iKalinga soldier publishes folktale inspired children’s book

While fulfilling her sworn duty to protect the nation, Air Woman First Class Joan Saga-oc still finds time to weave old Kalinga tales once whispered in the nights of her childhood into pages, publishing them for the next generations.

Joan, who hails from Upper Uma, Lubuagan, Kalinga and currently assigned at the 1st Civil Relations Group, Civil Relations Service in Tarlac, is behind the newly-published children’s book which captures Kalinga’s oral traditional folktales.

Titled ‘Ay-Ay Suwan!’, Joan’s third book was released in March 2025.   

In an interview with GURU Press Cordillera, Joan revealed that said book was conceptualized when she was trying to explain to her friends how ‘binungor’ is made. At the time, while she was talking, she recalled the old village story of a boy who chopped down a ladder made of bamboo and used it to prepare his meal. This, she said, prompted all other childhood stories to rush back in her mind.

“I really loved writing the children’s book, “Ay-Ay, Suwan!” and so I’ve started compiling more stories for a follow-up collection. Also, I have a few ideas for a new folktale collection but nothing is properly developed yet. I have almost a full collection of stories for a follow-up to the memoir,” she added.

Other books published

Joan’s other books which were both released in 2024 are ‘Stories from Kalinga: Memoir of a Village Girl’, a memoir capturing how it was like growing up without electricity in a village in Kalinga back in the 1990s; and the ‘Folktales from a Kalinga Village’ which is a collection of the folktales she used to hear as a child.

These two books were included in the Philippines’ literary exhibits at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest book fair being held in Germany, in 2024.

The memoir, meantime, was included in Brylle Suralta’s 25 best books by Filipino authors in his column on Esquire.ph in 2024 while the folktales collection was awarded with a National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) grant.

Inspirations, challenges and advice

At a young age, Joan’s eyes were opened to the hardships of life which inspired her to dream and aspire greater heights like publishing her own books – and she already did.

“The moment I learned to read stories, at some point, I imagined that I’d become an author – and I’d see my name on the front cover. If I can feel all these amazing things while reading, I can create them, too, by just writing them down,” Joan narrated to GURU Press.

When asked about the challenges she faced while writing, the uniformed writer shared it was balancing dual duties.

“Finding time in the process of my AFP work and responsibilities was very hard. Finding the discipline to just sit and let the words flow was never easy for me,” she said.

Self-doubt, meanwhile, was also something that restrained her from releasing a book as she feared no one would want to read her village stories.

As for her advice to aspiring writers, she encouraged them to start their drafts and not to wait for the right time to share their stories, saying, “don't wait for the right time to write your stories – anytime is the right time. Don’t let rejection stop you! Keep knocking on doors and try different ways of getting your work noticed.”