Depicting IPs the right way

THE Department of Education has been urged to come up with better ways to depict the indigenous peoples in the country.

This came in the heels of another error in a learning material, which went viral after wrongfully depicting Igorots. After going viral, the “Proud To Be Igorot Challenge” followed on social media.

The challenge became a trend after the reported misrepresentation of the Igorots on textbooks, it was learned.

One distinct characteristic of the different tribes of “Igorots” is the pride of their ancestry and respect for elders, according to an official of the Presidential Communications Operation Office (PCOO).

In view of this, the PCOO is also calling on publishers, writers, fellow workers in government, and the National Commission on Indigenous People to work on better ways in coming up with how different indigenous peoples are depicted.

Children should be made to understand and appreciate the cultural sensitivities of each tribe or indigenous groups.

Meanwhile, the DepEd has also been urged that corrective measures be done on the offensive depiction of Igorots in books and modules of students.

The agency was quick to act and had already recalled the distribution of a locally-developed learning material that "wrongly depicted" Igorots.

In a statement Tuesday, the DepEd said its investigation showed that the learning material's draft document was still undergoing quality assurance procedures but was "mistakenly reproduced in good faith by some school personnel.”

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The author is Principal IV at Porac Elementary School