51. PNU INDIGENOUS MUSIC FESTIVAL

PNU INDIGENOUS MUSIC FESTIVAL

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

27 October 2017

My wife received an invitation through FB Messenger from a faculty of the Philippine Normal University (PNU) North Luzon Campus, Mr. Vandolph A. Corpuz, requesting me to render an inspirational message in the Panagmula Indigenous Music Festival. After seeking permission from my superiors, I accepted the request. PNU Northern Luzon in Alicia town is known as the Indigenous Peoples Education Hub and in connection with the celebration of the 20^th Year of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) and the 7^th National Indigenous Peoples Month (October), the music festival became a reality.  

The show, in partnership with the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCAA), were filled with indigenous rituals which include the ceremonial opening program by the Cordillera DEEP Scholars and Gaddang Elder; welcome and Pandawat Ritual Putungan by the Danggayan Cultural Group; ceremonial expression of commitment where we affixed our hand print; and festival song conducted by the stage/event director, Mr. John Jerry Francisco. In my message, I gave emphasis on the promotion, preservation and development of indigenous music. I also shared the contribution of the Provincial Government of Isabela (PGI) under administration of Governor Faustino G. Dy III on the active participation of the IPs in the different Councils and in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. I also imparted the PGIs programs and projects for the Agtas of the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park and the Dumagats of coastal Isabela.

I was in awe as I listened to the music, dances, rituals and revelry which started from the invocation up to the last part of the program. Eleven groups participated: Southern Isabela Glee Club, West Tabacal Region National High School Bamboo Ensemble, Kalinga Community Ensemble, Cauayan City National High School Rondalla Ensemble, Kalinga State Univeristy Performing Group, Santiago City High School Rondalla Ensemble, Santiago Grand Batalla, Saniweng Rondalla and the PNU NL Kalibnusan Choral. Twice, I was asked to perform the Kalingan ritual dance and towards the end of the program, I joined the “Unity Dance” still in the same Kalingan steps.

In between performances, I browsed the PNU website to know more the background of the country’s National Center for Teacher Education. On January 21, 1901, the PNU was established as the Philippine Normal School (PNS) by virtue Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission as a normal and trade school. The PNS formally opened on September 1, 1901, as an institution for the training of teachers. For more than two decades, PNS offered a two-year general secondary education program. In 1928, it became a junior college offering a two-year program to graduates of secondary schools. In 1949, PNS was converted into the Philippine Normal College (PNC) through Republic Act 416, also known as the PNC Charter, with the four-year Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education (BSEE) program introduced. Subsequently, other undergraduate programs ensued; the Bachelor of Science in Education (BSE) with specialization in Elementary Education; a BSEE major in Home Economics; and a three-year Combined Home Economics diploma. In 1953, the Graduate School was established. Equipped with a legal mandate, PNC included the Master of Arts (MA) in Education curriculum in the academic program. However, the organization of a full-fledged Graduate School came five years later. In 1970, the Bachelor of Science in Education curriculum, offering major and minor subjects, was introduced. On July 1972, by virtue of Republic Act 6515, Doctor of Education (Ed.D) and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degrees were offered. In 1965, PNC established branches in Isabela (Alicia), Negros Occidental (Cadiz City) and Agusan del Sur (Prosperidad) by virtue of Republic Act 4242. In 1980, a fourth campus was born in Quezon (Lopez) province. On December 26, 1991, by virtue of Republic Act 7168, the school was elevated to university status. In 2008, it was declared the country's National Center for Teacher Education by Republic Act 9647.

The Isabela Campus or PNU North Luzon, Hub for Indigenous Education, is the third regional hub of the University located in the Municipality of Alicia. RA 4242 also became the legal basis of its creation, principally authored and sponsored by Isabela Lone District Congressman (1957-1965) Delfin Albano. On July 26, 1971, the PNC Isabela Campus was established. From the curricula offering of Bachelor of Elementary Education, new curricular programs have been added, enrolment has increased, the physical plant has grown and different services have been established. The campus offers graduate programs that cater to the needs of teachers in public and private schools not only in Isabela but in Cagayan Valley region. Today, the campus has strategically placed itself as one of the most respected teacher training institutions in Regions II and CAR responsive to the changing demands of the times and in the process of meeting these societal and national needs, it has grown and developed into its present status.

It has been decades since I last strummed my first musical instrument – the bandurria, a Spanish stringed musical instrument of the lute family with a design derived from the cittern and guitar. I was a member of the Ateneo Rondalla in the 80s and still remember some musical pieces like the “Marlboro Country” advertisement song taught by no less than the master - Mr. Charlie Valencia. Mom bought my first bandurria at Lumanog in Sta. Mesa along Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard in Quezon City. Three groups performed with this instrument in the Indigenous Music Festival and I told Dr. Elena A. Navas, the executive director and provost of the PNU North Luzon Campus, how I wish to strum the bandurria even for a minute. She smiled and replied, “Wish granted”.