Jerry Gracio

Jerry B. Gracio (born July 6, 1969), also credited in his early career as Jerry Arcega-Gracio, is a Filipino poet, screenwriter, author, politician, and political activist. Recognized for his substantial contributions to contemporary Philippine literature and cinema, he is a recipient of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature, the S.E.A. Write Award, and a FAMAS Award for Best Screenplay. He previously served as the Commissioner for the Samar-Leyte languages at the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) until his resignation in 2020.

Literary and film career Gracio is known for his extensive body of literary work spanning poetry and creative non-fiction. Under the name Jerry Arcega-Gracio, he won Palanca Awards in 2002 for his Filipino short story Isda and his poetry collection Sinaunang Pag-ibig sa Apoy. In 2017, the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino honored him with the title "Makata ng Taon" (Poet of the Year). His other notable screenplay credits include Santa Santita (2004), Imoral (2008), and the 2010 musical film Emir. He won the FAMAS Award for Best Screenplay in 2018.

In August 2022, when the KWF issued a memorandum banning five "subversive" books from schools and libraries, Gracio publicly accused the KWF board of "red-tagging" their fellow academics, warning that such censorship signaled the "death of scholarship" in the country. He later ran as a party-list representative for the Kapamilya ng Manggagawang Pilipino in the 2022 elections. He framed his candidacy as a "citizen's revolt" and positioned himself as "anti-trapo" (traditional politician).

Selected works