VSU Philo prof wins Best Book in Philosophy at the 43rd National Book Awards

Jerry D. Imbong, a faculty member of the Visayas State University-Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences (VSU-DPSS), won Best Book in Philosophy at the 43rd Annual National Book Awards for his title, Towards a Mindanawon/Lumad Philosophy: The Filipino Philosophy of Bro. Karl Gaspar, CSsR, under the Davao-based Aletheia Printing and Publishing House, according to an official announcement by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Filipino Critics Circle last February 14, 2026. 

The citation reads: “Jerry Imbong shows the hermeneutics of Bro. Karl in forging a Filipino philosophy steeped in the tradition of that ‘Philosophy begins in wonder’—and that wonder has existential/social consequences for our Lumad compatriots in the geographical space we call Mindanao. This slim book offers substantial insights into how the wisdom of our Lumad countrymen is a wellspring of indigenous values in the quest for Filipino Philosophy, integrating our identity as authentically Filipino and how this identity bespeaks of a worldview that impacts the history of ideas within and beyond the Philippines. More than giving the status questions and situation of Filipino Philosophy, the excellence of this work lies in providing a glimpse of the humanity, grace, sagacity, commitment, and dignity of Bro. Karl as a philosopher in action.”

Cultural critic and literary scholar, E. San Juan, Jr., likewise expressed hope that this book “will kindle a prairie fire of debate, argumentation, and inquiry into the neoliberal legitimization of our neocolonial predicament.” 

Bro. Gaspar himself commended the book, saying “its philosophical utility extends beyond the geographical boundaries of Mindanao…. By using the Mindanawon/Lumad perspective as an alternative to Manila-centric philosophical narratives, it neutralizes and de-centers dominant philosophical discourses by highlighting the local, the periphery and the marginal.” 

Originally a dissertation submitted to the Department of Philosophy at De La Salle University, where Dr. Imbong took his Masters in Philosophical Research and Ph.D. in Philosophy, the book is part of the Aletheia Philosophy Series which includes titles such as Paolo A. Bolaños’ Thought-pieces: Nietzschean Reflections on Anti-foundationalism, Ethics, and Politics and Jeffry Ocay’s Critical Theory at the Margins: Applying Herbert Marcuse’s Model of Critical Social Theory to the Philippines.

Asked on what drew him to study the works of Bro. Karl Gaspar, Dr. Imbong said, “Bro. Karl Gaspar does not treat Philosophy as an abstract system of absolute truths but as a lived, embodied, and historically situated reality. As a scholar engaged in sociocultural research and heritage studies, I found in his work a methodological model that bridges academic rigor with community engagement.” 

He added: “Bro. Gaspar challenges dominant Western epistemologies and invites Filipino scholars to take local histories, rituals, and spiritualities seriously as sources of theory and not merely as objects of study…. He exemplifies a scholar who does not remain within the confines of the university but enters into dialogue and solidarity with marginalized communities.” 

Part of that dialogue involves what Dr. Imbong refers to as “the inextricable link between ethical action and social justice.” He noted: “Lumad ethics asserts that ethical life should be divorced from environmental activism. In today’s socio-political and economic landscape, ancestral lands are continually being threatened by extractive mining activities…. There is an intimate connection between the Filipino people’s oppression and marginalization and the ecological degradation of the natural environment.”

“This win,” he maintained, “is an affirmation of Bro. Karl Gaspar and the Filipino people’s decades of relentless, unwavering involvement in the Lumad peoples’ struggle for land, life, justice, and self-determination. In the end, it is not about personal grandeur but about how we, as members of academia, contribute to the well-being of the Filipino people and the attainment of the common good.” 

Dr. Imbong’s extensive work in instruction, research, and extension is deeply entrenched in the philosophy of Bro. Karl Gaspar, stressing on dialogic, decolonial, and participatory modes of engagement that bring about social justice and societal transformation. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Imbong, alongside  his teaching in the Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (AB PHILO) program, continues in his intellectual labors along the lines of climate justice, indigenous philosophy, discourse analysis, and epistemic injustice, setting his sights on finishing a second doctorate, this time in Moral Theology, with a dissertation on just peace in the context of the Lumad concept of ‘Pangayaw.’

It is noteworthy that this is the second time a DPSS faculty member received the National Book Award. Previously, Dr. Guirado C. Fernandez, Jr., together with Dr. Marlito Jose M. Bande of the then Institute of Tropical Ecology and Environmental Management (ITEEM) and former director of the VSU Biodiversity Center, garnered the Best Book in Science award, for their title The Role of Rainforestation and Conservation in the Island Municipality of Pilar, Camotes, Cebu in 2023. 

Dr. Imbong’s book is one among 30 titles that stood out of 385 titles across 30 categories and various languages that will be recognized in the National Book Award awarding ceremonies on March 14, 2026, at the Megatrade Hall, SM Megamall, in time for another NBDB event, the Philippine Book Festival.

This article is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 4: Quality Education; SDG No. 10: Reduced Inequalities; SDG No. 13: Climate Action; and SDG No. 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

• Prev
• Next