Necias Pataunia

NECIAS “NICK” CHAVES PATAUNIA is an actor, playwright and director of theater and films.

He was 15 years old when Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972, forcing human rights activists to become powerful cultural workers. In time he found himself immersed in community theater.

In the late 1970's, he wrote scripts for BALINTATAW, a popular TV drama series on ABC-5, produced by Cecile Guidote, the founder of Philippines Educational Theater Association (PETA).

Having obtained a degree in Bachelor of Arts in political science , literature and sociology, he pursued a civil service career. He worked with the Local Government of Tayabas as municipal/city planning and development officer, a job he held for 30 years until he retired in 2022.

While working as civil servant, he continued to write for theater. Nadres mentored him as he completed a full-length play titled SUMASAMPALATAYA AKO: Ang Espiritwal na Paglalakbay ni Lorenzo Ruiz, featuring the first Filipino saint

Pataunia's best known work is the screenplay FAUSTA (2009), a biopic of Hermana Fausta Labrador, the saintly founder of Sacred Heart College in Lucena City.

His latest film is PASYON NI HERMANO PULI, a sequel to PAGSAMO KAY PULI which he wrote and directed in 2021.

PASYON NI HERMANO PULI tells the story of Apolinario dela Cruz, who was born in Lucban, wanted to be a priest but was denied by the Spanish friars because he was an Indio.

Necias Pataunia is currently working on part 3 of the Hermano Puli trilogy, to be premiered in November 2024.

Pataunia's acting career was renewed in January 2024 when he played a role in the new film of Lav Diaz, his literary buddy and fellow scriptwriter for Balintataw TV series.

With fellow historian-writer, he co-authored the forthcoming book,

LA MUY NOBLE VILLA DE TAYABAS: Rise of the Capital Town.