The Phenomenon | 1

CHAPTER ONE

The Phenomenon

In the Philippines, there are also communities who maintained their

culture in their clothes, art, religion, ethnic dialect, customs, traditions and
other superficial differences. They are collectively known as “cultural
communities” or “Indigenous People”. The National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples is a government agency that formulates policies and
plans for the Indigenous people, defined these communities in this way:

“Indigenous peoples refers to a group of people or homogenous

societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, who
have continuously lived as organized community on communally
bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of
ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed, and utilized
such territories, sharing common bonds of language, customs,
traditions and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through
resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of colonization, non-
indigenous religions and cultures, become historically differentiated
from the majority of Filipinos.” (National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples Info Kit, 2007)

Technically, NCIP defined the Indigenous People as a group, living

under the circumstance of preserving and protecting their own culture which
is bounded by certain actions and traditions that the community follows.

In our country, there are almost 110 ethno linguistic groups that
inhabit the 7,100 islands of the Philippine archipelago. They constitute ten
percent of the total 88.6 million populations of the Filipino people (National
Statistics Office, 2007).
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These groups wanted to protect and preserve their culture in spite of

the changes evolving around the country. Some of us were driven by the
influences of our colonizers and western neighbors. The change marked the
transformation of a new era in the Philippine History (People, Earth and
Culture, 1998). But the indigenous people believe that maintaining their
culture could foster ethnic solidarity.

According to San Juan, Teñoso, Centeno and Anterola (2007), these

phenomena of ethnicity foster solidarity gives way to the notion of
consciousness of oneness, and in-group feeling that “I am one of those” and
“not one of those” which eventually satisfies an important psychological
need.

Erich Fromm stated in an article that this belongingness gives an

individual total security and a sense of dignity as well:

“The identity with nature, clan, religion, gives the individual

security. He belongs to, he is rooted in, a structuralized whole in which
he has an unquestionable place. He may suffer from hunger or
suppression, but he does not suffer from the worst of all pains –
complete aloneness and doubt.” (Sociology, Culture and Family
Planning, 2007)

Since they are part of a group which is different from the others,
problems are visible within the community. The indigenous peoples or cultural
communities were mostly isolated and segregated, thus lack of
communication occurs between the lowlanders and these set of people. The
different groups stayed apart and the communication or contacts are very
minimal. They do not have instruments to access proper information and they
couldn’t get enough help when the community needs it.

Communication is not just the problem, the cruelty of discrimination

and exploitation is also an issue. It has been seen in the lack of public
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services for the minorities, in the loss of their land and the underpaid labor.
This harsh reality continually surrounds the daily life of the indigenous
people. (Benjamin Abadiano, 2001)

However, most of them lose the preservation of their culture and

tradition. They were influenced by the changes brought by the lowlanders
and embraced the transformation in which they are being introduced.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines Encyclopedia (1994) cited that

many traditional village communities lost their economic self-sufficiency and
self-reliance as they adapted the lowlanders new set of economy which is
characterized by extensive and intensive resource extraction and the use of
high-level technology for profit. It has also been said that the loss of group
identity rooted from the changes in the natural environment.

Though many turned back, most of these Cultural Communities chose

to stay and to preserve their culture. This includes protecting their group and
their rights as well. In spite of the challenges they were facing even at
present, they remained as a group of individuals living according to what
their ancestors had lived before.

In a world were modernization spread with ease, fighting back may be

said as a niche. But because of the will to remain unmoved, these indigenous
people tried education as a means of preserving and protecting their culture.

In a Book entitled Social Issues (2003), it was stated that culture can
be transmitted through the use of formal and informal education. In a
primitive society, the children were originally taught necessary traits and
characteristics for their survival. But they used little formal teaching and
training. One of these groups is the Mangyans of Mindoro.

Almost ten percent of Mindoro’s population is composed of Mangyans.

They were believed to be the original settlers of the province. The term
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Mangyan is a collective name of eight ethno-linguistic groups. This includes

the following: Batangan, Iraya, Hanunuo, Alangan, Ratagnon, Buhid, Taubuid
and the Tadyawan. They inhabit most of the Highland region of Mindoro.
(Gabriel, 1992)

Mindoro province is located in the southern Tagalog Region or Region

IV. Approximately, it has a total area of 10, 245 square kilometers. This
province lies at the northern end of the Sulu Sea, west of the Bicol region and
south of Manila, lying in a quadrangle founded by 12 o9’N and 1395’S and
120o1’E and 121o15’W (Bernardo). It is divided into two: Occidental and
Oriental. (Sanga, 2002)

According to history, the tribe arrived in the province around 800 years
ago and records show that they were part of the proto-Malay race. Known at
first as coastal people, but believed that they were also trading with the
Chinese merchants. As colonizers came and immigrants settled in the
province, the peaceful lives of Mangyans were shattered. Drove and pushed
to the hinterlands of Mindoro, but decided to leave the coastal settlement to
avoid war or conflict among the people. They are known for being unwarlike
people. (Rowthorn and Bloom, n.d)

This history of exploitation among the Mangyan tribes still occurs at

present times. Issues and legal matters between the lowlanders and these
Indigenous People are still at-hand.

This is one of the main reasons why they believed that lowlanders or
Christians is their enemies and considers them as a major threat to their
culture. In the Mangyan language, they were known as ‘damu-ongs’. (Wika at
Panitikan).

In 1989, due to the clamor of Mangyan parents and elders, a school

was developed in Paitan, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. With the efforts of
Benjamin Abadiano, a development worker from Cagayan De Oro, the sisters
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doing mission within the community and Mangyan Elders, an education was
established to serve the Mangyan people itself. It is their way of preserving
their culture and protecting their identity against the abusive damu-ongs.
(Abadiano, 2001)

This school started as a non-formal education and they called it

‘Tugdaan’. It is a Mangyan-Alangan term which means ‘seedbed’. They used
that term to stress the program’s commitment to root the development of
Mangyan communities in the realities of their life and culture. ((Tugdaan
Mangyan Center for Learning and Development))

Through the efforts of “Kuya Ben” or Benjamin Abadiano, a formal

education was established the years followed. In his Lecture series presented
at 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees, he shared that, in 1992, Tugdaan
received its recognition by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports
(now Department of Education) to operate a formal secondary education.
Later, this school was awarded the “Best Education Program” in Southern
Tagalog. In 1996, the DECS National Council awarded it as the “Most
Outstanding Literacy Program” in the Philippines. (Virola, 2004)

The school developed a government-recognized, Formal High School

Education for the youth of Mangyan Tribes. It has a curriculum that has a
relevance to the needs, realities and culture of the people. Aside from the
secondary education, they also created the Capability Building for the out-of-
school youth and community leaders. It is a comprehensive formation and
training program that helps in the development process of building a just,
peaceful and humane society. An Early Childhood Development Program or
BISLOY Te’ was also established to mold the minds of Mangyan children. It is a
pre-elementary education program that conducts sessions on values
formation, literacy, numeracy and culture. A curriculum based on the
worldview and needs related to the various facets in the life of the Mangyan
children. (Tugdaan Mangyan Center for Learning and Development)
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Aside from these programs, Tugdaan also offers an Environment and

Resource Management program that provides an excellent framework for the
preservation and enhancement of the environment. The life of Mangyans is
rooted in the land and natural resources. This program enhances such innate
wisdom and skills of the Mangyan people in protecting their environment.
They also developed Sustainability Programs or livelihood activities such as:
Poultry, Swine Raising and Handicrafts making. Food processing is a major
activity in Tugdaan in which they process locally produced calamansi into
bottles of natural calamansi juice and jelly.

These training programs are the Mangyans way of preserving and

protecting their culture. The Management Team of the Tugdaan Center is
composed mostly of Mangyan people. They have direct responsibilities for the
conceptualization, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the activities
around the school.

In order to strengthen their aim, Tugdaan created 8 Elements of an

Indigenous Peoples’ Education System. This includes: Valuing Education,
values formation (faith, self-renewal, transformation, community building),
MAKABAYAN (socio-political and cultural development) and life skills
development (Technology and Home Economics). Since the aim of Tugdaan is
to preserve and protect their culture, they included the concept of cultures
and traditions in their curriculum. The school conducted lessons in relevance
to the history, language, technology, arts, music, customs, values system,
beliefs, ancestral laws, kinship, ritual, and stories and folktales of the
Mangyan people.

The Tugdaan Mangyan Center for Learning and Development’s

curriculum follows a community life cycle. It circulates from the learning of
the society, to the tribe, shared to the family and most importantly to one’s
self. This cycle was grouped according to the relevance of the subject. First is
the teaching of the Community’s Vision. It stated the Indigenous People’s
Dreams and Aspirations. In the school’s curriculum, the concept of Challenges
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and Realities were also studied. This includes topics such as; Leadership and
Governance, Organization, Land, Environment, Livelihood, Food Security,
Health and Nutrition, Water and Resource Management, and Peace and
Security. The Concept of Competence is also one of the major areas; the
study of General Knowledge (Communication Arts and Language,
Mathematics, Sciences), Promoting Cultural Integrity and Empowerment,
Promoting People’s Involvement and Participation, Enhancing Analytical
Thinking and Responsible Attitude, Promoting peace and Community Building,
Valuing Land and Environment, Promoting the Spirit of Service and
Volunteerism, and Promoting Holistic and Integrative Learning.

“Tugdaan aspires to be instrumental in the empowerment, life-

long learning, formation and community building of the Mangyan
people in Mindoro. It aims to strengthen the Mangyans capabilities as
they journey towards self-governance and meaningful development.”

It is a struggle to prove their identity and rights. But they remained

unshaken to use school as a major means of preserving and protecting their
culture. Communication through education became their standpoint as a
cultural community.

Though challenged by modernization and certain circumstances

surrounding the community, they pursue of having a formal education
because of their struggle to fight for their lands and their rights.

The Mangyan tribes will continue their fight for their ethnicity. The
transmission of the culture to younger generations and those that will follow
is one way of dealing with these problems. Formal knowledge among the
members of the tribe is another solution to achieve learning that eventually
leads each one of them to know and fight for their rights as a Cultural
Community or specifically as a Mangyan. This transmission of culture and
adapting formal knowledge can only be achieved through Formal Education.
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The researchers also believes that this cultural study of an Indigenous

Peoples School like that of Tugdaan will help in recognizing such efforts
towards the development of the community. Defying harsh realities
encountered by cultural communities has been a long time drawn struggle
among them and education is a great leap forward among these people.

This study is worth pursuing because it draws the context of

Indigenous Peoples education like the establishment of the Tugdaan which
caters the Mangyan tribe. It draws the context of preserving and protecting
their culture through education in spite of the negative realities that
surrounds them. Though there are a number of studies about these
Indigenous peoples, the researchers found out that few were indulge in
studying their education or formal education. Learning their realities will give
a deeper understanding of their importance as part of this society.

Education will decline without the use of communication. The process

of acquiring knowledge through education can be only achieved by using
language. It is a transmission of knowledge, culture, beliefs, etc., of a person
to another. The significance of this study to the field of communication has
relevance with the influence of education to the life of the Mangyans. Due to
the growing emergence of development in most parts of the country, the
preservation and protection of culture is at sake. Thus, this study gives the
researchers an overview of an organizational communication in a cultural
context. Tugdaan is an organization that uses education in order to
communicate to the group or members of the tribe certain knowledge for the
preservation and protection of their culture.

The purpose of this study is to empower Indigenous Peoples in their

drive towards formal education like the Mangyans in building the Tugdaan. It
was entitled “The Preservation and Protection of the Culture of the Mangyan
Tribes through Tugdaan School of Mangyans: A Case Study” to further
understand the culture of Mangyans and the Tugdaan. Lastly, the researchers
aim to establish relevant information that would help to further understand
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the concept of Indigenous People Education and its importance in culture

preservation and protection especially of the Mangyans.

Statement of the Problem

Education is a way of transmitting knowledge. Commonly used in

shaping and socializing an individual. For the Mangyans, this element could
help them fight the challenges that they were facing as Indigenous Peoples.
But as time passes by, the fight grew stronger because of the rapid growth of
modernization.

Cultural Preservation and Protection may be common in the language

of History and Social Studies but in a community were these two is a struggle
to remain treasured and respected, it is of major importance.

Tugdaan stayed as a school on the foot of the mountains of Paitan,

Naujan Oriental Mindoro willing to serve the Mangyan tribes even at present.
This leads the researchers to the question: “How does the Tugdaan
School of Mangyan help preserve and protect the culture of the
Mangyan Tribes?”

Objectives of the Study

1. Know the profile of the informants.

2. Describe the nature of the Tugdaan School

3. Describe the education system and its role in preservation and

protection of the culture of Mangyan tribes in terms of:
a. Curriculum
b. Faculty
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c. Students
d. Facilities

4. Identify the problems encountered by the Tugdaan School in relation to

the preservation and protection of the culture of Mangyan tribes in the
following:
a. Curriculum
b. Faculty
c. Students
d. Facilities

5. Identify the contributions of Tugdaan in terms of:

a. Preserving the culture
b. Protecting the culture

Research Postulates

1. The pieces of information from the informant’s profile could be used to

determine their relevance to the study of Tugdaan as a school that
helps in the preservation and protection of the Mangyan Culture.

2. Tugdaan School is an institution built by Mangyan elders to serve the

eight tribes of Mangyans. Its structure mainly reflects the culture of the
tribe. The administrators and teachers are all Mangyans. They also
require tuition fess but at a minimal cost.
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3. The educational system of Tugdaan in terms of the curriculum, faculty,

students, and facilities and its role in preserving and protecting the
culture are as follows:

a. The Tugdaan follows the DepEd curriculum but lessons about

the Mangyan culture are integrated. It helps the students to
maximize their potential in serving their community through
preservation and protection of their culture.

b. The faculty staff of Tugdaan is composed of Mangyan

teachers and volunteers. They role is to help the Mangyan
students be proud of their ethnicity and to serve their
community by preserving and protecting their culture.

c. The students of Tugdaan are composed of Mangyans from

different tribes in Mindoro. In Tugdaan, their main role is to
embody the Mangyan education, then use it to help in the
preservation and protection of their culture through their
service in the community.

d. Most of the facilities of the school are provided by DepEd

while some came from donations of different organizations.
They serve as training grounds for the students of Tugdaan to
be efficient in their studies that would enable them
understand Mangyan culture and its importance to be
preserved and protected.

4. Tugdaan School encounters many problems in their curriculum, faculty,

students and facilities in terms of preserving and protecting the
Mangyan Culture:
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a. The DepED has high standards and some lessons about

Mangyan culture could not be integrated in the curriculum.
This unable the school to preserve and protect the Mangyan
culture.

b. Few teachers are working in Tugdaan and some of them have

minimal resources in studying their lessons. The integration
of culture and DepEd curriculum is quite a difficulty which
lessens the quality of teaching the importance of Mangyan
Culture’s Preservation and Protection,

c. Problems in preserving and protecting the Mangyan Culture

through Tugdaan are visible because of the student’s lack of
interests in studying both the culture and standard
curriculum. Since resources, such as books and journals, are
scarce, students cannot maximize their full potentials in
learning.

d. Tugdaan School lacks facilities and equipment needed in

providing better education that would help them in their aim
to preserve and protect their culture.

5. Tugdaan contributed a lot of things in preserving and protecting the

Mangyan Culture:

a. In preserving their culture, Tugdaan focused on teaching the

IP curriculum and enhanced the school’s activities according
to Mangyans tradition and lifestyle.

b. Tugdaan contributed in protecting the Mangyan Culture by

providing the students a quality Mangyan Education that
would enable them to equip themselves in fighting for the
rights of their community.
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Theoretical Framework

The Structural-Functional is a theory that sees society as a complex

system and parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. It also
recognizes the structures of society and how they give shape to social system
through social functions. Hence, the name Structural Functionalism was
formed (Sociology, Culture and Family Planning, 2007). The theory grows out
of a notion introduced by Comte and other functionalists.

This theory mainly addresses the question of how social organization is

maintained. Thus, three major assumptions are built by theorists:

a. Stability
Social pattern (e.g, norms and values) is the chief contributor to
achieve maintenance in a society.
b. Harmony
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When parts work together for the whole, harmony is achieved in

the society.
c. Evolution
New adaptation of social structures occurs to meet needs and
demands in a society.

These three major assumptions of Structural-Functionalism theory

show the perspective of the theorists in the theory.

In Structural Functionalism, the nature of society can be seen in

interrelated social structures that fit together to form an integrated whole.
Society operates according to generally accepted norms which includes the
sharing of rules and values, thus a balanced system is maintained,

Conceptual Framework

The researchers used the Structural Functionalism theory to explain

how the Tugdaan School of Mangyans helps in preserving and protecting the
culture of the Mangyan tribes.
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In the Mangyan community, education is a major instrument for their

goal to maintain the existence of their tribe. They believe that having enough
knowledge would enable each member of the community to function
effectively which may bring positive results in the preservation and protection
of the Mangyan Culture.

The theory envisions that each social structure has functions that
contribute in the stability of a society. In Figure 1.1, the society has social
structures and they perform specific functions to achieve stability, harmony
and evolution in the society.

In this study, the structural functionalism theory shows the role of

Tugdaan which is created by Mangyans in the Preservation and Protection of
the Culture of Mangyans. This could be viewed in Figure 1.2, the Mangyan
community has the Tugdaan and it has structures which includes curriculum,
faculty, students and facilities. Each has certain functions to achieve the
Preservation, Protection of the Culture of Mangyans.

The Stability, Harmony and Evolution are related to the preservation

and protection of the Culture of Mangyans. Stability, in the case of Mangyans,
seeks to preserve the culture; harmony could be viewed as the work done by
the Mangyan community to establish Tugdaan and Evolution signifies the
education as a new adaptation to meet the needs of Mangyans for knowledge
and their demand to preserve and protect their culture.
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Explication of Terms

Indigenous Peoples

In the Philippines they are known as “cultural communities”. They are

groups or tribes who have different cultures but share common beliefs,
knowledge, lifestyle, traditions, rituals, etc,

Tugdaan
The name of the School of Mangyans, which means seedbed.

Damuong

A Mangyan term which means non-Mangyans. They usually refer to

Christians and lowlanders whom they believe to be the oppressors of their
tribe.

Ancestral Domain
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An area that is a property of the Indigenous people. It is owned or

possessed by these people through their ancestors.

Ambahan
A poetic form of Hanunuo Mangyans using seven syllable lines that
rhyme at the final syllable. It is scratched into the surface of a piece of a
bamboo, with a sharp-pointed, home-made knife.

RA 8371
It refers to the law for the protection of the Indigenous People. This law
is also known as the “Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) and aims to
“protect the rights of Indigenous Cultural communities/Indigenous Peoples
(ICCs/Ips) and for Other purposes whose social, cultural, political and
economic impacts will be felt not merely in our time nor in just the next
century but also well through the third millennium.

Norms
Guidelines people are supposed to follow in their relation with one
another.

Balay-Lakoy
The research center in Tugdaan. It is sometimes associated as little
museum of the Mangyans in Paitan.