Francisco Sionil Jose

Francisco Sionil Jose, has been called a Philippine national treasure. He was introduced to literature in public school and later at the University of Santo Tomas. He is using English rather than our National Language.
His first novel is "The Pretenders".
His works are available in 28 languages. He has been awarded numerous fellowships and awards, most notable being the 1980 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts, the most prestigious award of its kind in Asia, and most recently, and the 2004 Pablo Neruda Centennial Award from Chile.

In June of 2001, Jose was awarded the prestigious title of Philippine's National Artist for Literature in an official ceremony at Malacañang.