LAGAWE, IFUGAO – – Obscured by the sing and dance antics of some administration senatorial candidates to the delight of uneducated and lowly-educated voters in the current campaign period in the Philippines is an event in a far-flung village of the capital town of Lagawe that, all things considered, may have had more bearing in the national life: the conduct of a theater festivity and family day as sponsored by the Kataguwan Center.
The best proof of that sentiment is the fact that the Theater Festival should have just ended unnoticed by many because it took place in a distant and underdeveloped village inhabited by a few hundred folks.
Theater Festival contestants were brilliant, skillful and talented, inevitably so since the only activity open to villagers like them was limited to a few ones. Their main contribution to the national achievement lay in the theater. Their performances, with the assistance of their hardworking and dedicated teachers, embody the full and genuine concept of dynamic theater life.
Anyhow, the theater is an essential tool in stressing the role of the family in Philippine society. All told, the theater always emphasizes the primordial role of the family in the country, its role in the community and how best it can live up to its role. Small wonder, the church-operated Kataguwan Center sponsored the 21st edition of the Family Day in this part of this impoverished town.
Well, apart from family concerns, contestants also touched on environment and teenager issues.
Cash prizes of 5,000 pesos, 4,000 pesos, 3,000 pesos and 2,000 pesos were received by the top, second, third and fourth ranked contestants, respectively.
The message is very clear: Ifugao educators must accelerate the development of theater performance because there is still a lot of work to do. Options for expanding the concerns to be played before an audience in theater performances had to be considered as quickly as possible. Make no mistake about it timeliness and relevance is the key in levelling up on this score.
What’s the best way to educate and enlighten rural folks on the cause of poverty and other societal issues? Filipinos feel like this is a query they all know the answer, but don’t really express clearly and loudly at times. Many are almost always afraid to speak up, and oftentimes forget about their right to express their legitimate grievances.
Which is why Kataguwan Center holds noteworthy activities as this one year after year and this is the heart of the matter in any discussion. For one, the Theater Festival initiative encourages the young to explore and discover their potentials in acting.
The impact would be on the future of the youth sector in remote villages of this upland Cordillera province.
Though Kataguwan Center staff understood much and manifested a dedication and wisdom unique for any time, there was a lingering question present-day politicians in Ifugao were unable to answer, a question they asked themselves that was laden with despair and frustration. Why is Ifugao a poor province despite its rich resources? A minor and yet affecting coincidence attends to this question. Two candidates for councilor in Lagawe participated in the two-day event. Punong Barangay Joey Anghad of Tupaya, the activity’s host village, and Rebecca Bumahit, a civic leader of Caba village and project superintendent of Kataguwan Center, were around and extended their support and assistance. Anghad and Bumahit are running under the little-known Federal Party of the Philippines and the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party, respectively.
“Many are grateful for the support program of the Kataguwan Center which will help the Catholic Church further enhance the poverty reduction program in the grassroots level. The implementation of the program on upgrading the standards of lives through the Livelihood, Enterprise and Agro-forest Development (LEAD) project is timely especially that unemployment is a major problem,” Sherryl Ann Bungihan said. She also works at the Kataguwan Center.
The Lagawe-based Kataguwan Center, with its unique expertise and sensibilities derived from devotion to serving the less fortunate, is committed to offering a diversity of humanitarian services to meet a wide range of needs related to rural development. It is committed to ease the pains and burden of poor villagers in Montabiong, Olilicon and Tupaya, all in Lagawe, and Hapid in Lamut town. Previously, Kataguwan Center’s program covered Abinuan, Banga, Buyabuyan, Jucbonhg, Luta, Ponghal and Pulaan, all far-away villages of Lagawe. It was formed in 1995.
Likewise, it was observed that the Basic Ecelesical Communities (BEC) of the Kataguwan Center is a proven spiritual strategy that can have immense positive impact on the people.
Can the well-meaning objective of the Kataguwan Center be actively advanced by all those who took part in the activity one way or the other? They should listen to a good advice. In particular, this applies to discussion not just about the theater but on the bigger theater of battling mass poverty now engulfing the countryside.
Fortunately, through this Theater Festival and Family Day organized event, the Kataguwan Center once more promises to provide exceptional opportunities to attend to the people’s problems. As it is, the perennial problem of lack of economic opportunities in the province was not being addressed. While farming accounts for a significant portion of the local economy, productivity is still low. Youngsters are no longer interested to engage in farm work. Small subsistence farm on which the farmer produced primarily to meet personal needs is still visible. Backward practices of farmers are prevalent.
With the Theater Festival as the Kataguwan Center’s centerpiece event, participants interconnected with each other to widen their perspective on the dimensions of life. Likewise, they were given high hopes that more and more folks will realize that the center’s development projects were heaven-sent. It drew the participation of Raymund Dulnuan, Josephine Manuel and Jessa Diaton. For the other half of the event, Gyane Claire Diaton, Aileen Amuggao, Melody Grace Allaga and Anabelle Hoggang also participated. Emcess were Nixon Ligmayo, Jemyma Logmoc, Kenedy Binaliw and Jenifer Umlano. Others in attendance were Provincial Social Welfare Development Officer Joseline Niwane, Swiss national Jenifer Keel, Kiangan Municipal Social Welfare Development Officer Mark Indopia, Hapid National High School teacher Orlando Tuguinay and Grace Guihoman, a former sponsored child of the Kataguwan Center. Ms. Guihoman served as one of the judges in the theater competition. Many acknowledged that youngsters find colleges and universities to be inaccessible due to budget constraints. Thus, the Kataguwan Center extended a scholarship program for the so-called sponsored children.
With a theme of “Acknowledging the homecoming of the Karaguwan Center family to celebrate God’s blessings,” the Kataguwan Center has produced a number of promising professionals in the so-called Ayangan-speaking areas of Eastern Lagawe who have gone on to make a name for themselves.
“We’re talking about future leaders of not just Lagawe but that of the province itself,” Indopia told the ZigZag Weekly.
The role of Kataguwan Center and its personnel in the dissemination of knowledge and culture is beyond doubt of paramount importance. By providing capacity-building assistance to the predominantly-Indigenous People’s (IPs) of the aforementioned villages presently covered by the Kataguwan Center, the church is already doing something concrete to curb glaring inequalities and widespread poverty—that’s where the issue lies in the people’s theater. Is it worth watching? It’s worth playing. **By Anthony A. Araos