parbaaais presently taking his PhD in Second Language Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA where he also teaches courses related to Filipino language, Philippine culture and literature.  His story “Pinikas” (Cracked)  won third prize in the the first Satur P. Apoyon Cebuano Short Story Writing Contest in 2011, an event spearheaded by the Davao Writers Guild.