About the author: Ericson L. Acosta. English Pen describes the author as:
… a poet, but a songwriter, a journalist and an activist, a former editor of the student publication Philippine Collegian, and chairperson of the student cultural group Alay Sinin. He also worked as cultural writer for the Manila Times, and has acted in and directed a number of plays.
Arrested in Samar on February 13, 2011, accused by authorities of being a ranking leader of the Communist insurgency and charged with possession of explosives. On January 31, 2013, the Department of Justice declared the charges baseless.
A consultant of the National Democratic Front, Acosta died on November 30, 2022 in what the military claimed was an armed encounter, while the NDF insisted he had been arrested a few hours prior to his death.
About the diary: Written while under detention in the Calbayog City sub-provincial jail in Samar, and posted in the Jailhouse Blog, though since January 16, 2013 the blog has been under renovation. However, the article Political Prisoner Writes Online Prison Diary in Global Voices links to entries from April 13 and 17, 2011, which have been included in The Philippine Diary Project.