‘Long and meticulous’: Ricky Lee defends scriptwriting workshop selection

December 9, 2025 – 2:42 PM

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National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts

Ricky Lee

The veteran screenwriter said on Monday, December 8, that there will be a “Batch 32” next year, to be held in a large venue to accommodate more participants.

These participants will be selected from more than 200 qualified applicants.

Ricky also said that those who will not be able to join Batch 32 may attend a

special workshop

in a large venue, such as a movie theater, which they are considering organizing.

He added that there is also the possibility of holding an

online workshop

for those in the provinces or abroad, similar to what they did for

Batches 24–29

during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Para sa mga hindi pa nakatatanggap ng email, ito po ay dahil sa limit ng Gmail sa dami ng emails na maaaring ma-send sa loob ng isang araw,” the screenwriter said.

“Sa ngayon, ito pa lamang ang aming konkretong naisip upang maipakita ang aming appreciation sa libo-libong nagbahagi sa amin ng kanilang pangarap na makapagsulat. Next year po namin ia-announce ang final plans,” Ricky concluded.

The screenwriter later released an official statement on Tuesday, December 9, saying that they had already considered forming a new batch before the final application deadline to accommodate “qualified” newbies, but were not able to join Batch 30 or 31.

“Gaya ng inasahan, more than two hundred ang qualified. Kaya bago pa man naglabas ng announcement ng mga natanggap sa Batch 30 at 31 ay nagbalak na kami ng Batch 32, at isinama namin ito sa announcement ng mga napilli. Mas marami dito ang baguhan,” Ricky said.

“Bago rin ang announcement, nasimula kaming mag-email sa lahat ng 2,600 applicants para sabihin sa kanilang may bubuuing Batch 32 na manggagaling sa more than two hundred na qualified,” he added.

“At para naman doon sa iba pa, gagawa kami ng whole day session sa isang mas malaking venue na gaya ng sinehan, kung saan lahat ng nag-apply ay puwedeng dumalo. Sinabi rin namin na magsasagawa ng online workshop para sa mga nasa labas ng Maynila,” Ricky continued.

“Kung workshop ito na may bayad ay mas madali siguro ang pamimili dahil ang maging batayan ay ang kakayanang magbayad. Maraming natanggap na taga-pelikula at marami ang hindi natanggap. Marami ang kaibigan at anak ng kaibigan ang hindi rin natanggap. Sa huli, ang pinairal ay kung qualified ba, at angkop sa mix. Sa naging final results, halos kalahati pa rin ng bawat batch ay mga baguhan,” Ricky said.

Ricky also said he hopes everyone can trust him, adding that he knows what he is doing and has carefully studied every step of the process in his 43 years of conducting scriptwriting workshops.

“Sa kabila ng lahat ng mga pangyayaring ito, gusto kong sabihing nakikinig ako, at natututo sa mga diskursong nagaganap. Gusto ko ring sabihing hindi pa rin nawawala ang drive at enthusiasm ko na makatulong sa ibang tao, sa abot ng aking makakaya,” he said.

“Una at huling statement ko na sana ito dahil gusto kong mas ituon ang aking panahon at lakas sa pagtulong sa mas marami pang mga nangangarap magsulat. Pero kung kinakailangan, open naman akong makipag-dialogue dahil in the end, iisa lang naman ang hangarin nating lahat, ang makatulong sa iba at ang mapabuti ang ating industriya,” Ricky concluded.

Backlash

The post comes amid criticism that many of those who received slots in Ricky’s free workshop were already experienced writers or were known figures in the film and television industry.

“The Ricky Lee workshop turning into the who’s who in the film industry is so sad. When Ricky Lee started this decades ago, it was an opportunity for outsiders to learn from the insiders, lalo na sobrang strong pa ng studio system noon,” editor-director

Isabelle Matutina

wrote.

“Usually, meron lang isang relatively sikat sa batch. Nung time namin, it was Princess Punzalan (Batch 14). Batch 11 had Piolo Pascual (even before he catapulted into stardom). You can fault the younger ng ones who applied for feeling bitter once you see the roster of workshoppers now – some actually work as headwriters already,” she

added

said

“Pero ba’t parang garapalan na? ‘Di na kayo nahiya sa mga estudyante niyo na inagawan niyo pa ng slot. Ang dami niyo nang resources. ‘Yung konting natitirang free workshops ay minopolyo niyo pa,” she

concluded

Another

online user

, who identifies as a “cinephile,” similarly questioned the accepted applicants for Lee’s workshop.

“Got sad when I didn’t get into Sir Ricky Lee’s Scriptwriting Workshop… then I looked at the names. Why are many of these names already in the film industry (actors, filmmakers, etc.) or have connections,” the X user said with skull emojis.

“Anong laban ng common Filipinos, lolz. I would feel better if most of those who got in weren’t people I already know [or] familiar with from the local cinema landscape,” the X user added.

“Satrew [Sa True]. Nagulat ako, ‘yung iba sa kanila, dekada ng teleserye writer at direktor. Mga walang konsepto ng ‘give chance to others’. Eme,” another

“Something irks me about the already-privileged taking free opportunities away from creatives with no industry background who need the Ricky Lee scriptwriting workshop the most,” a different

user wrote.

Other side of story

In response, Writer-director

Dwein Baltazar,

She said that out of the 200–300 applicants who reached her, Dwein was able to narrow the list down to “almost 20 names,” though none of them made it to the “final list.”

“BUT I TRUSTED SIR. Bukod sa dekada na niyang ginagawa ito, pushing 78 na siya. Siguro naman pwede nang rason ‘yan, para ibigay sa kanya ang buong kapangyarihan mamili ng kung sinong tao ang pwede niyang i-welcome, hindi lamang sa workshop niya, kundi pati sa buhay niya. Kasi hindi ito biro,” Dwein said.

“Alam ko [or] naming mga former workshoppers niya kung gaano kalaki ang hinihingi nito kay sir: kaalaman, oras, pagod, emosyon, kalusugan, kaluluwa, pasenya, puso at napakarami pang puso! Wait, paki-note ‘yung kalusugan ha, as in HEALTH,” she added.

The workshop

Last November, Ricky announced two new batches of his renowned free scriptwriting workshop: Batch 30, which will run from December 2025 to March 2026, and Batch 31, which will be held from May 2026 to August 2026.

The workshop is

“open for all,”

though each batch will accommodate only 30 participants, who will be screened after submitting their applications.

It is supported by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP).

Some of those accepted into the latest batches include Dodo Dayao, Chai Fonacier, Romnick Sarmenta, Rica Peralejo and King Palisoc, among others.

Ricky has been holding scriptwriting workshops since 1982. Among those who have attended are

Lav Diaz, Bela Padilla, Agot Isidro, Pepe Diokno

, and many others.

Ricky is also the author of the scriptwriting manual “Trip to Quiapo,” a bestseller and a required text in many communication courses in the Philippines.