TJ Dimacali

Timothy James M. Dimacali, (born April 17, 1980) better known as TJ Dimacali, is a Filipino science fiction writer and a science journalist. He is the first Filipino and first Fulbright scholar[1] to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Graduate Program in Science Writing. He is also a science education advocate.[2]

TJ Dimacali
BornTimothy James M. Dimacali
(1980-04-17)April 17, 1980
OccupationJournalist, Science Fiction Writer
NationalityFilipino

As a journalist, Dimacali served as Science and Technology Editor for GMA News and Public Affairs’s online portal GMA News Online,[3] which earned him recognition from the Philippines' Department of Science and Technology, which named him one of the awardees of the Gawad Scriba Award for Science Communicators in 2013.[4] He left the post after receiving a Fulbright scholarship to MIT in 2017.[5]

Literary writing

In 2009 he was chosen to be a Fellow for English Fiction at the Iligan National Writers' Workshop, held at Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology in Iligan City.

In 2010 he also contributed the story "Keeper of My Sky" to Volume 5 of Philippine Speculative Fiction, which by then was being edited by Nikki Alfar and Vincent Simbulan.[6] In 2014, the same story was optioned Paolo Chikiamco's Mythology-oriented anthology "Alternative Alamat: Stories Inspired by Philippine Mythology".[7] In 2012, Dimacali was also selected as a Fellow for Fiction at the Silliman University National Writers Workshop, held at Silliman University in Dumaguete City.

His work regularly graces the pages of anthologies such as Kestrel Publishing's Philippine Speculative Fiction series and Paolo Chikiamco's Alternative Alamat, as well as magazines such as Philippine Graphic and Summit Media's Kwentillion. His story “Sky Gypsies” has also been adapted into a comic book, with John Ray "JR" Bumanglag as artist, coming out in the pages of Kwentillion magazine.

GMA News Online

When GMA News and Public Affairs launched its online presence in the form of GMA News Online in 2009,[8] Dimacali became the portal's online community manager. In 2010, GMA News Online created the post of Science and Technology Editor, and asked Dimacali to come on board. Under Dimacali, GMA News Online became noted for its coverage of basic science stories–in contrast to most Philippine news venues, whose science and technology coverage has thus far either tended to focus on consumer technology, or relegated to special sections that only get published occasionally.[4]

In July 2013, the Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST) awarded Dimacali with a DOST Gawad Scriba Award for Science Communicators.[8]

Iligan Workshop controversy

On August 2019, TJ Dimacali has been wrongfully charged with sexual assault by a fellow of the 2019 Iligan Writer's Workshop, in which Dimacali was a guest speaker.[9][10]

Social media posts alluding to the sexual misconduct charge in national writing workshops started circulating in early August, with some Twitter users naming Dimacali and others from the writing and film community.[11] The alleged victim released a statement through social media on August 5, detailing her recollection of the events.[12] Dimacali has maintained his innocence regarding the controversy, both through public social media posts,[10] and through an affidavit he submitted to the Commission on Human Rights on August 21, 2019, containing his own recollection of events.[11]

Investigations into the incident were launched on August 9, 2019 by the Philippines' Commission on Human Rights, and by the Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology as announced in a statement on August 16, 2019.[11]

On January 20, 2020, the assistant city prosecutor of Iligan City, Shirly Parmisana-Bisnar, dismissed the case, noting that the sexual act “was voluntary on the part of the complainant, taking into consideration the manner and circumstances surrounding the incident."[13]

Parmisana-Bisnar also absolved Dimacali of sexual harassment because the respondent “did not demand, request nor require any sexual favor from the complainant,” pointing out that during a clarificatory hearing, the complainant "was asked whether she was forced, threatened or intimidated by the respondent to do such act and her answer was always in the negative."[13]

Science education work during the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine

As part of their response to the various quarantines arising from the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the Philippines, the Philippines' Department of Science and Technology tapped Dimacali as writer alongside Jeffrey Hidalgo as film director for their 20-minute "TuklaSiyensya sa Eskwela" Science education modules. These were designed to be used by both public and private schools who had to shift to teaching Science via distance mode while the COVID-19 crisis remained unresolved.[14]

See also

References
  1. https://fulbright.org.ph/all-scholars/timothy-james-m-dimacali/#.XEi_cy2B2Aw
  2. Alfar, Dean Francis; Alfar, Nikki, eds. (2013), "Skygypsies (Author's Bio)", The Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction 2005-2010, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press
  3. http://www.asianscientist.com/2016/08/features/timothy-dimacali-gmanews-science-communications-weather-reporting/
  4. "Mediamen Recognized at DOST Gawad Scriba Award", Adobo Magazine, August 21, 2013, retrieved July 25, 2014
  5. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/content/612895/gma-news-online-s-scitech-editor-receives-fulbright-scholarship-to-mit/story/
  6. Alfar, Nikki; Simbulan, Vincent, eds. (2010), "Keeper Of My Sky (Author's Bio)", Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 5, Pasig City: Kestrel DDM, ISBN 9789719343042
  7. Chikiamco, Paolo (July 17, 2014), Alternative Alamat Interview: Timothy James Dimacali, Rocket Kapre Fantastic Filipino Fiction, retrieved July 25, 2014
  8. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/212388/scitech/the-time-has-come-for-gma-news-online
  9. Bartolome, Jessica (2019-08-08). "NCCA urged to probe alleged sexual assault at Iligan workshop". GMA News Online. GMA News and Public Affairs. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  10. Pascual, Jam. "Between consenting adults? What really happened at the Iligan writers workshop". news.abs-cbn.com.
  11. Adel, Rosette (2019-08-21). "Writer accused of rape submits to CHR probe". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  12. Malasig, Jeline. "Fellow at national writing workshop accuses panelist of rape". www.interaksyon.com.
  13. 2020-02-26. ["http://newsbytes.ph/2020/02/first-on-newsbytes-ph-rape-case-against-mit-trained-science-writer-junked/" "First on Newsbytes.PH: Rape case against MIT-trained science writer junked"] Check |url= value (help).CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. Galvez, Edwin (2020-10-11). "STEM resources now widely available to students, teachers". Business Mirror. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
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