2026 Philippine Book Festival
This March, Haring Ibon - Birds in Focus, Inc. participated in the 2026 Philippine Book Festival, from March 12-15 at SM Megamall. Compared to previous years of our participation in the PBF, this year was undoubtedly our biggest and most successful. We expanded our book library, held many meet-and-greet events throughout the PBF, and received a National Book Award for Vinz Pascua's Birds of Subic Bay!
During the first day of the PBF, we had two meet-and-greet events with Anya Santos-Uy and Emerson Sy.
Anya Santos-Uy is the author of Alpabeto ng Kalikasan and Pinky the Picky Butterfly. She also showcased her new book, Kalikasan sa Kung Saan-saan.
Emerson Sy is the author of A Naturalist's Guide to the Reptiles of the Philippines and one of the authors of A Naturalist's Guide to the Lizards os Southeast Asia.
During the second day of the PBF, we didn't have any special events, but we had a fun time showcasing several of our new books from Bayani Art, based in the USA, with their Bayani Books series, as well as our many children's books from Doc Gizelle and our field guides.
Day 3 was when we had a long lineup of events, with several of our authors scheduled for meet-and-greet sessions at the Birds in Focus, Inc. booth.
For our first meet-and-greet session, we have Cel Tungol, one of the co-authors of ALAY: Philippine Native Trees along Forest Trails and a key person behind the creation of ALAY: Philippine Native Trees at the Victor O. Ramos Arboretum.
Our second meet-and-greet session featured Maia Tañedo, one of the co-authors of A Naturalist's Guide to the Birds of the Philippines, which now has a third edition.
For our third and fourth sessions, we had Anya, once again, along with Marie Jocelle Mina, one of the co-authors of Endangered Bird Species of the Philippines, and our AR (Augmented Reality ) Designer for our future books.
Our fifth meet-and-greet session for the third day featured children's book author-illustrator and Filipina malacologist Dr. Gizelle Batomalaque. She has written several children's books on Philippine mollusks, including Nilalang sa Bakawan, A Tale of Two Snails, and Aming Munting Sikreto.
Our final session for the third day of the PBF featured Vinz Pascua, coming straight from the 43rd National Book Awards, showcasing his award-winning book, Birds of Subic Bay.
Although Day 3 was jam-packed with meet-and-greet sessions, our final day at the PBF had Maia and Vinz manning the booth alongside the BIF staff, which led to impromptu book-signing events for both authors and merchandise sales.
This year's Philippine Book Fest has been a wild ride for the entire Haring Ibon - Birds in Focus, Inc. team, and it has been our most successful book fest yet! Thank you so much to everyone who came by, picked up several books, and had them signed by our authors. We hope to bring in more titles in the coming years and showcase the wonders of Philippine wildlife at many more book fairs!