View source for Bob Ong

{{short description|Filipino author}}
{{Use Philippine English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Bob Ong
| birth_place = [[Cuasay, Taguig]], [[Philippines]]
| occupation = [[Author]]
| genre = [[Humor]]
}}
'''Bob Ong''' is the [[pseudonym]] of a contemporary [[Filipino people|Filipino]] [[author]] known for using conversational writing technique to create humorous and reflective depictions of [[Philippines|Philippine]] life.<ref name="The mystery of his name">{{cite web | last = De Vera | first = Ruel S. | title = The mystery begins with his name-Bob Ong (not his real name) |url=http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view/20060716-10060/The_mystery_begins_with_his_name-Bob_Ong_(not_his_real_name) | access-date = April 3, 2008 | publisher = [[Sunday Inquirer Magazine]] | url-status = dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408094244/http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view/20060716-10060/The_mystery_begins_with_his_name-Bob_Ong_%28not_his_real_name%29 | archive-date = April 8, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="ongpin">{{Citation | last = Ongpin  | first = Apa  | author-link = Apa Ongpin  | title = Is Bob Ong the future? And if so, of what? | newspaper = Adobo Magazine | issue=#6 | date = November 25, 2006 }}</ref> The author's actual name and identity are unknown.
==Career==
Bob Ong pursued writing after dropping out of college.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2016/01/10/1541198/how-mysterious-bob-ong-got-his-penname|title=How the 'mysterious' Bob Ong got his penname {{!}} Philstar.com|website=philstar.com|access-date=April 8, 2018}}</ref> His pseudonym came about when the author was working as a web developer and a teacher, and he put up the ''Bobong Pinoy'' website in his spare time. The name roughly translates to "''Dumb Filipino''", used fondly as a [[pejorative]] term.<ref name="Stainless">{{Citation
| last = Ong
| first = Roberto
| author-link = Bob Ong
| title = Stainless Longganisa
| place = Pasay
| publisher = VisPrint, Inc.
| year = 2005
| isbn = 971-92574-2-3 }}</ref> "''Although impressed''", Bob Ong notes, "''my boss would've fired me had he known I was the one behind it.''" When someone contacted him after mistaking him as an actual person named Bob Ong, his famous pseudonym was born.<ref name="The mystery of his name"/> The site received a People's Choice Philippine Web Award for Weird/Humor in 1998, but was taken down after former President [[Joseph Estrada|Joseph "Erap" Estrada]] was ousted after the [[EDSA II|Second People Power Revolution]].<ref>{{Citation
| last = Ong
| first= Roberto
| author-link = Bob Ong
| title = Bakit Baligtad Magbasa ng Libro ang mga Pilipino?
| place = Pasay
| publisher = VisPrint, Inc.
| year = 2002
| isbn = 971-92574-2-3 }}</ref>
According to Nida Ramirez of [[Visprint]], which eventually became Bob Ong's publisher, the author wrote on ''Bobong Pinoy'' that he wanted to get a book published. Ramirez, who became a fan of Bobong Pinoy, approached him and started exchanging messages, which eventually led to the publication of ''[[ABNKKBSNPLAko?!]]'', Bob Ong's first book, in 2001.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://bulatlat.com/main/2014/07/04/does-it-resonate-with-the-audience/|title=Does it resonate with the audience? - Bulatlat|date=July 4, 2014|work=Bulatlat|access-date=April 8, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> The author has since written and published ten more books until 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.visprint.net/publications/bob/index.htm|title=Bob Ong Books|website=www.visprint.net|access-date=April 8, 2018}}</ref> His latest book, ''58,'' would also be his last one published under Visprint, which closed in 2021.
== Adaptations ==
Two of his works have been adapted into film. ''[[ABNKKBSNPLAko?!#Film and other adaptations|ABNKKBSNPLAko?! The Movie]]'' was released in 2014 directed by Mark Meily. Then in 2016, ''[[Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin (film)|Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin]]'' was shown in theaters, directed also by Meily, with ''Chris Martinez'' and ''Andoy Ranay''. VIVA Films produced both movies.<ref name="Pastor">{{Cite news|url=http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/148365/bob-ongs-abnkkbsnplako-is-now-a-movie/|title=Bob Ong's 'ABNKKBSNPLAko?!' is now a movie|last=Pastor|first=Pam|access-date=April 8, 2018|language=en}}</ref> In addition, Bob Ong also played a part in translating some volumes of the Filipino comic book series [[Budjette Tan|Trese]] by Budjette Tan, which was included by the Philippine [[Department of Education (Philippines)|Department of Education]] as supplemental material for schools.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/214932/a-bigger-busier-komikon/|title=A bigger, busier Komikon|last=Vera|first=Ruel S. De|access-date=April 8, 2018|language=en}}</ref>
==Pseudonym==
There have been occasional confusions between Bob Ong and [[Chinese-Filipino]] author Charlson Ong. However, Bob Ong himself refutes this in his account in ''[[Stainless Longganisa]]'', saying his surname is not "[[Wang (surname)|Ong]]" and neither is he even Filipino-Chinese. The family name was instead derived from wordplay on the name of his website.<ref name="The mystery of his name"/> In a 2016 interview published in ''[[The Philippine Star|Philippine Star]]'' when asked why he chose his pseudonym, Bob Ong explained it as a "concept of not embracing celebrity which is foreign to most people", and was never intended to be "mysterious".
The poet [[Paolo Manalo]] has also been put forward as Ong, but he has denied this.<ref name="The mystery of his name"/>
== Political views ==
Bob Ong endorsed former Vice President of the Philippines Leni Robredo in the 2022 elections.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 18, 2022 |title='ABNKKBSNPLAko' author Bob Ong endorses Robredo for president |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/18/22/abnkkbsnplako-author-bob-ong-endorses-robredo |access-date=November 17, 2024 |website=ABS-CBN News}}</ref>
==Reception==
Six of the books he has published have surpassed a quarter of a million copies.<ref name="The mystery of his name" /> One anonymous reviewer from ''Rock Czar'' notes when his book ''[[Macarthur (novel)|Macarthur]]'' was released, (translated from vernacular [[Filipino language|Filipino]]):
:"Filipinos really patronize Bob Ong's works because, while most of his books may have an element of comedy in them, this is presented in a manner that replicates Filipino [[Filipino culture|culture and traditions]]. This is likely the reason why his first book - and those that followed it, can be considered true [[Pinoy]] classics."<ref name="rockczar">{{cite web |author=Anonymous |date=2008 |title='McArthur' ni Bob Ong, Inilunsad |trans-title='McArthur' by Bob Ong, Launched |url=http://www.rockczar.com/ph/RPC_Content.aspx?CSID=3_50&NID=670 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004185552/http://www.rockczar.com/ph/RPC_Content.aspx?CSID=3_50&NID=670 |archive-date=4 October 2008 |website=Rock Czar |language=Filipino |department=Culture}}</ref>
==Bibliography==
===Non-fiction===
* ''[[ABNKKBSNPLAko?!]]'' (2001)
* ''Bakit Baliktad Magbasa ng Libro ang mga Pilipino?'' (2002)
* ''[[Ang Paboritong Libro ni Hudas]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Stainless Longganisa]]'' (2005)
* ''56'' (2018)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pandayan.com.ph/56-ni-bob-ong-exclusively-available-at-pandayan-bookshop/|title=56 ni Bob Ong|access-date=June 12, 2018}}</ref>
*The Boy with a Snake in his Schoolbag (2023), an English translation of ABNKKBSNPLAko<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Boy with a Snake in his Schoolbag (International Edition) |url=https://www.myavenida.com/products/the-boy-with-a-snake-in-his-school-bag-international-edition |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=Avenida |language=en}}</ref>
===Fiction===
* ''[[Alamat ng Gubat]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Macarthur (novel)|Macarthur]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Kapitan Sino]]'' (2009)
* ''[[Ang mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Lumayo Ka Nga Sa Akin]]'' (2011)
* ''Si'' (2014)
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==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Bob Ong}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ong, Bob}}
[[Category:Filipino novelists]]
[[Category:Filipino satirists]]
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Pseudonymous writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Quezon City]]
[[Category:Tagalog-language writers]]