Filipino literature is about to make its grandest entrance yet on the global stage.
The Philippines is set to become the Guest of Honor at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest and most influential publishing event in the world.
In an episode of The Chairman’s Report aired on Friday, Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) Secretary Dante “Klink” Ang II sat down with Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade of the National Book Development Board (NBDB) to discuss the Philippines’ landmark participation as Guest of Honor at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair and the transformative power of books to shape national identity and connect Filipino communities across the world.
“Books are not merely tools for learning, they are vessels of memory, imagination, and identity. They document our stories, express our values, and create a bridge between generations and across geographies,” Secretary Ang opened during the broadcast.
Charisse Aquino-Tugade explained the significance of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest and most prestigious trade fair for books and intellectual property rights.
“In the Frankfurt Book Fair, it’s quite different. It’s a right-selling fair, meaning different authors and publishers from different countries bring their products to the marketplace… and they sell the rights to different territories,” Aquino-Tugade said.
Highlighting the gravity of the country’s participation, Aquino-Tugade shared, “After Indonesia, about 10 years ago, was Guest of Honor, we would only be the second Southeast Asian country to be bestowed this great honor… We’re never front and center. And now is really the time we’re given the opportunity where there will be more space for us and our narratives in the different languages that we speak.”
The Philippine pavilion will span 2,000 square meters, showcasing a beautiful exhibition of the greatness of the Filipinos through literature and culture.
According to Aquino-Tugade, the delegation will include more than 120 creatives, authors, illustrators, editors, plus 50 publishing houses.
Key collaborators include the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), which will lead the cultural programming, while NBDB will take charge of literary curation.
“We, as the Philippine government, hold that space and we invite everyone to take part in sharing their voice, their unique voice,” Aquino-Tugade affirmed.
Beyond Frankfurt, Aquino-Tugade also gave insight into the growing national impact of the Book Nook, an NBDB-initiated community-based reading program.
“We realized that there are not enough Filipino books anywhere… So we wanted to create spaces that were easy for people to enter… Book Nooks are spaces filled with Filipino authored books. And it could be any space… where we fill it up with Filipino authored books.” Aquino-Tugade shared.
These spaces double as cultural hubs. “We teach art, we teach mommies how to read, we teach children everything, acting, so that they can just get into the space and be comfortable… and pick up a book as well,” she added.
Tugade shared that the project now includes about 1,200 titles which are regionally tailored to reflect local languages and cultures.
“By next year, I think we’re putting another 20 up. So by 2028, we’re looking at about 160, 170 Book Nooks,” she noted.
The impact is also felt globally, with Book Nooks already established in Korea and Michigan. “We, of course, have a diaspora because there’s so many Filipinos, one in six of our population live and work abroad. So you want to be able to cater to them as well.”
Secretary Ang, recognizing the potential of the program to serve Filipino communities overseas, raised the possibility of collaboration between the NBDB and the CFO’s network of 34 Philippine Schools Overseas. He expressed his support by offering to facilitate partnerships, stating the CFO’s ongoing efforts to bridge the diaspora with programs that promote Filipino identity and culture abroad.
This strategic partnership could further strengthen the NBDB’s goals, which Aquino-Tugade emphasized: “So the communities, actually, once you set up a Book Nook, kids are not only reading, and families are not only reading, but they’re also, they take part in the creation where they start creating their own stories. And that’s what we want, for people to start creating their own, in their own voice.”
With the global spotlight shining on Philippine literature in Frankfurt and cultural access expanding across local and international communities through the Book Nook initiative, the NBDB and CFO reaffirm their shared commitment to uplifting Filipino stories, wherever they are read, written, or imagined.
About the Commission on Filipinos Overseas
The CFO, established under Batas Pambansa Blg. 79, is dedicated to the welfare and empowerment of Filipinos permanently residing abroad. It is distinct from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), which primarily addresses the needs of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and other temporary migrants.
CFO works to strengthen the social, economic, and cultural ties of global Filipinos with their home country. Its primary constituents include Filipino permanent migrants, dual citizens, spouses and partners of foreign nationals, individuals in exchange visitor programs, au pair participants, and children of foreign nationals with Filipino roots.
Media and Communications Team
info@cfo.gov.ph | rkperalta@cfo.gov.ph
+63 960 579 0078 (Viber)
