UMPIL honors Howie Severino with lifetime achievement award

The Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL) honored journalist Howie Severino with a Gawad Balagtas.

The Gawad Balagtas is a lifetime achievement award given to Filipino writers by UMPIL, the country's largest organization of Filipino writers.

Howie said it's the first time he has been recognized for his writing.

"Bagamat nakilala ako bilang dokumentarista sa telebisyon, na ngayo'y senior citizen na sa industriya, sa loob-loob ko ang turing ko sa sarili ay isang manunulat at kuwentista na nagkaroon lang ng hanapbuhay sa telebisyon," Howie said in his acceptance speech.

"Ngayon lang ako kinilala ng isang samahan ng mga dakilang manunulat," he added.

He also credited his wife, Ipat Luna, who is from Batangas, for giving him the courage to write in the Filipino language. He said he has also written in Baybayin.

He also shared that his father won the Mulry Award for literary excellence in 1956.

"Naaalala ko noong ako'y musmos pa at alam ko nang wala akong kinabukasan bilang basketbolista o mang-aawit, halos maiyak-iyak kong sabihin sa aking ama na tila wala akong talento."

His father, however, said that he has writing talent and helped him become a writer.

His own son, Alon, is a creative writing major and attended the awarding ceremony. Howie also had a message for him.

"Sana ang lahat ng mga katulad mong may talento ay mamulat sa tungkulin na ang pagsusulat ay isang banal na misyon at hindi lamang sining, at ito'y lalong humihirap at madalas mapanganib pa," he said.

"Lagi nating tandaan ang turo sa atin ni Padre Ferriols dito sa Ateneo: 'Huwag mong tanungin kung mahirap, tanungin mo kung mahalaga,'" he said.

Howie's documentaries appear on "I-Witness" on GMA.

Aside from that, Howie has "The Howie Severino Podcast," which reached 1 million plays on various podcast platforms in January 2023. It was also named Spotify's "Best New Podcasts" of 2021 and has consistently been among the top podcasts in the Philippines since its launch.

The original podcast, which is produced by GMA News and Public Affairs, features insightful conversations with personalities from various industries.

—Kimberly Tsao/MGP, GMA Integrated News