Sen. Loren Legarda with, from left, Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, head of the German Book Trade Association; Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer, Armin Schwarz, Hessian Minister of Culture; and Mike Josef, Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt
The assembly at Frankfurt Book Fair 2025
“Ten years ago, I imagined this moment,” Sen. Loren Legarda told the international crowd that gathered at the opening of the 77th Frankfurt Book Fair 2025 in Germany., “knowing what I have always believed, that Filipino voices belong among the world’s greatest literatures.”
The 77th Frankfurt Book Fair 2025 in Germany opened Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025 with the Philippines as Guest of Honour (GOH), a first for the country in today’s global literary scene. Sen. Loren Legarda gave a keynote speech that highlighted history, inspired cultural pride, and showcased the strength of Philippine imagination to the global literary community.
Legarda’s speech traced the revolutionary journey of Dr. Jose Rizal through Germany, his studies in Heidelberg, his poetic reflections along the Neckar, and the completion of Noli Me Tangere in Wilhelmsfeld.
“It was not arms the colonizers feared most, but ideas,” she said. “Ideas that roused a nation and ignited the first revolution in Southeast Asia.”
Legarda is the visionary behind the Philippines Guest of Honour program and chairperson of the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts. It’s been her initiative to make the prestigious book fair both as a literary homecoming and a cultural awakening.
At Frankfurt Book Fair 2025, National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario, Sen. Loren Legarda, and Rosie Sula, Manlilikha ng Bayan
The Philippine delegation, composed of over 400 writers, publishers, artists, and culture workers, is presenting hundreds of titles and dozens of installations, performances, and conversations throughout the week, until October 19.
The theme, The imagination peoples the air, drawn from Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, underscores the Philippine tradition of a literature that provokes and liberates.
At Frankfurt Book Fair 2025, from left, acclaimed writer Prof. Jose “Butch” Dalisay, leading historian Dr. Ambeth Ocampo, Sen. Loren Legarda, and Lisa Guerrero Nakpil, commissioner, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)
The Philippine Guest of Honour is featured in three lively spaces. The GOH Pavilion in Forum 1 offers literature and cultural programs. The Philippine Stand in Hall 5.1 A95 & B95 and Asia Stage in Hall 5.1 A75 focus on sharing stories through rights and co-publishing. The Comics Stand in Hall 6.1 highlights Filipino visual storytelling.
Legarda addressed urgent global issues. “Imagination must not be gentle; it is a necessary fire,” she said. “Fire that burns away indifference. Fire that lights the dark corners where injustice hides.”
The four-term senator invoked the power of literature to confront tyranny, awaken conscience, and build solidarity across borders. “We return to the threatening truths for which Rizal gave his life: that literature must provoke the conscience and ignite courage.”
Sen. Loren Legarda amid Philippine titles
Legarda ended her remarks with a call to collective action: “If one book written by a Filipino on German soil awakened a nation thousands of miles away, imagine what we, together, can awaken today.”
At Frankfurt Book Fair 2025, from left, Dr. Analyn Amores, professor of Anthropology; Dr. Eric Zerrudo, executive director, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA); Prof. Regalado Trota Jose Jr., chairperson, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP); Victorino Mapa Manalo, chairman, NCCA; Sen. Loren Legarda, Jeremy Barns, director general, National Museum of the Philippines; Dr. Arvin Manuel Villalon, commissioner, NCCA; Cesar Gilbert Adriano, director, National Library of the Philippines
Full event details are available on the official website: philippinesfrankfurt2
