FRANZ SIOSON
Francisco Sioson—who prefers to be called Franz (because, let’s be honest, “Francisco” sounds too masculine)—is a proud gay golden child of Bosoboso. Yes, that’s a real place, not just something you heard from Bakit Di Ka Crush ng Crush Mo?
Raised by a beautician mother (which, obviously, explains everything), Franz grew up in the remote barrio of Bosoboso after being born in Marikina. His childhood nickname was Kiko, but he reinvented himself as Franz after leaving the minor seminary—partly for reinvention, partly for gender neutrality, and partly because… why not?
An academic overachiever (self-proclaimed but also documented), he graduated Valedictorian in both elementary and high school and served as editor-in-chief of their school paper. He went on to become the first UPCAT passer (BS Mathematics) and the first University of the Philippines graduate (BA Social Science, major in History, minor in Political Science) from his barrio.
His proudest intellectual contribution so far? Writing the first documented local history of Bosoboso—from the Spanish period up to 2015 (you can verify this in the UP Baguio Library, if you’re feeling academic).
Currently, Franz is finishing his MA in Education Management at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines—though, admittedly, he prioritized finishing this book over his thesis. Priorities.
He is now a faculty member of the Social Science and Philosophy Department at Our Lady of Fatima University–Quezon City, where he continues to teach, tell stories, and occasionally overshare—with purpose.