Inquirer Northern Luzon : Hunger survivor heads feeding program
By Maurice Malanes
Northern Luzon Bureau
Posted date: January 21, 2009
BAGUIO CITY – He was just 9 days old 56 years ago when he and a twin brother, who were born to poor farming parents in the interior village of Sapid in Mankayan, Benguet, were rescued from starvation. His seven other younger siblings were not as lucky – they all died of hunger.
Coming to the rescue of Donald Soriano and his twin Ronald in 1952 was Elva Vanderbout-Soriano, an American missionary who founded the Bethesda orphanage (now the Bethesda Ministries International) based in Barangay Tuding in Itogon, Benguet.
Raised by and educated through the orphanage, Soriano (who assumed the married surname of the orphanage’s founder), seeks to return the favor from what he calls a lease on his life.
Since 2007, the Bethesda Ministries International, which Soriano now heads, has embarked on an integrated nutrition program for underweight or malnourished children in elementary schools in Luzon.
Bethesda collaborates with the nongovernment Assisi Development Foundation, which has a similar initiative called the Hapag-Asa (Hope for the Table) program.
“The underlying philosophy of the program comes from Christ’s admonition for us to help feed the hungry,” says Soriano, now a bishop.
He visited remote villages and found that many children drop out of school because of lack of food.
He cites Bot-oan in Buguias, Benguet, where children have to walk one to two hours to reach school. With the uphill climb to school, the children get hungry along the way and they end up eating their baon or packed lunch so they have nothing for lunch.
Seven elementary schools in Buguias are among the recipients of Bethesda’s feeding program, which also covers some schools in parts of the Cordillera, Ilocos Sur, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Isabela, Bulacan, Quezon and Metro Manila.
Mass feeding
In collaboration with health and nutrition personnel of the Department of Education, Bethesda volunteers first measure the height and weight of schoolchildren before the feeding program begins.
After 90 to 120 days of feeding, the children’s height and weight are again monitored to determine any impact.
Although not all children are underweight, Bethesda resorts to mass feeding in recipient schools. “It won’t be good to see some children salivating while other children are enjoying their meals so we resort to mass feeding,” says Soriano.
The main component of the program is what is called Vitameal, a rice-lentil meal which Soriano says is fortified with 25 vitamins and minerals and can be cooked into a cereal mix.
A 79.5-gram dry Vitameal, if cooked, can feed 30 1-to-4-year old children, and a 159-gram Vitameal, 15 adults. Besides carbohydrates and proteins, Vitameal contains Vitamins A, C, D, E, B1 (thiamin) and B2 (riboflavin) and others.
Besides potassium, iron, zinc, phosphorous and other minerals, Vitameal contains iodine that, health experts say, is vital in developing the brain of growing children and is thus crucial in their intellectual growth.
Many Cordillera folk lack iodine in their diet. This explains the prevalence of goiter in the upland region. Goiter is the enlargement of the thyroid gland as a result of lack of iodine.
Cooking Vitameal is easy but instructions on ratio and proportion of water and the cereal mix must be followed, Soriano says.
“So we have to orient concerned DepEd health and nutrition personnel and participating school heads on how to cook the cereal mix,” he says.
As part of the orientation, Bethesda releases sample packs to concerned personnel so they can also develop menus and mixtures using locally available food.
In Sadanga, Mt. Province, for example, parents volunteer to provide locally available vegetables, such as tubers and leaves of gabi or yam, which are mixed with Vitameal.
As members and officers of the Parents-Teachers Community Association, parents in Sadanga also help school health and nutrition personnel prepare the cereal mix for the children.
In some towns, such as Bokod in Benguet, local officials provide counterpart funds for the feeding program. These funds are used to buy spices (garlic, ginger and onions) or slices of meat to mix with the cereal mix.
“We encourage these local contributions and counterparts to avoid developing a doleout mentality on the part of recipient communities,” says Soriano.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The Pinoy soul and indie filmmaking
INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON
Inquirer Northern Luzon : The Pinoy soul and indie filmmaking
By Maurice Malanes
Northern Luzon Bureau
Posted date: January 14, 2009
BAGUIO CITY – When he first heard Ifugao elder and environmentalist Lopez Nauyac mispronounce “indigenous” as “indigenius,” filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik became inspired.
To Tahimik, it was a blessed “cosmic slip” as it could help him articulate the framework behind his filmmaking.
That framework is based on what he calls his “sariling duwende” perspective and approach in making independent films, which seek to help unfold the Filipino’s “Indio-genius” strengths.
The Filipino soul is often described as having been confined at the convent for more than three centuries under the Spaniards and trapped by Hollywood’s influence for decades. As a result, the Filipino’s indigenous way of looking at things and viewing the world has been suppressed or has become blurred.
Hollywood clone
Holywood clone
It is thus not surprising that the local movie industry, which also reflects the way Filipinos view the world, is more often largely a clone of Hollywood.
Hollywood’s commercial formula is generally a mix of fast-paced violence and sex. The output of this formula is what Tahimik describes as “McDo films,” in which the movie’s content is as predictable as the hamburger from that global fast food chain giant.
“When you use your sariling duwende, you are less likely to fall into the (Hollywood) commercial formula trap,” says Tahimik, who has received international awards for his independent films.
His first film, “Mababangong Bangungot (Perfumed Nightmares),” won three prestigious awards at the Berlin Film Festival in 1977. He was also honored for his 1981 film, “Turumba.”
His other films, such as “Bakit Yellow ang Gitna ng Rainbow? (Why is Yellow the Center of the Rainbow?),” and more than a dozen others are scheduled to be screened every 5:30 p.m. onwards at the University of the Philippines Film Center’s Ishmael Bernal Gallery in Diliman, Quezon City, on Jan. 12-15. The event has been dubbed the Kidlat Tahimik Film Retrospective.
Indie film fans can also view “Bakit Yellow ang Gitna ng Rainbow?” on the wide screen of the UP Film Center’s Big Cinema or Cine Adarna at 5 p.m. on Jan. 17.
Unique world-view
In between screenings are open forums during which the audience could discuss with Tahimik about his sariling duwende perspective.
“This (sariling duwende) is your unique world view, which develops and unfolds from your own context, indigenous culture and values,” Kidlat explains. “So where you come from – be it a coastal or upland community – plus the cultural traits, practices and values your community holds dear all contribute to this unique world view.”
To Tahimik, this unique world-view of the sariling duwende becomes one’s framework in telling his or her story through film, or even through a book or a feature story.
It can also be manifested in what is “Pinoy na Pinoy (truly Filipino)” in us, including the sense of humor of comedian Dolphy, which, Tahimik says, is by and large truly Filipino.
To some cultural workers, letting this view blossom can help build the nationhood of this country, which is still struggling for its true identity after centuries of colonization.
The growth of films, such as Tahimik’s indies, is “pivotal in realizing nationhood, not only for filmmakers and film enthusiasts but also for the common people,” film enthusiasts and event coordinators Pete Malaya Camporedondo and Marella Castro said in a letter to Avie Felix, theater faculty coordinator of the UP College of Mass Communication, when they were arranging for the venue of the retrospective.
Camporedondo and Castro feel that it is thus time to make Tahimik’s films accessible to a wider audience, especially students, educators, filmmakers and enthusiasts.
They also regard Tahimik as a “Filipino culture bearer” who does not only make films but also dedicates his time teaching filmmaking to the Ifugao people through a user-friendly video camera. Through this, Tahimik seeks to help record, promote and enhance the Ifugao’s oral indigenous storytelling.
To Camporedondo and Castro, Kidlat’s perspective is also vital in helping enrich the sociocultural studies of educational institutions.
Bamboo Camera Award
Bamboo Camera Award
To help encourage budding Filipino independent filmmakers, Tahimik helped start in 2005 what is called the Bamboo Camera Award.
Given to selected filmmakers during the Cinemalaya festival of independent films, the award seeks to recognize those “whose unique soul or sariling duwende is exposed and manifested in their work,” says Tahimik.
He says films chosen are “playful and vibrant but anchored on our distinct cultural traits and values as Filipinos.”
Tahimik will announce the 2008 award winners during a Bamboo Camera Night on Jan. 17 after the screening of “Bakit Yellow ang Gitna ng Rainbow?”
To Tahimik, who believes in the power of symbols to convey messages, his choice of bamboo as symbol for the award signifies an effort to help both filmmakers and audience not to grow weary in continuing to discover and rediscover their distinct spirits or unique souls in making and appreciating films.
Inquirer Northern Luzon : The Pinoy soul and indie filmmaking
By Maurice Malanes
Northern Luzon Bureau
Posted date: January 14, 2009
BAGUIO CITY – When he first heard Ifugao elder and environmentalist Lopez Nauyac mispronounce “indigenous” as “indigenius,” filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik became inspired.
To Tahimik, it was a blessed “cosmic slip” as it could help him articulate the framework behind his filmmaking.
That framework is based on what he calls his “sariling duwende” perspective and approach in making independent films, which seek to help unfold the Filipino’s “Indio-genius” strengths.
The Filipino soul is often described as having been confined at the convent for more than three centuries under the Spaniards and trapped by Hollywood’s influence for decades. As a result, the Filipino’s indigenous way of looking at things and viewing the world has been suppressed or has become blurred.
Hollywood clone
Holywood clone
It is thus not surprising that the local movie industry, which also reflects the way Filipinos view the world, is more often largely a clone of Hollywood.
Hollywood’s commercial formula is generally a mix of fast-paced violence and sex. The output of this formula is what Tahimik describes as “McDo films,” in which the movie’s content is as predictable as the hamburger from that global fast food chain giant.
“When you use your sariling duwende, you are less likely to fall into the (Hollywood) commercial formula trap,” says Tahimik, who has received international awards for his independent films.
His first film, “Mababangong Bangungot (Perfumed Nightmares),” won three prestigious awards at the Berlin Film Festival in 1977. He was also honored for his 1981 film, “Turumba.”
His other films, such as “Bakit Yellow ang Gitna ng Rainbow? (Why is Yellow the Center of the Rainbow?),” and more than a dozen others are scheduled to be screened every 5:30 p.m. onwards at the University of the Philippines Film Center’s Ishmael Bernal Gallery in Diliman, Quezon City, on Jan. 12-15. The event has been dubbed the Kidlat Tahimik Film Retrospective.
Indie film fans can also view “Bakit Yellow ang Gitna ng Rainbow?” on the wide screen of the UP Film Center’s Big Cinema or Cine Adarna at 5 p.m. on Jan. 17.
Unique world-view
In between screenings are open forums during which the audience could discuss with Tahimik about his sariling duwende perspective.
“This (sariling duwende) is your unique world view, which develops and unfolds from your own context, indigenous culture and values,” Kidlat explains. “So where you come from – be it a coastal or upland community – plus the cultural traits, practices and values your community holds dear all contribute to this unique world view.”
To Tahimik, this unique world-view of the sariling duwende becomes one’s framework in telling his or her story through film, or even through a book or a feature story.
It can also be manifested in what is “Pinoy na Pinoy (truly Filipino)” in us, including the sense of humor of comedian Dolphy, which, Tahimik says, is by and large truly Filipino.
To some cultural workers, letting this view blossom can help build the nationhood of this country, which is still struggling for its true identity after centuries of colonization.
The growth of films, such as Tahimik’s indies, is “pivotal in realizing nationhood, not only for filmmakers and film enthusiasts but also for the common people,” film enthusiasts and event coordinators Pete Malaya Camporedondo and Marella Castro said in a letter to Avie Felix, theater faculty coordinator of the UP College of Mass Communication, when they were arranging for the venue of the retrospective.
Camporedondo and Castro feel that it is thus time to make Tahimik’s films accessible to a wider audience, especially students, educators, filmmakers and enthusiasts.
They also regard Tahimik as a “Filipino culture bearer” who does not only make films but also dedicates his time teaching filmmaking to the Ifugao people through a user-friendly video camera. Through this, Tahimik seeks to help record, promote and enhance the Ifugao’s oral indigenous storytelling.
To Camporedondo and Castro, Kidlat’s perspective is also vital in helping enrich the sociocultural studies of educational institutions.
Bamboo Camera Award
Bamboo Camera Award
To help encourage budding Filipino independent filmmakers, Tahimik helped start in 2005 what is called the Bamboo Camera Award.
Given to selected filmmakers during the Cinemalaya festival of independent films, the award seeks to recognize those “whose unique soul or sariling duwende is exposed and manifested in their work,” says Tahimik.
He says films chosen are “playful and vibrant but anchored on our distinct cultural traits and values as Filipinos.”
Tahimik will announce the 2008 award winners during a Bamboo Camera Night on Jan. 17 after the screening of “Bakit Yellow ang Gitna ng Rainbow?”
To Tahimik, who believes in the power of symbols to convey messages, his choice of bamboo as symbol for the award signifies an effort to help both filmmakers and audience not to grow weary in continuing to discover and rediscover their distinct spirits or unique souls in making and appreciating films.
Friday, January 02, 2009
IN MEMORIAM: Torchbearer of ‘Igorot nationalism’
IN MEMORIAM
Torchbearer of ‘Igorot nationalism’
By Maurice Malanes
Northern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 02:28:00 12/23/2008
Filed Under: Police, Crime, Regional authorities
BAGUIO CITY – Igorots of the Cordillera are not only mourning the death of the first television personality among them who was too young to die at the peak of his career. They are also grieving over the loss of the region’s envoy and torchbearer of what may be called “Igorot nationalism.”
Many Igorot and other supporters were shocked upon learning that Mark Angelo Cadaweng Cielo – Marky Cielo to his fans – died in his sleep at the family’s house in Antipolo City on Dec. 7. He was 20.
“My heart aches for a life so short … We Igorots know how long we had waited for a Marky Cielo – a young, handsome, humble, talented, good-hearted guy who never denied his Igorot roots,” laments a fan who signed her name only as Miss Buguias in an online feedback at GMA 7’s website on Dec. 11.
The television network GMA 7 sponsored the 2005-2006 reality talent show StarStruck where Cielo won as the “sole survivor.”
Cielo indeed was proud of his Igorot roots. Introducing himself in his website, markycielo.net, he said he grew up in Butuan in Mindanao then moved to Mt. Province in 2001.
“Of course, both places are in the Philippines,” he said as if to stress that any Filipino wherever he comes from could join show biz.
“My classmates convinced me to join StarStruck in 2006 and I won the Ultimate Male Survivor title. I won the first Sole Survivor title of the reality TV show and the first Igorot ever to join that contest,” he said.
During the later phase of the StarStruck contest, the finalists were asked who among them could be the sole survivor and one reportedly said Cielo could not qualify because he was an Igorot.
Many Igorot supporters said the statement smacked of bigotry and discrimination. They launched a counter-offensive through SMS (short messaging service or text message) and blog (web log) messages, which gathered support for Cielo’s bid to top the contest.
Apart from the overwhelming support, Cielo also showed his special talent, among them dancing, which charmed actress Lorna Tolentino, one of the judges.
Regional pride
The overwhelming protest against the ethnic slur on Cielo displayed the upland folk’s strong sense of regional pride or a kind of Igorot nationalism borne out of their history of resistance against Spanish conquest and other invaders.
In having resisted Hispanization, Igorots take pride not in having centuries-old churches in their midst, but in building historic monuments of their indigenous engineering skills such as the rice terraces not only in Ifugao but also in Mt. Province and other Cordillera provinces.
Being Igorot is therefore not a badge of shame, but of honor. The Igorots are a hardy people who resisted invaders and tamed tough terrain to help secure food for generations.
Another source of pride for many Igorots is their contribution in the last war.
Igorot soldiers who fought during World War II under the 66th Infantry of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East-North Luzon would relish telling stories about how they climbed Japanese tanks to drop grenades and would jump to safety before the tanks exploded.
After seeing the gallantry of the Igorot, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was remembered to have said, “Give me one dozen Igorot and we can win this war,” or something to that effect.
All these stories, most of them handed down orally, have become a source of regional pride for many Igorots, including those abroad.
Such pride, which Cielo carried to show business, makes his death a great loss to his people, who lost an “ambassador” in the glitzy world of television and the movies.
Shortly after Cielo won StarStruck in 2006, the independent research outfit ResearchMate Inc. based in La Trinidad, Benguet, surveyed 150 respondents in Mt. Province, asking them about their reasons for supporting him.
While 72 respondents supported Cielo because “he is from Mt. Province,” 85 respondents voted for the actor because “he is proud of his roots as an Igorot.”
Root factor
The root factor is thus largely significant: Igorot support for Cielo would have not been as overwhelming had he renounced his roots.
By being proud of his roots, Cielo also would have helped eventually shatter the colonial tendency in show biz to choose as stars mainly those who are Spanish or Caucasian mestizos or mestizas.
Mildred Cadaweng Cielo, the actor’s mother, said her son becoming the Igorot icon has become an accidental “mission.” With a report from Frank Cimatu
Torchbearer of ‘Igorot nationalism’
By Maurice Malanes
Northern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 02:28:00 12/23/2008
Filed Under: Police, Crime, Regional authorities
BAGUIO CITY – Igorots of the Cordillera are not only mourning the death of the first television personality among them who was too young to die at the peak of his career. They are also grieving over the loss of the region’s envoy and torchbearer of what may be called “Igorot nationalism.”
Many Igorot and other supporters were shocked upon learning that Mark Angelo Cadaweng Cielo – Marky Cielo to his fans – died in his sleep at the family’s house in Antipolo City on Dec. 7. He was 20.
“My heart aches for a life so short … We Igorots know how long we had waited for a Marky Cielo – a young, handsome, humble, talented, good-hearted guy who never denied his Igorot roots,” laments a fan who signed her name only as Miss Buguias in an online feedback at GMA 7’s website on Dec. 11.
The television network GMA 7 sponsored the 2005-2006 reality talent show StarStruck where Cielo won as the “sole survivor.”
Cielo indeed was proud of his Igorot roots. Introducing himself in his website, markycielo.net, he said he grew up in Butuan in Mindanao then moved to Mt. Province in 2001.
“Of course, both places are in the Philippines,” he said as if to stress that any Filipino wherever he comes from could join show biz.
“My classmates convinced me to join StarStruck in 2006 and I won the Ultimate Male Survivor title. I won the first Sole Survivor title of the reality TV show and the first Igorot ever to join that contest,” he said.
During the later phase of the StarStruck contest, the finalists were asked who among them could be the sole survivor and one reportedly said Cielo could not qualify because he was an Igorot.
Many Igorot supporters said the statement smacked of bigotry and discrimination. They launched a counter-offensive through SMS (short messaging service or text message) and blog (web log) messages, which gathered support for Cielo’s bid to top the contest.
Apart from the overwhelming support, Cielo also showed his special talent, among them dancing, which charmed actress Lorna Tolentino, one of the judges.
Regional pride
The overwhelming protest against the ethnic slur on Cielo displayed the upland folk’s strong sense of regional pride or a kind of Igorot nationalism borne out of their history of resistance against Spanish conquest and other invaders.
In having resisted Hispanization, Igorots take pride not in having centuries-old churches in their midst, but in building historic monuments of their indigenous engineering skills such as the rice terraces not only in Ifugao but also in Mt. Province and other Cordillera provinces.
Being Igorot is therefore not a badge of shame, but of honor. The Igorots are a hardy people who resisted invaders and tamed tough terrain to help secure food for generations.
Another source of pride for many Igorots is their contribution in the last war.
Igorot soldiers who fought during World War II under the 66th Infantry of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East-North Luzon would relish telling stories about how they climbed Japanese tanks to drop grenades and would jump to safety before the tanks exploded.
After seeing the gallantry of the Igorot, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was remembered to have said, “Give me one dozen Igorot and we can win this war,” or something to that effect.
All these stories, most of them handed down orally, have become a source of regional pride for many Igorots, including those abroad.
Such pride, which Cielo carried to show business, makes his death a great loss to his people, who lost an “ambassador” in the glitzy world of television and the movies.
Shortly after Cielo won StarStruck in 2006, the independent research outfit ResearchMate Inc. based in La Trinidad, Benguet, surveyed 150 respondents in Mt. Province, asking them about their reasons for supporting him.
While 72 respondents supported Cielo because “he is from Mt. Province,” 85 respondents voted for the actor because “he is proud of his roots as an Igorot.”
Root factor
The root factor is thus largely significant: Igorot support for Cielo would have not been as overwhelming had he renounced his roots.
By being proud of his roots, Cielo also would have helped eventually shatter the colonial tendency in show biz to choose as stars mainly those who are Spanish or Caucasian mestizos or mestizas.
Mildred Cadaweng Cielo, the actor’s mother, said her son becoming the Igorot icon has become an accidental “mission.” With a report from Frank Cimatu
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