Tale after Trail:
Dumagat and their Quest for Quality Education
In-depth report by:
Anamarie Antolin
Candy Pagalilauan
John David Luna
John Rhey Piamonte
ith the innovations and progress made possible by ungodly technological breakthroughs of today, information is at our fingertips. With just one click, one is given access to thousands of learning resources, teaching websites, and educational materials. Learning made it easier for all—or at least not on other's end. One brought up among the minority communities of the Philippines will grow up with a sense of identity, but also a sense of injustice. With glaring barriers to institutions and language, the indigenous people (IP) of the Philippines have long been suffering from deprivation and discrimination. The country’s educational structure continues to create injustice and widen the gap between cultural minorities and the general population.
The right to access to quality education is supposedly a right everyone must have but, doesn't it remain a privilege for some?
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She is Gwen Cruz Doroteo, a 12-year-old Grade 5 student of the City of San Jose del Monte-Indigenous People Education (IPEd) School. Mabait, masipag mag aral, malakas ang loob at mataas ang pangarap - as her school teacher describes her, Gwen aspires to be a doctor someday. Dreaming of pioneering a hospital that will bring shelter and aid to her fellow tribe members. Just like her, the dream of the other children of Dumagats in Sitio Karahume is for them to be able to conquer heights and be a pillar of their families and the tribe in the future.
Gwen, as her mother called her, is part of the Dumagat tribe located in Sitio Karahume, Barangay San Isidro, San Jose Del Monte Bulacan, along the Sierra Madre mountain range.
umagat tribe is one of the hundreds of ethno-linguistic groups in the Philippines today. To be more precise, there are currently 110 ethnic groups in the country, with mainly of them concentrated in Northern Luzon and Mindanao. The indigenous groups also made up 10 to 20% of the country’s 102.9 million population, according to the latest study by the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA).
The Dumagat people residing in Luzon are part of the Agta Negrito group; one of the identified and recognized tribes in the Philippines. Dumagats originally lived in coastal areas, particularly in the Aurora and Quezon provinces. Although, there are other stories of where the term Dumagat originally came from, such as the claim that it derived from the words “Gubat” (forest) and “Hubad” (naked). The more logical origin of the term would be “Taga-dagat” which means “living near the sea” or “sea gypsies.”
They were rulers of their own land not until urbanization forced them off their land. Colonists and tourism drove Agtas away from seashores and into the mountains, dispersing them into smaller groups. Now, most of them are still located in the mountains and near riverbanks, far from the city and schools that widen the education gap that exists between IP and the general population.
According to the latest report by the Philippine Statistics Authority, only three million out of the country’s 27,232,095 educational population (as of the school year 2021-22, DepED) are from the indigenous communities.
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Through the lens: Dumagat Tribe
ollowing the trail, waves of greens, and trees across mountains in Sitio Karahume, Barangay San Isidro, San Jose del Monte Bulacan, the city's first IPEd school was built in 2019 in the community of Dumagat Tribe. In the said school, Sir Marcial Estanislao, LPT is recorded to be its first teacher.
Estanislao is also a Dumagat tribe member, a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a major in Banking and Finance, and has taken teaching units for education. He previously taught Dumagat students in Montalban, Rizal before transferring to San Jose del Monte and becoming the city's first IPEd teacher.
Garbed in red tribe clothing and heart on their tribe's purpose and culture, he told his and their tribe's story.
"Sinasabi ko lagi na kapag nag-aral ka iba ‘yong magiging buhay mo. Kaya nga ngayon kahit sa mga estudyante sinasabi ko na ‘pag na-aral ka magiging iba ka," he said.
"Hindi mo tatalikdan, tatalikuran ‘yong tribo bagkus maging isa kang halimbawa sa tribo na kahit mahirap ang buhay, kailangan mong mag-aral, kailangan mong magsikap." He added stating his belief in the importance of completing education, particularly as a member of the tribe. In his interview, he continued by stating that while the right to an education is a privilege for some, it is still a right that everyone should have.
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Dreams That Move Mountains
"Bakit ka pa mag-aaral kung dito lang naman tayo sa bundok?"
According to those around him, his motivation for finishing his studies was unnecessary because of the misconception that ethnic tribes only live in the mountains and not in cities. Thus, formal schooling is inappropriate because the knowledge imparted by these institutions cannot be applied to farming, which is one of the tribe's subsistence means. However, because of the help of scholarship programs like the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) and personal sponsorship of Most Rev. Nolly C. Buco, he was able to obtain his degree and graduate from the University of Rizal System—Rodriguez Campus making him conquer those misconceptions and proving himself.
Learning never stops for the Dumagat tribe. Not only as a teacher but also a tribe member, he has been working hard in order to improve not just his own life but also the lives of others. Rather than being confined to those stereotypes, he broke free and set his sights on a more promising goal.
Recently, he passed the Licensure Exam for Teachers (LET). Being one of the foundations of the Dumagat tribe's future, he continues to impart learning from his experience and encourages his students to pursue harder.
"Lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila [mga estudyanteng katutubo] na mag-aral kayo at nang kayo ay makatapos. Malay niyo pagdating ng panahon ay maroon na kaming katutubong attorney, doctor, engineer diba, architect. Para hindi naman kami yung tipong laging naiiwan. Laging sinasabi na yung katutubo pinakamahirap. Oo, andon na kami pero sa susunod na henerasyon, hindi na, hindi na siguro.”
iving on the edge is harder than it looks. When one lives on a mountain, the closest school can be miles away. IPs who live on mountain peaks face difficulties pursuing their education day in and day out. Moreover, poverty constitutes the most significant impediment to IPs pursuing this said right. Over the years, the Philippine government and the IPs themselves had been working hand in hand for bridging the gap that will propel the indigenous people to the heights they long for.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution paved the way for the rights of the IPs to quality education to be heard at a national level. With a string of constitutional provisions that granted the IPs rights to education: to establish and control their education, to receive protection of the State without discrimination; and a mandate for the state to take measures to ensure children of indigenous peoples have access to Education using their own language and culture.
The enactment of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 further gives foundation to the state’s obligations in giving and ensuring the preservation of the unique cultural expressions of the IPs/Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) in such ways as assuring active participation in the various programs of the government that are structured to their unique communities.
In line with the fight for quality education for all, under the Governance Act for Basic Education or the Republic Act 9155, the Alternative Learning System (ALS) was established to allow the marginalized people, namely the out-of-school children, the youth, and even the adult population to have basic education.
Setting the bar to follow, the Philippine government addresses the needs of IPs and ICCs through the Department of Education (DepEd). Citing DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2015, the department implemented the Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) Curriculum Framework to recognize IPs' right to fundamental education that is culturally responsive and to provide guidelines to their academic system. DepEd works with Indigenous groups to help them fully understand the K-12 Curriculum in light of the unique contexts of each IP community, such as their social and educational environments.
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IPEd Timeline
espite the development mentioned above, it was only in late 2019 that the DepEd IPEd was established in San Jose Del Monte. It was because of the lack of native instructor who is qualified to teach the Dumagats. Currenty, the city's IPEd school has three teachers including Sir Marcial Estanislao, Ms. Lourdes Lucas and Ms.Jenalyn Torres. According to Estanislao, DepEd set a standard wherein the IPEd teacher must be a native or an indigenous person himself.
"Pilipino tayo, hindi naman tayo foreigner na talagang English ang ginagamit sa everyday na pag-uusap." Estanislao responded in a question about his thoughts, seeing English as the most widely used medium of instruction and is required knowledge when looking for work.
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Dumagat Now
One more issue that the Dumagat tribe experiences in this regard is the majority of subjects taught in educational institutions require the use of English terms. Most of the instructional materials are written in foreign languages in which not the majority of people in the tribe are English literate as they often use their dialect in their community.
According to him, no parents will be caught talking English to their children because it is not a language prioritized for teaching and learning by their tribe.
In 2019, the IPEd school in Sitio Karahume began with 59 students. When compared to the current student population, the number increases by 13, as the school has 72 enrolled students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 this year. Since the IPEd school in the community opened during the height of COVID-19, the implementation of health protocols adds to the difficulties faced by the students and Estanislao himself.
As per his tale, he has to go to the city all by himself to get the learning materials from another school, the Karahume Elementary School—walking and hiking to their location while carrying tons of books and piles of modules on his arms. Because of the restrictions, they had to go through Modular learning, which made teaching difficult for him because not all parents in their tribe knew how to read and write to assist their children in answering their modules.
Due to the insufficient leeway for teaching, the school held a limited face-to-face session in an open space. This setup allows them to ensure that learning will progress to be assured in the students, despite the fact that most of their parents were unable to study.
The curriculums of IPEd and DepEd also remain the same, but with integration. "‘Yong MELCs ng DepEd, ‘yon pa rin ‘yong ginagamit namin. Kaya lang meron kaming integration. Halimbawa, may IKSP kami, ‘yong IKSP doon ituturo ‘yong kutura, tradisyon, kultura, lengguwahe, sayaw, laro ng mga katutubo depende sa panahon." Moreover, because of the mountain's limited resources, few adjustments are made to still meet the subject's learning objectives.
"Halimbawa, panahon ng tag-ulan so, ang mga bata kailangan turuan mo kung paano magtanim. Kung panahon ng tag-araw, tuturuan mo ang bata kung paano mangisda, manghuli ng hayop, nang maiilap na hayop, gano’n ‘yong mga, iba, kumbaga, halimbawa ‘yong Science. Diba ‘yong ibang mga gamit doon is pang bayan kami pang tribo ang ginagamit namin pang tribo. Kumbaga, halimbawa ‘yong mga animals do’n, ginagamit namin kung anong nakikita namin dito, eh nire-relate nalang, ‘yon," he further explained.
In addition, some students attend classes but are not enrolled. This is also considered one of the tribe's dilemmas because not all children in their community have a birth certificate, which is one of DepEd's prerequisites for enrollment. However, their institution permitted this to ensure that everyone could learn. "Ayon kasi 'yong hangad ni IPEd na hindi maiiwan 'yong tribo, diba, hindi maloko, unang unang una hindi maloko kasi nga hindi marunong."
Building their school also faced difficulties prior to its establishment due to initial criticisms. Some have questioned whether it is part of the DepEd's learning system—whether it is a recognized learning institution.
As a result, the school withheld their children's cards, preventing them from enrolling in the IPEd. However, the aforementioned conflict was resolved following a series of meetings and proper communication between the two institutions.
Dumagat's IPEd school in Sitio Karahume currently has three tribe teachers who are also tribe members, as required by IPEd.
"Sana, marami pang sumunod sa amin [na guro ng tribo] kasi 3 palang kami e, marami pa sanang sumunod na Dumagat na katutubo na magsikap mag-aral," he wished for the tribe children.
