Booksilog

( PROJECT VINTA )

On February 20, 1975, Primitivo Mijares, former president of the National Press Club and former chairman of the Media Advisory Council, defected from the Marcos regime. A year later, he published his book, "The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos," an exposé on the Marcos presidency.
Mijares was a campus journalist during his high school days. In 1950, he became the youngest editor of Baguio's biggest newspaper then, the Baguio Midland Courier. The following year, he became a full-fledged reporter for the Manila Chronicle. He developed a close relationship with President Marcos when he covered the president's activities for the said newspaper. He soon became Marcos' chief propagandist, writing articles aimed to convince Filipinos that martial law was necessary to reform the society and to fight against the communist insurgency. He even wrote a press release about the "ambush" of Juan Ponce Enrile, Defense Secretary of the Marcos administration, before the actual event happened. The ambush pushed Marcos to declare Martial Law.
When the Philippines Daily Express reopened after the declaration of Martial Law, Marcos selected Mijares as the newspaper's presidential reporter. He ran for the position of president of the National Press Club (NPC) and won unopposed. As president of the NPC, he automatically became the chairman of the Media Advisory Council. He was paid well for his services, and his family lived the good life.
Soon enough, Mijares began seeing the dark side of the Marcos regime. In an interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal published on July 5, 1975, he claimed, "Over a series of months, I got a series of instructions to allow his cronies to take over certain television and newspaper establishments... The previous owners have not been paid one single centavo of compensation... I felt guilty allowing all Marcos' friends to take over for nothing." He also claimed that Marcos ordered him to investigate Arnold Zeitlin, an American journalist, on the charge of violation of ethics of journalism, but that the charge had no basis. Marcos singled out Zeitlin because the latter was writing articles that were uncomplimentary to him and his regime. An outcry from the American press forced Marcos to back down.
In September 1974, Mijares was sent to the United States to set up a meeting between Imelda Marcos and the Philippine refugees in the US. At the last second, Mrs. Marcos backed out. Feeling used by the Marcos couple, he decided not to return to the Philippines. On June 17, 1975, he appeared before a US House International Relations subcommittee to testify claims of bribery, corruption and fraud against Marcos and his administration. He also claimed that on the night prior to his testimony, Marcos asked him not to continue with it. Cabinet Secretary Guillermo De Vega then offered him $50,000 as a bribe. The next day, Philippine Consul General Trinidad Alconel informed Mijares that the bribe had been increased to $100,000. Mijares rejected the bribe.
In 1976, he published his book, "The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos," which exposed the excesses of the Marcos dictatorship. The book was banned in the Philippines while Marcos was still in power.
In January 1977, Mijares was last seen boarding a flight from Guam to the Philippines. After that, he was never seen or heard from again. In the same year, his youngest son, Luis Manuel, was kidnapped, tortured and killed. The 16-year old's mangled body was found two weeks after his abduction.

Darwin Medallada

2020 has been a tough year, but it has also given us a host of brilliant books to read. Some of the finest fictional works of this bumpy year – 'Hamnet' by Maggie O'Farrell, winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020; 'Interior Chinatown' by Charles Yu, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction 2020; and 'Shuggie Bain' by Douglas Stuart, winner of the Booker Prize 2020 – will be up for grabs in our new upload on Sunday, December 13, starting at 7PM.

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Diversify your bookshelf with South Korean comic artist Yeon-sik Hong and his first two graphic novels, 'Uncomfortably Happily' and 'Umma's Table,' in a planned trilogy on life's varied beginnings and endings. These manhwa and other graphic books will be available in our new upload on December 13, Sunday, starting at 7PM. See you on our Instagram page ! 👫🐱🇰🇷

Revel in these playful, magical realist works of Tomihiko Morimi, which also inspired the acclaimed animated films of the same names.
These and other light novels will be included in our new upload on December 13, Sunday, starting at 7PM. See you on our Instagram page ! 🌛🚶‍♀🐧🇯🇵

If you are tired of the male gaze in Japanese literature, try Mieko Kawakami's 'Breasts and Eggs' -- a book that is unabashedly written for women, by a woman, a story of what it means to be a woman in Japan and beyond.

This newly translated feminist novel, hailed as 'breathtaking' by no less than Haruki Murakami (a writer who has struggled with three-dimensional female characters), will be available in our new upload on December 13, Sunday, starting at 7PM.

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Step into Junji Ito's twisted world, a world with no escape from endless horror and terror of the unknown! These masterpieces by the legendary horror mangaka will be up for grabs on our new upload this July 5, Sunday, starting at 8pm! Follow us on Instagram ! 😱

Check out these hardcover editions of Karl Ove Knausgaard's "Seasons" quartet -- an achingly beautiful collection of essays and letters, framed as a 'lexicon for an unborn child,' and dedicated to the youngest of his four children. See you on our Instagram page this July 5, Sunday, 8pm for these and other essay collections! 👨‍👧

This year's winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction -- "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead, who is only the fourth author ever to win the award twice -- retells a brutal, buried story of systemic racism and abuse. Get this and other essential reads on our new upload this July 5, Sunday, starting at 8pm! See you on our Instagram page ! ✊🏿

We're back with our first upload of the year: July 5, Sunday, starting at 8PM!

We've got a 'lot' to offer, including Bryan Washington's enthralling literary debut about marginalized communities, communities of color, and q***r communities of color. Get this copy of "Lot: Stories" and other great works by black and q***r writers next week! See you on our Instagram page ! ✊🏿🏳‍🌈

Kung na-commit natin ang mass testing sa POGO, bakit hindi sa mga Pilipino?

Get crushed by Richard Siken's powerful debut collection of poems driven by love and obsession. This will be available in our new upload on Sunday, December 15, starting at 8PM! See you on Instagram page !🎄🎁🎉✊🌈

Find these editions of Andre Aciman's intriguing sequel to the sensational "Call Me By Your Name" in our last book upload of the year, December 15, Sunday, at 8PM! Check out our Instagram page ! See you! 🎄🎁🎉

Relive the brilliance of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" -- a film that bends your mind and breaks your heart at the same time! This copy of the film's screenplay, which also includes some 'bonus' features, will be up for grabs in our new upload on December 15, Sunday, at 8PM! Check out our Instagram page ! See you! 🎁🎄🎬🔄🌞⚫🚫🙇‍♂

Explore how losing yourself can be a way of finding yourself in Alexander Chee's "How to Write an Autobiographical Novel." This memoir in essays will be available on our new upload this September 29, Sunday, at 8PM. See you on our Instagram page ()! ✍️📚

Pay attention, be astonished, tell about it: These poetry collections by the much-loved Mary Oliver will be available on our new upload this September 29, Sunday, at 8PM. See you on our Instagram page () 🌱🌹🐴🌞

These gorgeously written collections of essays by the contemporary master of nostalgia, Andre Aciman, will be available on our new upload this September 29, Sunday, at 8PM. See you on our Instagram page ()! ✍️💬📚

Gaze into the "Trick Mirror" -- Jia Tolentino's dazzling debut collection that reflects a range of topics but is all angled in some way toward the self. This will be available on our new upload this September 29, Sunday, at 8PM. See you on our Instagram page ()! 👁🤳📚

Get these compelling and introspective essay collections, which criss-cross a variety of subjects, on our new upload this September 29, Sunday, at 8PM. See you on our Instagram page ()!🦉✍️🤪🤗📚

Darwin, dumating na ba yung sobre?

Resist like it's 1984. 🇵🇭✊

This classic dystopia/satire/prophecy/political thesis/work of science fiction/psychological horror/love story by the great George Orwell will be available in our new upload schedule on July 07, Sunday, at 8PM! See you on our Instagram page ()✊

Good Morning, Darwin, musta na?

Get swept into a strange and wild world of magic, monsters, and flawed heroes with this African epic fantasy. It will be included on our next Instagram upload (), April 21, Easter Sunday, at 8PM. 📚⏰🐰