Senator Loren Legarda joined the global literary community in celebrating the launch of Sensible Form: Essays by Patrick Flores, a collection that underscores the strength of Filipino scholarship and its growing influence in international art and cultural discourse.

The event, held as part of the Philippines’ Guest of Honour program at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025, brought together cultural leaders and artists to honor Flores—who also serves as curator of the Philippine Pavilion, the centerpiece of the country’s participation in the prestigious fair.

“This collection of essays stands apart from its disciplined clarity, its refusal of empty statements, and its persistent attention to the details that are most significant,” Legarda said.

As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts, Legarda praised Flores’s interpretive philosophy, describing his work as “a rigorous engagement with vision and response.”

“He views the act of interpretation, as it were, a companion to that of vision,” she added.

Legarda also reflected on her creative partnership with Flores, recalling his pivotal role in the Philippines’ return to the Venice Biennale after a 51-year hiatus.

“Years ago, he played a pivotal role in shaping our return to the Venice Biennale after [a] 51-year hiatus, reminding me that art’s significance lies not only in its exhibition but in the conversations it starts and the identities it affirms,” Legarda said.

The senator concluded with a reflection on Flores’s lasting contribution to Philippine cultural thought: “With Sensible Form: Essays by Patrick Flores, we are given the power to see, to ask, to persist.”

The launch of Flores’s book is among the major highlights of the Philippines’ Guest of Honour program at the Frankfurt Book Fair, an international platform showcasing the nation’s literary, academic, and artistic excellence to the world.