Pailig-DepEd Develops education program for Higaonon

Video production by forum4peace.tv

Rogongon, Iligan City - In a graduation ceremony of the School of living tradition (SLT), a development program of Pailig Development Foundation, Inc. (PDFI) for the Higaonon tribe and the inclusive education program of the Department of Education (DepEd) for the Indigenous peoples (IPs) in Rogongon was held on April 5, 2017 at Sitio Kianibong Elementary School. The land area for the school to at least three hectares was donated by the Soong clan. The school implemented the educational system up to grade 3 and will open for grade 4 on next year’s class opening.

 

Higaonon girls rendered Higaonon song

Mr. Roberto “Bob” Quijano, Managing Director of the PDFI said that the IPs education development project is a joint venture of the PDFI and DepEd. He said the purpose of the project is to advocate and strengthen the traditional practices of Higaonon culture to gain understanding and respect among the Higaonon tribe as well as with other tribes.

Datu Trining Sisayan, Higaonon and the head of the para-teachers of the SLT said together with other Datu para-teachers said that they taught the children on traditional practices such as the traditional laws and customary laws, rituals to strengthen the Higaonon tribe to exist. Sultan Magadapa Macauyag, Sultan of Bayug for the Moro and Datu Batara of the Higaonon and one of the para-teachers of the SLT education said that his line of topic was to teach the Higanon children about the Higaonon identity because plenty of the Higaonon children doesn’t know to appreciate their culture and tradition and it will endanger the tribe to perish in the future. Datu Paulino Guicanan, a para-teacher taught history of the Higaonon started before the coming of the Spaniards and current situation. Datu Diacat, also a para-teacher said he taught the methods of indigenous organic farming to protect and preserve the environment of their Ancestral domain in Rogongon.

 

Higaonon war dance

One of the parents, Medina C. Soong expressed her thanks to PDFI and DepEd because their children have acquired plenty of learnings on SLT and DepEd inclusive education program. Grade 3 student Karen G. Sisayan in a Higaonon dialect said she learned many things in school not only in the classroom for the regular class by DEpEd teachers but also the traditional learning on herbal medicine, history of the Higaonon, the conduct of ritual, traditional organic farming and lectures using the Higaonon language. The DepEd teachers also used Higaonon dialect during lectures.

Dr. Riza R. Nicor, gave pep talk to children

Dr. Riza R. Nicor, School Principal 1 of the Digkilaan Central School, attended the ceremony said the graduation activity is unique because it’s a combination of two ways of learning, the inclusive education of the DepEd and the SLT education of PDFI for the Higaonon. She observed that the parents are very supportive to their children. There are only two school teachers but they performed their job well. The para-teachers, the Datus from the Higaonon tribe taught the children to strengthen their culture and tradition. She extend her thanks to the partnership of the DepEd and the PDFI.

 

Dr. Avemar T. Gonzaga

Dr. Avemar T. Gonzaga, School principal of Kalamalamahan Elementary School, Rogongon, Iligan City and the Kianibong Elementary School is part of his jurisdiction, control and supervision.  He said that the IPs education development is part of the inclusive education of the DepEd called Indigenous Peoples Education Program (IPEP). The Kianibong Elementary School is one of the four identified IPs school in Rogongon and one of the priority education program on IP sites in the country. He said that the partnership with the PDFI is very important because they provided the blue print on how the IPs strengthened their cultural and traditional practices, the SLT is within the program of the DepEd curriculum the so called Indigenous learning system (ILS).

Miss Najera Alauya, a Maranao, is the community organizer of the SLT project of PDFI. She said the culmination now was already in the fifth batch of SLT class and it is her first time to handle the project and the first time partnership with the DepEd and first time of a joint recognition and SLT culmination program. She said that they choose the tribal leaders to teach the children on SLT education program so that they will share the traditional and cultural practices of the Higaonon tribe.

 

Mr. Roberto "Bob" Quijano

Alauya said it is the responsibility of the tribal leader to share their cultural practices to the children. She observed that there is a big difference in terms of improvement with regards to the knowledge acquired by the learners in Kianibong. One of the objectives of the SLT project is to strengthen so that the children will not forget their culture and tradition and follow the practices of the tribe to prevent the encroachment of modern culture. The children learned the traditional dances like Binanog or eagle dance, war dance and tribal songs. The organic farming was being shared also to the children to protect the environment from total damage and they were very productive of working while learning.

Mr. Quijano said that the traditional way of learning, the SLT was being adopted by the PDFI. The school of living tradition (SLT) will remain as benchmark of the continuing advocacy of the PDFI on IPs development program in Rogongon. Reports, photos & video production by Jun Enriquez & Jac Macatimbol.