Source: opapp.gov.ph

Naujan, Oriental Mindoro– Twenty-four Mangyan students here will be receiving their high school diplomas from Tugdaan, a school that pursues education in the context of the indigenous peoples’ (IP) culture.

Using a curriculum and program relevant to the needs and culture of the people, Tugdaan Mangyan Center for Learning and Development will be sending out its 18th batch of secondary school graduates today in Barangay Paitan in this district.

Tugdaan, founded in 1989 by and for the Mangyans, serves the eight Mangyan tribes of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro including the Hanunuo, Alangan, Buhid, Tadyawan, and Iraya.

Its formation was aided by Ilawan Foundation and the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS).

Aside from its high school education program, Tugdaan also conducts formation and training program for out-of-school youths and community leaders. The school also has a community-based pre-elementary education program for Mangyan children.

Tugdaan has helped in peacebuilding and development efforts among the Mangyan communities as armed clashes between the New Peoples’ Army and the military peaked in 1998.

It has partnered with the Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Programme (CPPBP), a joint effort of the government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in implementing a three-phased project which involved a Culture of Peace (COP) workshop series for Mangyans, and construction of virgin coconut oil (VCO) processing plant and health centers, among others.

Previously, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles met with some 200 IPs from 56 ethno-linguistic groups in the 2011 National IP Summit.

Deles, who is also the official cabinet oversight for National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, assured the summit participants that the voices of the IPs are continuously being heard in both the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

She mentioned that Vice Mayor Ramon Piang Sr. of Upi, Maguindanao is a member of the Teduray tribe and sits in the panel for MILF talks, while Ednar Gempesaw Dayanghirang of the panel for NDF negotiations belongs to the Mandayan tribe of Davao Oriental. #