By Gabriela Baron
This year's Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature had been scrapped due to coronavirus concerns.
Organizer Carlos Palanca Foundation posted the announcement on its website.
The Palanca Awards was established in 1950 to inspire and recognize Filipino writers.
In the 1960s, the awards committee started to fund the publication of Palanca Award-winning plays. Among its hall of famers are Filipino poet Cirilio Bautista, fictionist and Palihang Rogelio Sicat founder Reuel Aguila, and the late screenwriter Manuel Buising.
The Palanca Awards is the longest most prestigious literary contest in the Philippines.