Virgilio S. Almario Biography

Virgilio S. Almario (born March 9, 1944), better known by his pen name Rio Alma, is a Filipino artist, poet, critic, translator, editor, teacher, and cultural manager. He is a National Artist of the Philippines and currently serves as the chairman of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF), the government agency mandated to promote and standardize the use of the Filipino language. On January 5, 2017, Almario was also elected as the chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.