Writer Sylvia Mayuga dies

MANILA, Philippines – Award-winning writer Sylvia Mayuga died on Tuesday, December 31. She was 77. 

The news was confirmed by her former husband and fellow writer Krip Yuson, as well as the group Women Writers in Media Now (WOMEN) via posts on social media. Her niece, Nicola Mayuga Villanueva, said the writer died “due to cancer and perhaps grief.”

Mayuga published several books – Spy In My Own Country; Earth, Fire, And Air; Huling Ptyk: The Art and Life of Nonoy Marcelo; and Between the Centuries.

She had 3 National Book Awards to her name.

Through the years, she had written for a handful of publications, including Rappler. In a November opinion column for this publication, she said: “The rest of the world is moving on with the challenge of cannabis sativa. Now is a good time for Filipinos to finally arrive at a sound collective understanding of marijuana as a gift from the plant world.”

She studied at St. Scholastica’s College and St. Theresa’s College in Manila. She also went on to earn a comparative journalism degree from the Columbia University in New York.

It’s been a year of heartbreak for Mayuga and her family. Recently, Mayuga’s granddaughter had also passed away.

The details of her wake have yet to be made public. – Rappler.com