• must be indigenous to the country,
• have potentials for teaching philosophy to children,
• profound enough to be able to elicit philosophical commentaries and
• inspires people to care for the environment.

Winning entries will be featured during a national conference and will be awarded with plaques of recognition. Cash prizes are: Php 5,000 for the first prize, Php 4,000 for the second prize, and Php 3,000 for the third prize. Stories may be written in Filipino or English. Deadline for entries will be on September 15, 2010. Examples of wisdom stories (these stories can no longer be submitted as entries to this contest) include Cristina Elizalde’s “Ang Bunga ng Kasakiman” and “Kung Bakit Pinapalo ang mga Lamok” from Letters from Palawan. Both stories are retold and retitled by Rainier Ibana in the following narratives:

Don Arcadio

Don Arcadio owns most of the properties in his hometown. But he wanted more land for himself and decided to acquire the ancestral lands of the indigenous peoples of the adjacent town. He then paid a visit to the leader of the tribe and asked if he can buy more properties from them. The chieftain graciously offered as much land as Don Arcadio could traverse for as long as he can come back within eight hours. Don Arcadio then did not waste time and ran as fast as he could in order to cover as much ground as he can. He ran and ran and did not even take his lunch. He already reached the summit of a mountain when he realized that he only had thirty minutes left before he can go back to where he came from. He then ran back as fast as he could until he ran out of breath, fell on his knees, and expired.

Kung bakit pinapalo ang mga lamok

Isang gabi, nagreklamo ang mga lamok sa haring matsing dahil hindi sila makatulog sa ingay ng mga palaka. Ipinatawag agad ng hari ang mga palaka upang magpaliwanag. Ang sabi ng mga palaka, nag-iingay sila dahil ninakaw ng mga susò ang kanilang bahay. Ipinatawag din ng hari ang mga susò subalit ayon sa mga susò, dinadala nila ang bahay ng mga palaka dahil baka sunugin ito ng mga alitaptap. Ipinatawag din ng hari ang mga alitaptap at ang sagot ng mga alitaptap, nagdadala sila ng mga sulò dahil kinakagat sila ng mga lamok.