Filipino ingenuity unfurls in Ilagan talent festival
DESPITE the h coronavirus i scare, the h Department of Education, through the Bureau of Learning Delivery-Student Inclusion Division, successfully held the 2020 National Festival of Talents with the theme “Authentic Filipino Talents and Skills: Breaking the Barriers for Inclusive Education” at the City of Ilagan, Isabela on March 9 to 13 this year.
The event would not have been a success if not for the series of coordination meetings and actions with the City of Ilagan government officials, national line agencies and security which ensured the safety and comfort of the delegates coming from the 17 regions nationwide, Dr. Gilbert Tong, City of Ilagan schools division superintendent, said.
The cultural initiative, under the leadership of Education Secretary Leonor Briones, seeks to be an avenue of opportunities for learners from the public and private secondary schools as well as learners from the Alternative Learning System to showcase their talents and skills through exhibitions of their products, services and performances.
Undersecretary Diosdado San Antonio said the Education department sought to highlight the significance of culture and the arts as part of the competencies of the 21stcentury learner .
The engagement of students in the arts means celebrating the talents and unique cultures of the Filipinos he added.
Diosdado said coming together to exhibit the learners’ talents and skills is vital in developing livelihood out of their craft and showcasing their authentic Filipino culture through the arts.
“The values of livelihood, entrepreneurship, critical thinking and problem solving, among others, of learners can be enriched as [we aspire] to uplift Filipino culture,” he added.
The 2020 festival focused on language, arts, social studies, and technology and livelihood education through exhibitions of the youth’s products and performances as evidence of learning.
The areas for skills exhibition included Technolympics for Technology and Livelihood Education and Technical-Vocational Livelihood; Sining Tanghalan for Music and Arts; Special Program in Foreign Language; Musabaqah for ALIVE — Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education; Sign Language and Braille Reading and Writing for learners for Visual Impairment and Hearing Impairment; National Population Development for Social Studies (AralingPanlipunan); PambansangTagisanngTalino for Filipino; and Science Processes and Practices On-Site Test for Science, Technology and Mathematics.
The event was in line with the Constitution’s provision under Article 2, Section 17 of the Philippine Constitution, which “stipulates that the State shall give priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism” and Article 14, Section 14, which says: “State shall foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino national culture based on the principle of unity in diversity.”
The event was also timely for the region to showcase its hospitality to the visitors, who were all praises for the warm hosting of the City of Ilagan.
Visitors applauded the hospitable Ilagueños who spent time from the start to finish in assisting the delegates at their billeting quarters to their basic needs and other concerns.
Bam Bongolan, a Bayle sa Kalye performer from Lal-lo, Cagayan was mesmerized with the program and the fireworks. “It is a truly memorable event to be here,” he added.
Having glimpses of the city’s native products for being the “Corn Capital of the Philippines” and one of the most developed cities in the North, the visitors enjoyed special products and delicacies such as chichacorn, corn pizza, inatata,polvoron corn loaf, corn tacos, pa still as dem angi, pans i dem angi, cornbonara, peanut balls, cornbetes and binallay, among others.
The talents festival in the City of Ilagan is worthy to be remembered in a lifetime.
The author is the education program supervisor-English of the Department off Education-City of I lag an, Isabel a.