Prof. Reuel Molina Aguila, one of the authors of the five books that Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) ordered to pull out, asserted that his work is not “anti-government” and not “subversive”.

“Mukhang hindi pa nila nabasa yung libro pero nag-akusa na sila na anti-government, subversive, anti-Duterte, anti-BBM. Obviously hindi nila nababasa,” he said in an interview during DZRH’s Damdaming Bayan on Friday, Aug. 12.

According to Aguila, his book “Labas: Mga Palabas sa Labas ng Sentro” contains theatrical plays that were written more than 10 years ago.

He explained that since it was published a long time ago, the content was not related to former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte or President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

The professor said there are three plays in his book and all of them were staged in various theaters outside Metro Manila.

He said the first play is a satire about a noon-time show.

The second play, which won a Palanca award, was about a prisoner who was released and went home but realized that the situation outside is worse than in the prison cell.

The third play is a musical about photographers who are covering events from the martial law period to former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration.

He said after the three plays were performed on the theater stage, no one but KFW called them “subversive”.

“Paano magiging anti-government ito? Subversive? Obviously, hindi nila ito binasa,” he asserted.

“Biglang binrand kami as terrorista. Nagsulat ka lamang sa noontime show, terrorists ka na. Anong klaseng pagtingin nila dito?” he stressed out.

Aguila suspects that the KWF only searched for words and phrases and that if the Marcoses are mentioned in his book, then they would label it as “anti-Marcos”.

“Ganun din ang ginawa nila duon sa apat pa. Limang libro at limang authors ito, [na pinapatanggal]” he added.

The professor also claimed that what KWF did was “libelous” for they have "no basis" to ban their books.

He said the authors that were red-tagged are “well respected” in their respective field.

Aguila said they will release a joint statement to counter the memorandum.

Aguila is a multi-awarded esteemed poet, playwright, lyricist, and scriptwriter. In his career, he received ten Palanca awards in different categories.