Two Manobo communities in the municipality of San Miguel, Surigao del Sur will have new school buildings each under the Classroom Construction for Lumads (CCL) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).

DSWD-Field Office CARAGA recently led the groundbreaking ceremony of the construction of the proposed school buildings, which will rise in Sitio Kiskis and Sitio Lamintao, both Manobo communities in Brgy. Siargao. The elders of the Manobos, one of the indigenous tribes of Mindanao, were joined by local government and education officials, and Kalahi-CIDSS community volunteers at the ceremony.

The Manobos of Sitio Kiskis will receive a three-classroom primary school building with an estimated cost of P2,390,001, while those of Sitio Lamintao will soon have a two-classroom educational facility with an estimated cost of P1,601,274.

The school buildings will be built in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Municipal Tribal Chieftain Datu Alinghian was among the IP representatives in Surigao del Sur who voiced out the need for new school buildings in their community and sought help from the national government agencies to address their needs.

“The existing school buildings in our community, which are made from light, indigenous materials, are already worn-out. We want our children to have educational facilities that are safe and more conducive to learning,” he said.

Meanwhile, DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo expressed commitment in providing assistance to IP communities in the country.

“The plight of Lumads is often neglected. Most of them live in isolated areas where government services can hardly reach them. We hope that these new classrooms will at least provide them opportunities for education which respect their rights and preserve their identity and culture,” she said.

“The program will also showcase the indigenous knowledge and strengths of the Manobos since the classrooms will be built through their compassionate, collective action or sama-samang pagkilos nang may malasakit. We will continue to work to fulfill the Department’s promise of maagap at mapagkalingang serbisyo, patas na pagtrato sa mga komunidad and serbisyong walang puwang sa katiwalian to the Lumads. The struggle of Lumads still has a long way to go, but we hope that this is a step closer towards their self-determination,” Sec. Taguiwalo added.

The construction of the classrooms will be managed by the Manobo community and assisted by the DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS staff. This guarantees that the structure and process of construction are aligned with the Manobo culture.

The CCL helps provide Lumads with accessible and culture-based education. Under the program, 251 schools or 605 classrooms will be built in sitios (sub-villages) and barangays in upland communities in northeastern Mindanao. Out of 605 classrooms, 198 will be built in CARAGA Region, the highest in the country.

Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the poverty-alleviation programs of the government that is being implemented by the DSWD. It uses the community-driven development (CDD) approach, which enables communities in targeted poor and disaster-affected municipalities to identify their own needs, and collectively implement and manage solutions to these needs. ###