Presenting ‘Dayaw’ with pride

“For as long as I am breathing, for as long as there are indigenous communities who continue to preserve our identity as Filipinos, I will never stop working to empower them.”

This was Deputy Speaker and Antique Representative Loren Legarda‘s renewed promise to champion the rights of the Philippines’ indigenous people at a virtual interview regarding the ongoing season of her award-winning documentary series “Dayaw” on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC).

A production of the public affairs cable network and the National Commissionfor Culture and the Arts (NCCA), “Dayaw” has documented the lifeways, traditions, practices, and culture of the country’s treasured groups since 2015. The current season is impressively the show’s 11th outing.

Still at its helm is the program’s brainchild and celebrated champion of Philippine Arts and Culture – three-term senator and incumbent House Deputy Speaker Legarda, who gets to pursue her lifetime advocacy in this endeavor as the multi-awarded broadcast journalist she was before entering politics.

“It has always been Dayaw’s mission to document as many aspects of Filipino culture and knowledge systems as possible. We can only save these from extinction by continuing to instill their importance in the younger generation and let them practice and learn these treasures,” Dayaw’s host explained.

Inspired by the Philippine athletes’ stellar performance in the just-concluded Tokyo Olympics, the docu-series’ 11th season theme is “Kakaibang Sigla.”

“Dayaw Season 11 allows us to look at the different ways in which our energy, competitiveness and sportsmanship are mainstreamed in the traditional societies and knowledge systems,” Legarda avered.

So far, the new season of Dayaw – which in several Philippine languages commonly means “to present with pride” – has featured Filipino children’s games such as patintero, sipa, and luksong tinik, and a two-part special on the Punnuk, which is a show of physical strength that ends harvest time for the Ifugaos

Last Thursday, August 26, the show focused on Filipino martial arts such as arnis, silat, and eskrima, which will continue in this week’s episode.

Airing Thursdays at 6 p.m. on ANC, with simultaneous streaming on ANC’s Facebook Page, the season will wrap up with “Sayawang Pinoy,” an episode highlighting how the grace and fluidity of movements of Filipino dance express a people’s energy, discipline and joy.

Despite the pandemic, Legarda happily announced in the same interview that they are already in the works for Season 12.

“Titled “Kaka-ibang Sigla: Our Vital Energy Part 2,” it will explore love, courtship, marriage, and the cycles of life featuring the Gaddang, Tboli, and Sama Dilaut.”

As a champion of culture and arts in all aspects of her life – whether as a legislator or a private individual whose lifestyle is a testament for her love of all things Filipino – The Sunday Times Magazine asked Legarda what it means for her to be able to pursue her beloved cause a broadcast journalist through Dayaw.

“It’s a welcome breather every time, given the pressures and the noise in politics,” she chuckled. “I guess I can even say it’s a coping mechanism of sorts amid all of that, but again, what I believe it shows is the interconnectedness of all of my advocacies. Whether it’s to do with arts and culture, IPs, the environment, women and children, they all come together just as everything I do in government, through media and my everyday life are all connected,” she ended.

Past episodes of Dayaw are also available on the show’s YouTube Channel.

Source: ManilaTimes.net

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/08/29/the-sunday-times/cover-story/presenting-dayaw-with-pride/1812663