Legarda Invites Filipinos to Join in Dayaw IP Festivals

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today encouraged Filipinos to be immersed in indigenous Filipino culture through the Dayaw Indigenous Peoples Festival.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, said that Filipinos have a lot to learn and rediscover about their culture and through the Dayaw Festival, citizens will be able to witness more indigenous performances, rituals, forums, traditional cuisine demos, traditional games, arts and crafts exhibit, which are all part of the Filipino identity.

“We have a very rich culture. I salute our indigenous peoples for preserving our culture and I thank the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, led by its Chairman Felipe De Leon Jr., for always showcasing our indigenous heritage through the Dayaw Festival, the biggest annual celebration of indigenous Filipino culture,” she said during the press conference to launch Dayaw 2014.

“Culture is our common ground as a people. We have to find that common ground so that we remain connected to one another, to find the essence of being Filipino. We have to know about and be proud of what we have and where we came from so that we can strengthen the unity among our citizens. Our culture, no matter how diverse, weaves us into one unbreakable fabric that is the Filipino soul,” Legarda stressed.

For this year, the NCCA announced that the Dayaw Festival will be held in three different venues—in Baguio City on October 22-23; in Bacolod City on October 27-28; and in Zamboanga City on November 6-7.

Legarda said that this would allow more Filipinos to be part of the celebration.

In line with the Dayaw 2014 theme, “Katutubong Filipino Para sa Kalikasan at Kapayapaan”, the Senator urged IPs to remain stewards of the country’s natural resources.

“It is sad to note that while our IPs contribute the least with respect to carbon emissions due to their simple and sustainable lifestyles and practices, they are most affected by the consequences of climate change. As we work on measures to better protect the environment and conserve our biodiversity, I urge our IPs to continue to be the primary guardians of the environment,” she said.

Legarda also assured that she is working on other measures that will benefit indigenous peoples and their communities.

Among the bills filed in the Senate for the welfare of IPs and for cultural preservation are: Ethnic Origin Act; Department of Culture Act; Traditional folk arts preservation through National Museum’s regional branches; Traditional Property Rights of IPs Act; Equal Employment Opportunities for IPs Act; Resource Centers for IPs Act; and Anti-Religious and Racial Profiling Act.