Message of Senator Loren Legarda“Pagtatahip | Winnowing | Windsichten”

Being this year’s Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, the Philippines is at a moment where our narratives, voices, and ingenuity gather and resonate in every listening ear and receptive mind.

Within this landscape of dialogue, openness, and reflection, I welcome you to “Pagtatahip | Winnowing | Windsichten,” an installation created by MeLê Yamomo, Nico D’Alemann, and Jay Yamomo, which brings into focus something deeply familiar to every Filipino.

In the Philippines, we have a tradition called “pagtatahip,” the careful sifting of rice, separating the grains that nourish us from the chaff. In this global gathering of ideas, we have sifted through our stories, selected carefully what to keep, what to honor, and what to carry forward into new forms of understanding.

This exhibition is an experience that invites us to sift through the fragments of history, colonial archives, ancestral echoes, and contemporary sounds, asking us to listen deeply to every grain, every voice, and every echo of our past. Just as pagtatahip prepares rice so that families may sit together and share a meal, this installation prepares a communal space for us all to remember, feel, understand, and witness intertwined narratives, emotions, and voices.

As the visionary behind our country’s role as Guest of Honour in this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse, I believe there is no better way to celebrate our journey than with a quiet, attentive act of sifting, of honoring what endures, inviting new connections, and embracing the many stories that make us who we are.

I invite you to let your curiosity step into this space, be inspired to listen more deeply to the sounds, memories, and possibilities not just within these walls, but in the world beyond, where even the faintest echoes can carry new meaning and hope.