Award-winning poet Fred Bunao writes 30

CHICAGO — Award-winning Filipino poet Fred Burce Bunao died in his sleep Friday in Los Angeles in California, according to the news website Mabuhay Radio. He was 84. The reason for Bunao’s death is unclear, but according to the site, Bunao was already sickly and was showing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease prior to his death. Bunao is survived by his wife, Fe, and nine children. Born of Bicolano parents on August 3, 1926 in Intramuros in Manila, Bunao worked as a copywriter for the newspaper Manila Times in the early 1970s, just before the declaration of martial law in the country. An English Literature major at the University of the Philippines, where he also became a staff member of the school publication Philippine Collegian, Bunao went on to write fine poetry, winning the Palanca Award for Poetry in English in 1969. Bunao is best remembered for coining the satirical slogan, popular among anti-dictatorship activists during the Marcos regime: “Walang tinapay sa mesa kung hindi aalsa ang masa (There will be no bread on the table if the masses will not revolt)." It was an effective play at double meanings, with aalsa ang masa equally meaning “the dough will rise" in the traditional baker’s sense, and “the masses will rise up" in the political activist sense.—JMA/JV, GMANews.TV