mula kay Peter Sandico ng Filipino Readers Conference Organizing Committee

Wala, wala na yata kaming masasabing iba pa tungkol sa antholohiya ng mga sanaysay ni Bebang Siy. Lahat na yata nasabi na ng sangkatauhan tungkol sa It's a Mens World—literally madugo (magsimula ka ba naman sa kwento tungkol sa mens), impormal (Taglish kung Taglish, walang pake si Ms Bebang), patawa (hindi mo nga alam kung seryoso pa ba sya or jumo-joke na naman, ewan, nakakaloka).

Pero nahihirapan na ako sa derechong Filipino. Magpapakatotoo na ako at mag-swi-switch na ako sa English. Parang Sprite lang at tumo-Toni Gonzaga lang ako. But instead of “I love you Papa P,” ang isisigaw ko ay, “I love you, Bebang Siy!”

It was never an easy task to pick from the three nominated books, but there's one thing that Siy's book did to us judges. We were all disarmed by the author's unapologetic honesty, superb wit, and unconstrained humor. Siy's writing is very fresh and unpretentious, ranging from the mundane to the profane, and her narrative style pleasantly unpredictable. Here's a woman who seems to lead a very uninteresting life, but one who's managed to make the reader empathize with her by writing scenes from her childhood, her relationships, and her eventual maturity as a woman. One word—award.

Si Peter ay isa sa mga judge ng Filipino Readers Choice Essay Category. Ni-repost ito nang may permission mula sa kanya.

Maraming salamat, Peter, at sa buong team ng Filipino Readers Conference. Sama-sama tayong magparami ng ating uri! Uring mambabasa, yahoo!