Mothered: IITian Bags First Place in Mindanao Creative Non-Fiction Writing Tilt

by John Vincent Balustre



“Our culture was built on the stories of our mothers, and in every step of progress, we must never forget the tongue that took us here. Even in this era of digital storytelling, of fleeting attention spans, of histories rewritten by those in power, we must mother our stories. We must carry them, protect them, and pass them down. So whether we tell stories through poetry or protest, through lullabies or performances, through epics or essays—we are all mothers. We are all keeping stories alive.” (From the essay Mothering!: Keeping Stories Alive)


In his piece entitled “Mothering!: Keeping Stories Alive”, Samuel Harry Adlaon, a sophomore Philosophy student of Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), claimed the top prize in the English Category (College Level) of the second instalment of the Mindanao Creative Non-Fiction Writing Competition.


Launched last year, this annual contest aims to encourage emerging writers, particularly students, to craft compelling essays that reflect the region's diverse heritage and contemporary experiences. Held during National Literature Month, the event is organized by the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA), Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF), and National Book Development Board (NBDB) to promote regional storytelling through creative nonfiction.


Peering into the reconstruction of the term “Mothering” in the queer community, Adlaon explored the predominant existence of stories and history within the “crevices of our gestures”, apart from the literary texts.


According to him, our stories and history are woven into our senses, into everyday experiences like sounds, smells, gestures, and gossip. These sensory experiences are living archives, full of inherited meaning passed down through countless generations.


“We keep this history and culture alive by mothering it, not by the traditional biological “role” of mother, but to mother beyond gender. We are all mothers, we need to care for our stories. We must nurture them for the next generation,” Adlaon wrote.


This win was a surprise for him, considering that he was foreign to these types of competitions. Adlaon even shared how he came across the call for submission only through his newsfeed and gave it a shot.

“I was basically in a ‘there’s no harm in trying’ stage,” he stated. He encouraged writers alike to give it a try as well, even amid the doubt.


Adlaon is also the current Literary Head of CASSayuran, the official student publication of the College of Arts and Social Sciences.


Reflecting on his role and the piece, he shared how a practice within his responsibilities mirrors the points made in the essay.


“As the literary head of the publication, I find myself mothering in ways I never anticipated. Sa akong mga nakshies (bahala ug mostly nila kay ate nako), I didn’t know that when I tell them to be confident of what they wrote, that is mothering too.”


Adlaon’s win championed not only a literary flair but also advocacy in writing, deeply rooted in the College of Arts and Sciences’ (CASS) values that ground culture and arts.


“Mother the stories passed down from your generations. Whether it’s a recipe, a lullaby, a blanket, or a random trinket. We must keep our stories alive!”