Robredo's Angat Buhay unveils new classroom and dorm in Bicol

Wazzup Pilipinas!?




NGO also graduate 500 students from its literacy program


In response to the ongoing learning crisis in the country, Angat Buhay Chairperson Leni Robredo led the turnover of two school buildings, a school dormitory for girls, as well as the recognition ceremony of more than 500 first grade students in a literacy program, starting with the Bicol region.

Earlier this week, Robredo was joined by Angat Buhay Executive Director Raffy Magno and partners from AGAPP Foundation, Inc. and Jesus V. Del Rosario Foundation in turning over two school buildings with a total of four classrooms to replace the old, dilapidated, and makeshift classrooms that used to be endured by almost 150 students of Siba-o Elementary School in Calabanga, Camarines Sur.

Angat Buhay’s delegation also turned over a school dormitory in Tulay na Lupa National High School in Labo, Camarines Norte to initially accommodate 15 female students who used to walk from up to 12 hours each day just to get to school from their houses and back. Since breaking ground in September 2022, construction of the dormitory was finished in seven months through the support of LBC Hari ng Padala Foundation, Sibol Camarines Norte, JCI Labo Niogan, Masflex Kitchenware, the local parents-teachers association (PTA), and the Tahilan Residence and Student Center.

Earlier today, Robredo and Magno attended the recognition ceremony of 502 grade one students enrolled in different public schools in Naga City, Camarines Sur, who form the second batch of beneficiaries under Bayan Ko, Titser Ko program - a literacy program that helps non-readers learn to decode better by combining tutorial, nutrition, and family development approaches. This is supported by the Assisi Development Foundation, City Government of Naga, the UP Alumni Association - Camarines Sur Chapter, and other civic and academic institutions in Naga City.“Our call is bayanihan in times of crisis. These small steps to bridge the wide gap in our learning situation will eventually lead to even bigger strides when more partners, volunteers, and communities come together and give millions of Filipino schoolchildren a better chance in life,” said Raffy Magno, executive director.

Despite limited resources, the non-government organization (NGO) continues to undertake efforts to alleviate the learning crisis in the country with the help of partner organizations and other volunteer groups that pool and harness resources for the construction of more school buildings and dormitories, as well as for the establishment of community learning hubs (CLHs) not only in the Bicol region but in other parts of the country as well.

Local partners express support to reinforce MATATAG Agenda programs

Wazzup Pilipinas!?




The Department of Education (DepEd) secured the commitment anew of its local partner organizations in providing relevant assistance in the realization of MATATAG Agenda during a consultative meeting on Tuesday at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan at the Central Office.

The forum aligned the local partners to the MATATAG Agenda and presented the proposed menu of education interventions that can be accomplished through partnerships.

Through the consultative meeting, both DepEd and partners discussed the distribution and classification of the programs and projects of the local partners ranging from partiality in regions, grade levels, type of program, and project scope.

"The MATATAG Agenda is not merely a dream, it is a commitment, so now more than ever, we need your continued collaboration," DepEd Chief of Staff and Spokesperson Michael Poa said.

The representatives of DepEd local partners discussed their existing programs and its alignment with MATATAG Agenda, while others expressed interest in what additional programs can be added to the roster. The new menu of interventions provided the necessary platform for the partners to identify and realign their projects in favor of the Department’s new education agenda.

“We do appreciate and we are very much honored for the unwavering efforts, valuable partnership, and our joint objective to achieve the goals towards a Bansang Makabata and Batang Makabansa,” Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla said.

Partners voiced out their willingness to tap into teacher welfare by pitching programs for teacher capacity-building, scholarships, financial literacy, and health. Additionally, partners offered their commitment to helping learners through their well-being and health programs.

DepEd also encouraged its local partners to sign up to the newly-launched DepEd Partnership and Assistance Portal (DPAP) and see the School Improvement Plan (SIP) of various schools, which they can directly access through the website.

Spearheaded by the External Partnership Service , the event is attended by representatives of the 92 private and public partner organizations and DepEd officials and staff. This is the third meeting that the Department has organized in preparation for the upcoming Partners Forum on May 25, 2023.

Instituto Cervantes celebrated Book Day by honoring Philippine literature in Spanish

Wazzup Pilipinas!?





Last Saturday, April 22, the Instituto Cervantes in Manila celebrated the International Book Day with a recital of Filipino poetry in Spanish, a language which, although almost extinct in the Archipelago, is the language in which written literature in the Philippines was born.

The Día del Libro (Book Day), whose celebration was first introduced in the Philippines by the Instituto Cervantes in 2006, was inaugurated this year with the premiere of a video in which, thanks to the collaboration of the embassies of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela and Spain in the Philippines, more than thirty Spanish speakers from various continents recited the poem "Canto del viajero", by José Rizal. The video can be viewed on the Instituto Cervantes’ YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/InstitutoCervantesManila). According to the director of Instituto Cervantes, Javier Galván, this intiative aims "to highlight, through the variety of Spanish accents, the richness of Filipino poetry in Spanish, specifically that of Rizal, the great Filipino classic, who created his works in Spanish".

The Instituto Cervantes has been immersed for years in a campaign that tries, on the one hand, to encourage young Filipino authors to write in Spanish through creative-writing workshops, and on the other hand, to increase awareness of the Filipino literary heritage in Spanish. The Miguel Hernández Library of the Spanish cultural center has managed to gather a valuable section of Filipiniana resources. And in 2006, the center inaugurated the Hispanic-Filipino Classics collection, through which it has been possible to rescue out-of-print works such as Cuentos de Juana, by Adelina Gurrea, or lost titles such as Los pájaros de fuego, by the Manileño Jesús Balmori.

A new step in this effort to recover the memory of Spanish in the Philippines is the Philhispanic Poetry Recital. Through the second edition of this recital, which was recorded during the Día del Libro and will soon be posted on the Instituto Cervantes’ YouTube channel, the Spanish cultural center invited poetry aficionados to recite poems written in Spanish by Filipino writers, whether classics like Rizal or contemporaries like Guillermo Gomez Rivera, Daisy Lopez, or Wystan de la Peña.

Conceived as a celebration of books, Instituto Cervantes’ Día del Libro was not limited to the Philhispanic poetry recital. From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., those attending the cultural day were able to enjoy activities for children, games, storytelling sessions, book presentations, book signings, art exhibitions, free Spanish classes, gastronomy, and talks and discussions by Filipino leading writers such as Jessica Zafra, Vicente García Groyon, Glenn Diaz, among others. To cap off the event, there was a concert by the band Talahib People's Music.

There was also the traditional book market, with the presence of Manila's leading bookstores and publishers, which displayed their offer of books at a 20% discount at the Instituto Cervantes’ facilities in Intramuros. Following the Spanish tradition, the booksellers gifted the public with roses.

In addition, to commemorate Miguel de Cervantes Day, Instituto Cervantes challenged visitors to join in a quixotic attempt: to handwrite Don Quijote de La Mancha. The final handwritten book will be deposited in the Instituto Cervantes’ Library. Scenes of the Book Day can be seen in the Instagram site (https://www.instagram.com/institutocervantesmanila) and Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes Manila: https://www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

Organized by the Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines and Intramuros Administration, the Día del Libro was supported by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, the Spanish Ministry of Education, the Embassies of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela, as well as the Alejandro Roemmers Ibero-American Chair of Cultural and Creative Industries of the Miguel Hernandez University (Spain). Participating bookstores and publishing houses included Ateneo University Press, Milflores Publishing, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Vibal Publishing, Far Eastern University Publications, Ortigas Foundation, Kahel Press, and Artbooks.ph.



Caption to cover photo: Mr. Javier Galván, Instituto Cervantes Director / H.E. Ricardo Bocalandro, Ambassador of Argentina / H.E. Marcela Ordóñez, Ambassador of Colobia / H.E. Miguel Utray, Ambassador of Spain / H.E. Álvaro Jara, Ambassador of Chile / Mr. Richard Gregorio Espinoza, Counsellor, Embassy of Venezuela / Mr. Marcos Octavio Vara, Head of Cultural Affairs, Embassy of Mexico.