawad Plaridel include: writers Eugenia Duran-Apostol and Jose Lacaba for print, actress Vilma Santos and writer Ricky Lee for film, Cecilia Lazaro and Tina Monzon-Palma for television, and Kidlat Tahimik for independent film, to name a few.

The ceremony will be held on November 20 at the UP Film Center. Ilagan will deliver a lecture and receive a trophy by National Artist Napoleon Abueva from UP President Danilo Concepcion and UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan.