In response to the Department of Education’s call to support and adopt the Indigenous Peoples Education (IPED) program, Fort del Pilar Elementary School inaugurated its IPED Center with a traditional rite.
In 2011 the Department of Education adopted the National Indigenous Peoples Education Policy Framework which is committed to the goal of achieving education for all. Its intention is to promote shared accountability to the indigenous peoples (IPs), civil society and other stakeholders. It also subscribes to the rights-based approach which gives primary importance to the principles of participation, inclusion and empowerment.
In 2013 the Department of Education issued the DepEd Order No. 43, s. 2013 entitled “Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10533 Otherwise Known as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013” which adopted the Indigenous Peoples Education Curriculum Framework, which seeks to provide guidance to schools and other education programs, both public and private, as they engage with indigenous communities in localizing, indigenizing, and enhancing the Kto12 curriculum based on their respective educational and social contexts. IPED is the heart of the Kto12 curriculum so that no learner will be left behind no matter where they are and to which tribe they belong.
The tambo ceremony is a traditional and sacred way of offering something valuable to the Almighty. Fort del Pilar Elementary School was so lucky and honoured to have Councillor Faustino Olowan perform the tambo ceremony. Speaking in Kankanaey language, he told the story of unity of the different leaders of the Cordillera Administrative Region who came together to offer with him the IPED Center of Fort del Pilar Elementary School, asking for their blessings for a fruitful and safe place of learning and shelter. He ended the ritual by inviting everyone to give their offerings for the continuous improvement of the IPED Center.
In his message after the ceremony, he mentioned the city government appreciated the IPED celebrations, a DepEd directive that helped in the preservation of the different cultures, dances, songs and traditions of the indigenous communities of the Cordillera saying it is a way to share to the next generations the importance of one’s culture and looking back to our roots.
In response, Julia L. Ladiong, district supervisor of North Quezon, said she was so overwhelmed with the way Olowan performed the Sagada ceremony that she feels the IPED center has become a very sacred area to cherish, respect and treasure. She even certified November 29 as the Fort del Pilar Elementary School IPED Day, a day of thanksgiving and celebrations where the teachers, parents and pupils in their authentic Cordillera attire perform different dances depicting the different cultures and dances of the different provinces of Cordillera, and folkdances of our brothers and sisters from the lowlands.
This is a way of showcasing the IPED Center where the community saw its importance in educating their children regarding the olden ways and seeing some missing pieces at the center, some volunteered to bring antique materials needed in the IPED center.
By: ELMA B. TAKINAN