PH Guest of Honour opens at Frankfurt Book Fair; Legarda reclaims Rizal’s legacy, declares literary power on global stage

The 77th Frankfurt Book Fair 2025 in Germany officially opened on Tuesday, October 14, with the Philippines as Guest of Honour (GOH). Senator Loren Legarda gave a keynote speech that highlighted history, inspired cultural pride, and showcased the strength of Philippine imagination to the global literary community.

Legarda’s speech traced the revolutionary journey of Dr. Jose Rizal through Germany, his studies in Heidelberg, his poetic reflections along the Neckar, and the completion of Noli Me Tangere in Wilhelmsfeld.

“It was not arms the colonizers feared most, but ideas,” she said. “Ideas that roused a nation and ignited the first revolution in Southeast Asia.”

Legarda, the visionary behind the Philippines Guest of Honour program and Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts, cast the initiative as both literary homecoming and a cultural awakening. “Ten years ago, I imagined this moment,” she shared.

“Knowing what I have always believed, that Filipino voices belong among the world’s greatest literatures.”

The Philippine delegation, composed of over 400 writers, publishers, artists, and cultural workers, is presenting hundreds of titles and dozens of installations, performances, and conversations throughout the week, which runs until October 19.

The theme, “The imagination peoples the air,” drawn from Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, anchors the country’s presence in a tradition of literature that provokes and liberates.

The Philippine Guest of Honour is featured in three lively spaces. The GOH Pavilion in Forum 1 offers literature and cultural programs. The Philippine Stand in Hall 5.1 A95 & B95 and Asia Stage in Hall 5.1 A75 focus on sharing stories through rights and co-publishing. The Comics Stand in Hall 6.1 highlights Filipino visual storytelling.

Legarda addressed urgent global issues. “Imagination must not be gentle; it is a necessary fire,” the senator declared. “Fire that burns away indifference. Fire that lights the dark corners where injustice hides.”

The four-term senator further invoked the power of literature to confront tyranny, awaken conscience, and build solidarity across borders. “We return to the threatening truths for which Rizal gave his life: that literature must provoke the conscience and ignite courage.”

Legarda closed with a call to collective action: “If one book written by a Filipino on German soil awakened a nation thousands of miles away, imagine what we, together, can awaken today.”

Full event details are available on the official website: philippinesfrankfurt2025.com. (30)