School of living traditions for Tagakaulo to

rise in Malungon
By Danilo E. Doguiles Published on January 16, 2019

MALUNGON, Sarangani, Jan. 16 (PIA) -- Tagakaulo children in Malungon town, Sarangani

Province will soon have a school where they can learn traditional skills and knowledge from
masters and culture bearers.

This, after the municipal government of Malungon tapped Tuklas Katutubo (TK), a national
organization of indigenous peoples (IP) in the Philippines, for the establishment of a school for
living traditions (SLT) in Barangay Upper Lumabat.

Mayor Maria Theresa Constantino, turned over a check worth P200,000 to TK national president
Datu Jason Roy Sibug, on January 8, as initial funding for the construction of an indigenous
house where classes and training on the indigenous Tagakaulo arts and culture will be held.

With Sibug during the turn over ceremony were TK-Upper Lumabat Chapter president Renny
Boy Takyawan, municipal chieftain Datu Edmund Pangilan and municipal vice chieftain for the
Tagakaulo community Datu Beto Angonia.

At the ceremony, Mayor Constantino said her administration was encouraged to pursue the
project because of the development work that TK, in collaboration with the indigenous
community and local IP leaders, has already rendered for the residents of the village.

“It’s humbling when the community does its part. There is no reason for the government to be
idle when everybody is working,” Mayor Constantino said before handing the check to Sibug
and the TK team.

Prior to this partnership, Tuklas Katutubo, in cooperation with IP leaders in the area, facilitated
the construction of schools in hard-to-reach subvillages of Upper Lumabat. The schools --
Tandawanan Integrated School in Sitio Tandawanan and Fermin Olong Primary School in Sitio
Olong—are already providing formal basic education to children in these remote places.

TK has also assisted tribal leaders in advocating for the implementation of IP education
curriculum in Upper Lumabat Integrated School.

For its initiatives in the area, the Tuklas Katutubo-Upper Lumabat Chapter is cited among the
finalists of this year’s Ten Outstanding Youth Organizations Awards (TAYO Awards 16) in the
Education and Technology Category.
Mayor Constantino and municipal chieftain Datu Pangilan said the SLT in Upper Lumabat will
be design consistent to the tradition of the Tagakaulo people and would be based on the concept
that will be approved by the community elders.

“Apart from the building design, a more important consideration would be the activities inside
this building, the training that will be provided for the children,” Sibug emphasized.

This school of living tradition, he pointed out, will function in consonance with the DepEd-
provided formal IP education “providing extracurricular training to ensure preservation of the
cultural traditions.”

The local chief executive and the TK team have agreed to establish a technical working group to
plan the design and the implementation of the project, which will be supervised by the TK-Upper
Lumabat Chapter.

LGU Malungon, through the Tuklas Katutubo, a national IP organization, will build a school of
living traditions for Tagakaulo children in Barangay Upper Lumabat. On January 8, Mayor
Maria Theresa Constantino handed a check worth P200,000 to TK President Jason Roy Sibug (in
yellow vest) for the construction of the SLT. Present during the turn over ceremony (from left)
were Municipal Admin Officer Bienvinida Llego, TK-Upper Lumabat Chapter President Renny
Boy Takyawan, Municipal Tribal Chieftain Edmund Pangilan, and Tribal Vice Chieftain for
Tagakaulo Datu Beto Angonia.

Mayor Constantino emphasized further that besides transferring the cultural skills and
knowledge from the elders to the young generation, the SLT in Upper Lumabat will also
highlight the culture and traditions of the Tagaulo tribe as a major IP community in Malungon.

“When I assumed office, the SLT for the Blaan people has been established but so many people
are still curious about the Tagakaulo culture. Through this SLT, people will be able to
distinguish between the Blaan and Tagakaulo cultures,” she noted, saying the school is expected
to open in June.

Municipal vice chieftain for the Tagakaulo people Datu Angonia, told Philippine Information
Agency that TK’s proposal for the development of the SLT specifically for Tagakaulo people
was prompted by the appeal of the tribal leaders to help them in their efforts to promote their
culture and traditions.

TK-Upper Lumabat leader Renny Boy Takyawan elaborated that the SLT was conceptualized by
TK and the local tribal council “to ensure that, along with the formal education provided by
DepEd, cultural preservation will continue, leveraging the knowledge, practices and culture and
traditional system of the tribe to be passed on to the next generations.”

 Upper Lumabat has an estimated population of 2,000, about 99 percent of whom are
Tagakaulo.

It also boasts at least 30 cultural masters who can teach children on different aspects of the
Tagakaulo culture and practices from preparation of food to making of traditional attire and all
sorts of handicraft making, storytelling, and chanting.

“Also, through the SLT we will be able to preserve the indigenous loom weaving practice of the
Tagakaulo cloth called Inabel,” Datu Angonia said.

For this purpose, he added, the municipal government of Malungon has already trained at least
30 weavers and donated a loom weaving machine. Another loom weaving machine is set to be
turned over to the new SLT.

“Once operational the SLT for the Tagakaulo community will not only benefit the residents of
Upper Lumabat but also those living in neighboring villages of Panamin, San Juan, San Roque
and others,” Takyawan said. (DED-PIA 12)