Making art is never a guarantee. It demands time, nerve, and the willingness to keep going even when conditions say otherwise. Armed with pen, palette, and lens, Lasallian student-artists from across the country answered that call as the Malate Literary Folio (MLF) staged the 41st DLSU Annual Awards for Literature (LITAW) and the 16th DLSU Annual Awards for Visual Arts (VISAW) to life last June 13 at the Natividad Fajardo-Rosario Gonzalez Auditorium. The annual competition welcomed student-artists from Lasallian schools nationwide, featuring works across English and Filipino literary categories alongside visual arts, each carrying its own narrative of persistence.
Each submission underwent rigorous evaluation by a distinguished panel of judges with expertise in their creative fields. The resulting roster of awardees showcased the diversity of voices emerging from Lasallian campuses, with winning works spanning intimate poetry, speculative fiction, and visual narratives that grappled with memory, identity, and everyday Filipino life.
Below is the complete list of this year’s awardees and the distinguished jury that evaluated each category:
Poetry
Wolf Kid 3000 by Josh Lorenz Baylon (III, ABELS)
Poet and educator Vince Agcaoili, a recipient of both the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Poetry and the Maningning Miclat Award for Poetry, served as judge for the Poetry category.
Tula
Kraken at Kawalan by Josh Lorenz Baylon (III, ABELS)
Filipino poetry entries were evaluated by Enrique Villasis, a writer and television scriptwriter whose works have been recognized by the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards and the Linangan ng Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA) journal, one of the country’s foremost publications dedicated to Filipino poetry.
Essay
On Rules I Cannot Unlearn by Qashrina Musa (III, ABLIM-CW)
The Essay category was reviewed by Rolando Tolentino, a faculty member of the University of the Philippines Film Institute and former dean of the UP College of Media and Communication. His body of work bridges Philippine literature, popular culture, cinema, and creative nonfiction.
Sanaysay
Habilin by Amanda Llamasares (Grade 12, ABM)
Maikling Kwento
Sulo, Sinag, Sikat by Amanda Llamasares (Grade 12, ABM)
Edgar Samar evaluated both the Sanaysay and Maikling Kwento categories. An associate professor at Ateneo de Manila University, Samar is the author of several acclaimed novels, including the award-winning Janus Silang series, and formerly served as President of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Short Story
Lane at First Light: A Mythological Reality by Amanda Llamasares (Grade 12, ABM)
Entries in the Short Story category were assessed by Camillo Villanueva, a writer, board member of the Filipino Critics Circle, and co-editor of the forthcoming anthology Reclaiming Pasay.
One-Act Play
Accompaniment of Memory by Gwenevie Bayaua (V, ABLIM-CW)
Playwright Eljay Deldoc judged the One-Act Play category. A three-time First Prize winner at the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, Deldoc’s debut collection of plays was also recognized as a finalist at both the National Book Awards and the Best First Book Award.
Screenplay (English)
Altar in the Mist by Sistine Tamila Basa (ABLIM-CW ’26)
The Screenplay (English) category was overseen by Shirley Lua, associate professor of literature and cultural studies at De La Salle University, who also serves as a board member of the Filipino Critics Circle, and a member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino.
Digital Art
Bus Ride Home by Gwenevie Bayaua (V, ABLIM-CW)
Traditional Art
Salt and Butterflies by Mitzi Ramiah Garcia (MS-CHEM)
Award-winning illustrator and senior art director Sofia Hurtado evaluated both the Digital Art and Traditional Art categories, drawing from years of professional experience in illustration and visual storytelling across traditional and digital media.
Photography
Catwalk by Jimbo Hoylar from De La Salle University–Dasmariñas
Photography submissions were reviewed by freelance multimedia journalist and photographer Geela Garcia, whose work focuses on women, food sovereignty, and the environment. This year’s entries demonstrated photography’s ability to move beyond documentation, using the camera to reveal deeper truths about Filipino life, identity, and lived experience.
Against the odds, still creating
Art does not always arrive under ideal circumstances, but it arrives nonetheless. It is written in stolen hours, painted through uncertainty, and captured in the slim window between doubt and deadline. The student-writers and artists who submitted their entries from Lasallian schools across the Philippines came to LITAW-VISAW 2026 with that same understanding, bringing work that was precise, vulnerable, and fully committed to its craft.
At a time when artificial intelligence and an increasingly uncertain sociopolitical landscape continue to cloud the future of human creativity, the decision to gather and honor young artists carried a weight beyond the usual. The pieces recognized this year—across mediums and campuses—were proof that creativity finds its way. LITAW-VISAW 2026 was a culmination of discarded drafts, countless revisions, and submissions that persevered, because a finished work is never just for the artist. Every work of art, in all forms and mediums, is ultimately meant to be shared with the people it speaks for.
