Sinai Cariño Hamada (1911 – September 1991) was a Filipino writer, journalist, and lawyer. He was the founder and editor of the '' Baguio Midland Courier'' and ''The Cordillera Post''.

Early life and education

Hamada was born in

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

to Ryukichi Hamada, a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

immigrant, and Josefa Cariño, daughter of prominent Ibaloi chieftain Mateo Cariño. Sinai had an older brother, Oseo. His father died when he was a month old. His mother later married Teruji Okubo and bore three children: Policarpio, Bernardo, and writer and activist Cecilia Afable. He graduated with a journalism degree from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

and later received his law degree from the

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...

. From 1936 to 1937, Hamada served as Editor-in-Chief of the Philippine Collegian. He was also a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity.

Legal career

After graduating, Hamada practiced law in Baguio City and has served as counsel for various cases that have reached the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. As a young lawyer, he served as the defense counsel for Cayat, an Igorot and native of Baguio, who was charged for illegal possession of a bottle of gin. At the time, it was illegal for non-Christian tribe members to "buy, receive, have in his possession, or drink any ardent spirits, ale, beer, wine, or intoxicating liquors of any kind, other than the so-called native wines and liquors". ''People v. Cayat'' (1939) is a landmark constitutional law case studied in law schools throughout the Philippines to discuss the equal protection clause and social justice. Hamada was also petitioner to another landmark political law case, ''Cordillera Broad Coalition v. COA'' (1990), which challenged the constitutionality of President

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

's Executive Order No. 220, which created the

Cordillera Administrative Region The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR; ; ), also known as the Cordillera Region and Cordillera (), is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines, situated within the island of Luzon. It is the only Landlocked co ...

. Hamada also served as President of the Board of Directors of Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO).

Writing career

On April 28, 1947, Hamada founded the '' Baguio Midland Courier'', which started out as a four-page tabloid and is now considered one of the most widely read and distributed newspapers in Baguio. The first 100 copies bore the

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

“Fair, Fearless, Friendly, Free”. Hamada was its first and longest-lasting editor-in-chief while his older brother Oseo Hamada managed its business operations. Circa 1963, it distributed 7,500 copies around

City and

. The newspaper's style was founded on Sinai's 1948 principle from his

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

“Tanabata’s Wife”. In 1954, Hamada joined other legal practitioners in lobbying for the right of Baguio citizens to vote for their own local officials. It was eventually granted and they were allowed to vote in the 1959 local elections.

Personal life

Hamada married Geralda Macli-ing and had six children: Dorothy Margaret Hamada, agriculturist and UNDP/FAO expert; former

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) is the agency of the national government of the Philippines that is responsible for protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines. The commission is composed of seven comm ...

Chairperson Zenaida Brigida "Bridget" Hamada-Pawid; Amelia Cynthia Hamada-Nanni, psychologist; journalist and radio host Daniel Stephen "Steve" Hamada; Lionel Edgar Hamada- journalist, and Genevieve Claire Hamada-Plank, a retired Canadian lawyer. His granddaughter, Maxine Tanya Hamada, is a democracy activist and civil servant who served as Assistant Secretary in the

Department of Budget and Management The Department of Budget and Management (DBM; ) is an Executive departments of the Philippines, executive body under the Office of the President of the Philippines. It is responsible for the sound and efficient use of government resources for n ...

from 2014 to 2016.

Death

Hamada died in September 1991 in Baguio.

Legacy

Hamada is considered one of the most prominent

Filipino writers Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, a de facto standardized variety of Tagalog, the national language, and one of the two official languages of the Philippines ** Filipinos, people who are na ...

during the post-war period. His work was published in the United States, considered "an important breakthrough for Filipino authors at that time." In 1998,

National Artist National Artist is an honorary title issued by some states as the highest recognition of artists for their significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the nation. An equivalent title, People's Artist, has been known in countries of the ...

F. Sionil José spoke about Hamada in a Philippine PEN Conference and acknowledged his legacy as one of Baguio's most prominent writers by asking, "Is there Baguio writing after Sinai Hamada?" In a separate article, Jose wrote, "I bring to mind an old writer friend, Sinai Hamada, who wrote about his people; no Igorot has surfaced to replace him." His short story, ''Tanabata's Wife'', a romantic story between an Igorot woman and a Japanese farmer, was considered "the finest love story ever written by a Filipino." It was adapted into a film released in 2018. It was directed by Charlson Ong and playwright Lito Casaje and won ''Best Adapted Screenplay'' in the 2019

FAMAS Award The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards, or simply the FAMAS Awards, are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of writers and movie columnists, for achieveme ...

s. His works are still a subject of literary research and criticism in various colleges and universities in the Philippines.

Works

* Collected Short Stories (1975) - ''Baguio, Philippines : Baguio Print. & Pub. Co.'' * The Woman who Looked Out of the Window: Selected Stories - A. S. Florentino: exclusively distributed by National Book Store, 1973 * The Punishment of Kutnon * The Pagan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamada, Sinai Filipino writers University of the Philippines alumni 1911 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Filipino lawyers Filipino people of Japanese descent Igorot people People from Baguio