Carmen Guerrero-Napkil writes 30
CARMEN GUERRERO-NAPKIL, whose distinguished, decades-spanning work in journalism and creative nonfiction earned her widespread acclaim as one of the Philippines’ best essayists, died on Monday at the age of 96.
In a text message to historian and Manila Times columnist Michael Charleston “Xiao” Chua that he shared on Facebook, Guerrero-Napkil’s eldest child, writer and former Tourism Secretary Gemma Cruz Araneta, said her mother died at 1:30 a.m.
The cause of death is yet to be disclosed.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) saluted her in a Facebook post, saying her “works in Philippine history and culture, and her contributions to the development of” the agency, “will live on and serve as a guide for succeeding generations of Filipinos.”
Guerrero-Napkil served as NHCP chairman from 1967 to 1971.
Chua called her the “Grand Old Lady of Public History” and “La Grande Babaylan of Philippine Letters and Public Service.”
“As a public historian, she was the woman who carried on the torch from Mariano Ponce, José Rizal, Epifanio de los Santos, and José P. Santos, and inspired many others to follow in the path of bringing history closer to the people with her beautiful prose and impeccable research,” he wrote on Facebook.
Poet and essayist Danton Remoto described her as “a towering figure in Philippine literature… whose iconic books shaped the way I think and write.”
Journalist Pennie Azarcon dela Cruz wrote on Facebook that “Philippine literature lost another icon,” adding that she and the late fictionist and essayist Kerima Polotan served as “the template of my writer’s dream.”
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