Makata ng Taon 2014 winners announced during Araw ni Balagtas celebration

The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino on Wednesday awarded the winners of the 51st Talaang Ginto: Makata ng Taon, a poetry contest sponsored by the government, at the Jose Rizal Institute in Orion, Bataan.

The event occurred during the Lakbay Balagtas, a literary pilgrimage in celebration of the 226th birth anniversary of Francisco Balagtas, known for his historic masterpiece, the poem "Florante at Laura."

"Tatalakayin ng tulang ipapasa ang isang malaki at makabagong problema at kung paano kikilos ang isang makabagong bayani upang lutasin ito," KWF's Jomar Cañega said before announcing the winners.

The winners

Garnering third place is "Isa Munang Patalastas," written by John Enrico Torralba, a professor at De La Salle University and Miriam College. Torralba also won at the Talaang Ginto in 2010, 2011, and 2013, and the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature and 2002, 2011, and 2012.

Mark Angeles, a GMA News Online contributor, won second place for his "Digital Bayani" poem.

Angeles has won several awards, including KWF's Mananaysay ng Taon in 2013 and the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature for the same year. He was also the Philippines' lone representative at the 2013 International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in the United States.

Meanwhile, Ezzard Ramos Galang—a teacher, a painter, a sculptor, a writer, and a poet—won first place for his "Sundayan: Sa Dilim Isinulat ang Liwanag ng Kanilang Pangalan" piece.

Gilbang's mother-in-law, Lennyvelle Rona, received the award for him. — VC, GMA News