8 January 2015 – Renowned Filipino writer Jun Cruz Reyes received the 2014 Southeast Asian (S.E.A.) Award for his poem “Bunso” at the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok on 15 December 2014.

On behalf of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, Her Royal Highness Sirivannavari Nariratana presided over the region’s most prestigious literary accolade which was established in 1979 to bring recognition to the talents of ASEAN countries and to encourage writers of the region. Mr. Reyes, a professor of the University of the Philippines and formerly known as the “enfant terrible” of Philippine Letters, changed and raised the standards of Philippine writing by introducing and popularizing the informal language to Philippine Literature. END