Sa buong Pilipinas, halos lahat ng bookstores, ‘pag pumunta ka, ‘yung mga librong sinulat ng mga Pilipino, nasa isang maliit at halos tagong section, samantalang ‘yung mga foreign authors, ‘yung mga libro nila halos sakop na ang buong bookstore, naka-display pa sa unahan at nasa mga window pa (Throughout the Philippines, at almost all the bookstores, books written by Filipinos can be found in a tiny, almost hidden section, while foreign authors take over almost the entire bookstore, with their books displayed at the front and even in the windows),” said Ricky Lee.

The National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts told the publishers, authors, illustrators, journalists, and content creators that had gathered at Pardon My French about how, when he was looking for his bestselling scriptwriting manual, “Trip to Quiapo” (considered a bible by many screenwriters), he found it lumped together with maps of the Philippines. “That happened more than once,” he said.

Lee continued, “Medyo nakakadismaya. Ganun na ‘yung scene nung panahon ko pa, nung bata pa ako, laging ganun na (It’s kinda disappointing. It’s been this way during my time, even when I was younger, it’s always been like this) … Kumbaga sa pelikula, para kaming mga extra lang. Kaya maraming salamat sa National Book Development Board (NBDB) dahil dito sa Philippine Book Festival, mga bida kami (In movie speak, it’s like we’re the extras. So thank you to the NBDB because at the Philippine Book Festival, we’re the stars).”