TJ Dimacali

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.

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]

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]

• Dean Francis Alfar
• Howie Severino