National Artist F. Sionil José to be laid to rest at Libingan ng mga Bayani
By John Legaspi
As part of the honor bestowed on him as a National Artist, literary master Francisco Sionil José will be laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Jan. 18, 2022, Tuesday.
According to a post by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), there will be a mass held for the late artist before the inurnment at 10 a.m., followed by the State Funeral. With the current COVID-19 situation of the country, the inurnment will be by invitation-only, but the funeral will be streamed live on the CCP’s Facebook page.
Born in Rosales, Pangasinan, José’s started writing since the ‘60s. One of his noted works is the “Rosales Saga” novel series. The five-novel masterpiece “captured the sweep of Philippine history while simultaneously narrating the lives of generations of the Samsons whose personal lives intertwine with the social struggles of the nation,” as the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA) described. Its influence spanned beyond the Philippine borders that it has been translated into more than 20 languages.

As a prolific writer, José also took home various recognition including Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Centennial Award in 1999, France’s Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 2000, and the Pablo Neruda Centennial Award in Chile in 2004. Topping it all was the National Artist for Literature title awarded to him in 2001.
“What is it that you love the most? When I say love the most, what it is that you are willing to sacrifice your time, perhaps even your life for?” he said to the Manila Bulletin Lifestyle team in 2019 at his Solidaridad Bookshop. “If you really want to write, no matter how much negative criticism you get, nothing can stop you.”
On Jan. 6, 2022, José died in his sleep at the Makati Medical Center, the day before his angioplasty, at age 97.