TABUK CITY, Kalinga – To promote further development of our culture, arts, and traditions, the city’s Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives (IPMRs) Sandra Uyam and Martinez Vicente authored an ordinance to create a council for culture and the arts.
The council is expected to create programs that uphold Tabukeños’ freedoms and beliefs, preserve cultural heritage, promote Tabukeñan identity, cultural properties, and customary laws, as well as support local artists, cultural workers, and cultural institutions while conserving Kalinga values such as ‘ngilin, paniyaw, bain, bodong, pagta,’ and many others at a committee meeting held today in which all barangay IPMRs of the city were present.
In a statement, Mayor Darwin Estrañero expressed his concern over the declining practice of our Kalinga customs in younger generations, indicating the risk of our tradition fading over time, and the formation of this council will not only preserve traditions but also help reinforce and empower them.
In addition, incumbent and aspiring councilors, as well as an aspiring board member, attended the committee meeting to show their support for the council’s efforts to safeguard our traditions and rights as IPs.
The ordinance will be moved to its second and third readings until it is approved, and once in effect, the council will meet once every quarter or as needed.
By Ruth Cupang & Eisenhower Bucalen
