Message of Senator Loren Legarda | Hinugyaw FestivalCity of Koronadal, South Cotabato | January 10, 2025

Maayong aga sa inyo tanan.

Thank you for welcoming me today. It is a blessing to begin the day with all of you in this beautiful City of Koronadal.

When the sun rises over Koronadal, it shines on hands already at work, on farmers who patiently tend the crops that will soon be on your tables, on small businesses who quietly keep the local economy, on teachers who open not just classrooms but possibilities, on public servants who choose to stay and serve here, and on young people who are discovering their strengths and beginning to shape the future they will lead. This celebration belongs to that real, everyday Koronadal.

Koronadal has always been a meeting place. People from different provinces, cultures, and faiths have come here, settled here, and decided to call this city home.

Today, as you mark another year of your foundation, we are remembering how Hinugyaw began as a thanksgiving for a growing settlement that brought together settlers and indigenous communities, and how it has grown into a festival where T’boli and B’laan culture, Maguindanaon and Christian influences, and the everyday life of South Cotabato farms and markets are all carried into the streets.

What makes your city stand out is how you treat culture and creativity as part of your daily rhythm. This is the kind of progress I want to see in our country. Hindi lang pag-unlad sa bilang ng proyekto, kundi pag-unlad sa kung paano natin pinahahalagahan ang ating kapwa tao, ang kultura, at ang kalikasan. When people know their own story, they are stronger in facing change, whether it is economic pressure, social division, or the impacts of climate change.

When I first visited South Cotabato years ago, I saw a land that listens to its indigenous communities; supports its micro, small, and medium enterprises; empowers its artisans; protects its surroundings; and trusts its young people.

To our indigenous brothers and sisters, our culture bearers, Madamo gid nga salamat sa inyo pag-atipan sang ginhalinan naton.[1] Without your language, your memory, and your courage, there would be nothing solid for the rest of us to stand on.

To the artists, weavers, and cultural workers, your work may begin in quiet rooms and small workshops, but its impact reaches far beyond those walls. Ang inyo kabudlay kag kaalam nabatyagan sang tagsa ka panimalay kag komunidad.[2] Kayo ang nagbibigay anyo at direksiyon sa kung sino tayo bilang isang bayan.

To the youth of Koronadal, you are growing up in a time of technological advancements. You are online, connected, and exposed to so many possibilities. That is a gift, but also a challenge. Your creativity is not limited to filters and reels. You can use your phones, your writing, your drawings, your music to tell the stories of your forefathers, your communities, your culture and traditions. Gamitin niyo ang inyong talento at kakayahan para tulungan ang mga lokal na produkto, para itampok ang kalagayan ng lipunan, para ipagtanggol ang mga komunidad na madalas hindi naririnig.

As a legislator, I have always believed that culture and education are essential. That is why I have worked, year after year, to secure support for cultural programs, for indigenous peoples, and for education.

I have been privileged to support the T’boli and other weaving communities here in South Cotabato through the establishment of weaving centers, support in cotton production, and the provision of handlooms, equipment, and raw materials that help turn your traditional craft into stable livelihoods. We have been supporting the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) Awardees, five of them are from South Cotabato – mabal tabih weaver Fu Yabing, T’nalak master weavers Lang Dulay and Barbara Ofong, T’boli chanter Rosie Sula, and T’boli brass caster Bundos Fara – one of our initiatives is the Lang Dulay Weaving Center in Lake Sebu. The School of Living Traditions in Lake Sebu, which trains young T’boli in traditional arts, music, and t’nalak weaving, is one of the programs I have long championed to ensure that your cultural knowledge is passed on.

I have worked to bring your stories to the nation and the world through the “Hibla ng Lahing Filipino” textile exhibition at the National Museum; traveling exhibitions featuring the sacred T’nalak of the T’boli dreamweavers; the “Dayaw” documentary series that honors indigenous rituals, crafts, and wisdom; and during the recent Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest book trade, where the Philippines was the Guest of Honour, the artistry of our National Living Treasure, Rosie Sula, was also showcased. We have also secured funding to establish National Museums here in South Cotabato—one in Koronadal and another in Lake Sebu—so that your cultural treasures and your living traditions are preserved and celebrated in spaces that belong to your own communities. These are platforms that open markets, build pride, and remind every Filipino that our indigenous communities are not on the margins, they are who we are as a people.

As the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, we pushed and supported the increase in the 2026 education budget, the highest in our history, and we are also able to close the cumulative deficiency in Free Higher Education allocations from 2022 to 2025, a strategic investment in the education of Filipino students. Scholarship allocations for all SUCs are also ensured, and the South Cotabato State College is among the beneficiaries, placing real opportunity in the hands of our youth.

This morning, as we celebrate, I hope we can think beyond the program. After the parade and performances, what remains? Sana hindi lang magagandang litrato at videos. Sana may mas maalab na dedikasyon sa puso ng bawat isa, and that is to support your cultural workers, to involve your schools and universities more deeply in community life, to take climate risks seriously, and to make sure that every family has a chance to benefit from the opportunities that culture and creativity can open.

The City of Koronadal already has strong foundations with a rich mix of cultures, a tradition of hard work, and people who care about their kasimanwa. Take care of these strengths. Invest in your culture and traditions. Listen to your elders and indigenous leaders.

Encourage our youth to dream big while remaining rooted. Protect your lands and waters.
In South Cotabato, this also means caring for the Allah Valley Protected Landscape, which safeguards your forests, rivers, and the ancestral domains of T’boli and Ubo communities, serving as a vital watershed and cultural heritage landscape. It also means protecting Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape, the province’s highest peak and an important watershed that provides water, regulates local climate, and protects the rich biodiversity, while remaining sacred for the Blaans and other indigenous communities.

As your Senator, I will continue to support communities that choose development that includes culture, economic plans that respect nature, and local growth that opens doors for many, especially grassroots communities. I will keep working for policies and programs that recognize how provinces like South Cotabato are showing the country that culture and creativity are not on the sidelines but on the frontlines of real progress.
Madamo gid nga salamat at isang luntiang Pilipinas sa ating lahat. ###