Collegeof Arts and Sciences - Herdy La. Yumul, a social sciences instructor of thiscollege, led winners of an annual feature writing competition in receivingtheir certificates and cash prizes during the awarding program, May 19, at theConvention Hall of the Philippine Ports Authority in the City of San Fernando,La Union.

 â€œGagangaya tao, naidumduma nga aramid ken ugali (Ordinary peson, extraordinary acts andattitude)” was this year’s theme of the contest sponsored by the Timpuyogdagiti Mannurat iti Iluko iti Filipinas, and funded by Fele Mann, a Filipinacivic leader in Darwin, Australia.

 Rankingnext to Yumul were Nhia Paddayuman, a wheel-chair-bound young writer fromOscariz, Ramon, Isabela; and Mayvelyn Gapuzan of Vintar, Ilocos Norte.Participants came from various regions.

 Yumul,also an opinion columnist of The Ilocos Times, said that while he haswritten essays in both English and Filipino which have appeared in variouspublications, both in print and online, “Ti Babai nga Aglaklako iti Likmot tiKapitolio” was his very first venture in Iluko.The piece is about theheartwarming life story of Matilda “Gretchen” Mandac, a vendor who lived at theIlocos Norte Provincial Capitol grounds for more than three decades.

 Theyoung writer from Laoag City has been consistently recognized by the PhilippineBlog Awards as one of the top social commentary bloggers in the country. He isalso the author of the groundbreaking book The He(a)rd Mentality whichwas published last year. In addition to his teaching duties at MMSU, he servesas chief of the CMR Print Media Section.

 Becauseof Yumul’s article, government agencies and private individuals have extendedlivelihood and housing assistance to Mandac.