Rommel N. Angara

Rommel N. Angara
Born	(1980-08-20) August 20, 1980 (age 44) Baler, Aurora, Philippines
Occupation	Poet essayist
Language	Tagalog English
Nationality	Filipino
Alma mater	Mount Carmel College of Baler
Genre	Lyric poetry narrative poetry inspirational poetry inspirational essay

Rommel Nazareno Angara (/ˈrɒmʌl næzʌˈriːnoʊ əŋˈɡɑːrə/ ROM-uhl na-zuh-REE-noh əng-GAH-rə; Tagalog: [rɔˈmel nazaˈrɛno aŋˈɡarɐ]; born August 20, 1980), better known as Rommel N. Angara, is a Filipino poet^[1][2] and essayist. His poems were published in Pambata, a magazine for Filipino children; Sipag Pinoy, a publication of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); and Liwayway, the oldest Tagalog magazine in the Philippines. His essays were published in The Modern Teacher, a magazine for Filipino teachers. He is sometimes referred to as "Aurora's inspirational poet."^[3]

Personal life

He was born in the town of Baler in the Philippine province of Aurora. He is the youngest of the sons of Rodolfo R. Angara, Sr. of Baler, Aurora and Milagros D. Nazareno of Goa, Camarines Sur. During his childhood through early adolescence, he witnessed his father’s occasional violence toward his mother, who eventually fled their house. During his childhood through early adulthood, he also witnessed the former’s occasional drunkenness and regular smoking. When he was a young adult, he worked as an office clerk, tutor, and houseboy. In late December 2015, he was diagnosed with Ménière's disease (MD).

Education

He graduated as high school valedictorian in 1997 and as a commended college student in 2013 with a Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) degree from the Mount Carmel College of Baler (MCCB), the oldest Catholic mission school in the province of Aurora.^[4]

Writing career

A member of a broken family in his early adolescence, he turned to poetry writing for consolation. His first published poem was the children’s poem "Why Do They Cut Me, Lord?" which appeared in Pambata in 1998. He wrote some poems for Sipag Pinoy from 2000 to 2002^[5] and for Liwayway between 2011 and 2012. Among the poems he wrote for Liwayway was the sonnet "En Su Incansable Labor"  ("On Her Tireless Work")^[6] included in the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) catalog in 2012.^[7] As a poet, he has a firm belief that "a hundred ideas and a hundred sentiments" can be expressed "even with a single poetic line."^[8] He wrote some essays for The Modern Teacher in 2005 and from 2016 to 2020. Among the essays he wrote for The Modern Teacher was "Is It Time for You to Say 'I Do'?—An Open Letter to a Young Student in Love."^[9][10]

Media portrayal

His life story was featured in the Maalaala Mo Kaya? (MMK) May 21, 2016 episode “Pasa” ("Bruise") aired on ABS-CBN,^[11][12] with child actor Raikko Mateo and actor, model, and video jockey Diego Loyzaga playing the lead role.^[13][14][15] A trending topic in the Philippines on Twitter (officially known as X since July 2023) at Rank 1 for over four hours before midnight of May 21, 2016,^[16][17][18] the MMK episode reached a 30.2% nationwide rating compared with the 15.0% and 1.5% ratings garnered by the Magpakailanman (MPK) episode (GMA 7) and the Wattpad Presents episode (TV5), respectively.^[19] ABS-CBN uploaded the full-length MMK episode “Pasa” on YouTube twice, first on January 19, 2023^[20] and then again on June 9, 2024.^[21] As of the last week of October 2024, the first upload garnered over five million views, while the second upload exceeded 131,000 views. Netizens also shared clips from the episode across various social media platforms, including Facebook, X (formerly called Twitter), and TikTok. MMK was the longest-running television (TV) drama anthology in the Philippines^[22][23][24] and in Asia,^[25][26] airing from May 15, 1991 to December 10, 2022,^[27][28] featuring weekly inspirational stories of celebrities and common people, with Filipina media executive, movie and TV producer, and actress Charo Santos-Conchio as host-narrator.

References

1. Liwayway. Muralla cor. Recolletos St., Intramuros, Manila: Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. May 16, 2011.
2. Roque, Nika (November 8, 2018). "Diego Loyzaga in hospital for attempted suicide". The Manila Times. 2nd Flr. Sitio Grande Bldg., 409 A. Soriano Ave., Intramuros, Manila. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
3. "'Aurora's inspirational poet' upclose". wordpress.com. April 30, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
4. Gonzales, Galo S. (2009). "Reminiscence". www.oocities.org. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
5. Morre, Eiryl (January 18, 2013). "Writers of Central Luzon and their literary works". prezi.com. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
6. Angara, Rommel N. (May 14, 2012). "En su incansable labor". Liwayway. Muralla cor. Recolletos St., Intramuros, Manila: Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. p. 2.
7. "En su incansable labor". wordpress.com. December 27, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
8. Angara, Rommel N. (July 23, 2020). "Transcend: Poetic insights". In Amon, Jay M. (ed.). Mask of zero positive: 20 positive inspiring stories amidst COVID-19. John 14:14 Book Publishing Ctr. pp. 71–73. ISBN 978-621-8208-36-0.
9. Angara, Rommel N. (February 2017). "Is it time for you to say 'I do'? (An open letter to a young student in love)". The Modern Teacher. Vol. 65, no. 9. 647 P. Paterno, Quiapo, 1001 Manila: In the Grade School, Inc. pp. 345–346. ISSN 2094-8042.
10. "Is it time for you to say 'I do'? (An open letter to a young student in love)". wordpress.com. March 10, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
11. "Batang lumaki sa isang ama at dalawang ina, tampok sa MMK". Balita News Tabloid. Muralla cor. Recolletos St., Intramuros, Manila. May 21, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
12. "Maalaala Mo Kaya? May 21, 2016 episode Pasa". www.imdb.com. May 21, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
13. Santiago, Ervin (May 21, 2016). "'1 ama, 2 ina' sa MMK episode ni Diego Loyzaga". Bandera. MRP Bldg., Mola St. cor. Pasong Tirad St., Makati City. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
14. "MMK episode on May 21, 2016 features Raikko Mateo & Diego Loyzaga as child caught between two mothers". attracttour.com. May 19, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
15. Mateo, Pilar (May 20, 2016). "Diego at Raikko, may dalawang ina". Hataw! D’yaryo ng Bayan. Rm. 103, National Press Club Bldg., Magallanes Drive, Intramuros, Manila. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
16. World News [@WorldTweetNews] (May 21, 2016). "Check trndrs theindiansubcontinent.com TwitterPH - Trends: #MMKKakaibangPamilya is setting trend in Philippines at rank 1 for duration 4h…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
17. TrendiePH - Trends [@TrendiePH] (May 21, 2016). "Trending Philippines 11:20 PM PHT 1. #MMKKakaibangPamilya 2. #PGT5FinalShowdown 3. #opmMegaSabado 4. #FangirlProblems" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
18. TrendiePH - Trends [@TrendiePH] (May 21, 2016). "#MMKKakaibangPamilya was a trending topic in Philippines at rank 1 for duration 4h:16m" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
19. "MMK scores more than double of Magpakailanman ratings". www.lionheartv.net. May 24, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
20. "Full episode MMK Pasa" (video). youtube.com. ABS Entertainment. January 19, 2023.
21. "Pasa Diego Loyzaga MMK" (video). youtube.com. ABS Entertainment. June 9, 2024.
22. Bolisay, Richard (September 9, 2016). "Charo Santos and her triumphant return to film in Lav Diaz's Ang Babaeng Humayo". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
23. "Charo Santos-Concio lectures on leadership, holds external launch of memoir". www.ust.edu.ph. University of the Philippines. August 18, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
24. "Major milestones for Charo Santos, Mike Enriquez air today". The Manila Times. 2nd Flr. Sitio Grande Bldg., 409 A. Soriano Ave., Intramuros, Manila. November 28, 2020. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
25. "25 years of Maalaala Mo Kaya?". Philippine Headline News Online. Manila. June 2, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
26. "(TV) GMA's Magpakailanman comeback failed to beat Asia's longest-running drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya?". rodmagaru.com. 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
27. Dana Cruz (November 22, 2022). "MMK set to air final episode after 31 years". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 3rd Flr. Media Resource Plaza Bldg., 2530 Mola cor. Pasong Tirad Sts., La Paz, 1204 Makati City. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
28. "End of an era: Maalaala Mo Kaya? to bid goodbye after 31 years". www.rappler.com. November 22, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2024.