NAME: ____________________________ YEAR AND SECTION: _______________

Learning Activity Sheet In 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
Module 3: Contexts of 21st Century Philippine Literature from the Regions

I. read the selection, and, analyze its biographical, linguistic, and sociocultural contexts.
TRIBUTE: A Husband’s Letter on Mother’s Day
By: Dr. Maugan P. Mosaid – May 9, 2020

MATALAM, North Cotabato (MindaNews / 09 May) — Amidst the COVID 19 plague, I haven’t
forgotten that this Sunday, May 10, is Mothers’ Day. Lest these thoughts be overtaken by deeply
thinking of what more to write so that the might of the pen shall be amongst the weapons we use
against this malicious virus, I am writing this fervor now so that it reaches my wife, mother to our
four children, on time. May this passionate and dedicated inscription of love inspire all mothers on
their Great Day.
________________
My Dearest Wife,

I knew your great departed Father (and also your Mother) did not say a word on our wedding day.
But, as I was marching to meet you, I saw his eyes moving fast, as if switching between “approval”
and “disapproval” until he buckled down to the reality that his youngest daughter will wed anyway.
I am sorry, but I knew pretty well that, that was not his dream wedding for you, whose name,
Jasmine, resembles that of a beautiful and sweet flower.

From now on (as I believe I have been), I will dedicate my life to making you happy. That is the only
way I shall be able to make up for the absence of a grand wedding and reception party that you so
deserve. I am sorry that I only had my love to offer when I married you. You would have deserved a
better man which was quite easy to come your way considering your beauty, simplicity and status in
life.

When I was courting you, I chanced upon some of your suitors. Some were taller than me, others
were more handsome than me, and all of them were far better off in life than me. All of us were
competing for your love. But you chose me over them. Your having chosen me was the greatest
challenge I took in every way, to strive for the better and be the best I can be as we raise and
nurture a family.

These are some living proofs to what I have been saying: if I endeavored to earn a college degree, it
was because I didn’t want to see you suffering with me due to joblessness, and maybe,
hopelessness. If I managed to climb up the ladder of positions in government employment, it was
because I wanted to make sure that when our needs grow, we shall be able to meet them head on.
If I sat with you around the stove when we were cooking food, wash our clothes with you, bathe the
children with you, it was because I didn’t want you to shoulder all the burden of family life alone.

If I strove to build a house (some say it is beautiful), it was because I didn’t want you to experience
what I had experienced when I was a young child. On a clear night I could see some stars through
the roof; on a rainy day we had to find our place to avoid getting wet.

If I managed to buy a car, it was because I wanted you to be as comfortable as possible when we
travel. I didn’t want you to go through that experience again when you had to walk through the
national highway for a few kilometers with two small kids (carrying one child, a bag on your left
shoulder, and guiding the other child by the hand). That was a horrible experience you had when a
few communist guerillas held some buses in traffic somewhere in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur because
the owner of the bus company failed to or didn’t want to give in to their extortion demands. (In fact,
they burned a bus or two. That was in 1984).

If I did everything to support our children to school and made each one of them earn a college
degree it was because I knew it makes you happy seeing them march to receive their college
diplomas.

If I had been the first one to blink more often when we had some misunderstandings, it was because
frankly I can’t bear even just the thought of losing you.

If I am given the chance to be single again, I will look for the same Jasmine and ask her if she would
marry me. By the authority vested in me by the New Family Code and our matrimonial vow, I pledge
to make you feel so loved not only on our wedding anniversary, Fathers’ Day, and Mothers’ day.
Everyday is a new day to love you forevermore.

Happy Mother’s Day Sweetheart. I love you.

[MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Dr. Maugan P. Mosaid (FB account: Maxim Sense)
is a freelance writer. He teaches statistics in the graduate school and is a planning consultant
occasionally hired by some foreign development institutions. He is presently the Municipal
Administrator of Pikit, North Cotabato]
Directions: Get details from the selection that are directly or indirectly connected to
the author’s background. Write your answers in the box. (10 pts.)

Education al

Background

Professional

Background

Past
Socioeconomic
Background

Present
II. Extract It!
Directions: Extract concepts or ideas based on existing Filipino values, traits, and
practices from the selection. Write your answers on the spaces provided. Then,
discuss your answers with your friend or with any of your family members. (10 pts)

A. Role of the father in the family

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B. A husband’s responsibility towards his wife and children

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III. Make a Point!

Directions: State whether you agree or disagree with the sociocultural contexts taken
from the selection. Write your answers in the appropriate column.

VI EWS
SENTENCES CONTEXTS
I agree because… I disagree because…
 I knew your Parents have
great departed the right to
Father (and also meddle in
your Mother) did their
not say a word children’s
on our wedding marriage.
day. But, as I
was marching to
meet you, I saw
his eyes moving
fast,
as if switching
between
“approval” and
“disapproval”.

If I sat with you It is the

around the stove husband’s
when we were responsibilit
cooking food, y to help his
washed our wife at
clothes with you, home.
bathed the
children with
you, it was
because I didn’t
want you to
shoulder all the
burden of family
life alone.

If I did The father

everything to should make
support our sure that his
children to children
school and finish their
made each one education.
of them
earn a college
degree…

IV. Create a Story!

Directions: Write a three-paragraph story about the Covid-19 pandemic. Your story
should have the following elements. (20 pts.)
 CHARACTERS two to three

SETTING should reflect your own community or locality

PLOT should tell a one-day experience timeline, with

exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and
resolution

THEME lessons learned from the pandemic

POINT OF VIEW first person or third person

BIOGRAPHICAL FACTS any important information about you (as the author)
that you want to include in the story

Write your story on the lines below. Use a separate sheet of paper if necessary.
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