Palanca Awardee Receives Sanggunian Commendation
The Sangguniang Panlungsod unanimously approved Resolution No. 116 commending Mr. John Bryan Reyes Balolong for his achievement in the recent 73rd Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature during the 20th Regular Session on May 18, 2026.
Authored and sponsored by City Councilor Eyrma Yvette D. Marzan-Estrella, the resolution recognizes Mr. Balolong for winning First Prize in the Short Story Category of the prestigious literary awards, for his short story entitled “Captain Crayon and the Doodle Pirates.”
During the deliberation, Mr. Balolong, a senior high school teacher at Kalalake National High School, shared that it took him three months to write the story, which aims to foster appreciation of local culture and tradition. In addition to the cash prize of PhP 18,000.00 from the Palanca Memorial Awards, Mr. Balolong has also secured a publishing deal for his winning story, aiming to cater to students 7-12 years of age. In addition, the City Library has also reached out to Mr. Balolong for a storytelling session.
Established in 1950, the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature has been a “pillar of Filipino literary excellence, honoring the past, championing today’s voices, and helping preserve the nation’s cultural identity through literature.” It is dubbed as the Philippine equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize and is considered “the gold standard in writing excellence” per the Palanca organization.
