Seeking the Road Less Traveled ft. Thieza Verdijo | Kwentong Kalikasan Mini Documentary Series
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Parang I want to explore kasi I love science.
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That's why I wanted to become a doctor.
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Parang I get fascinated with little things.
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What inspired me to do that was because I was exposed to seeing things,
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you know, community work.
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I was invited and that's also where it started.
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I was still a student in Devcom, actually graduating.
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Of course, I've seen sa mga school activities like doing immersions.
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That was part of it, you know.
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But for me, not seeing it as a career, gyud.
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I love it. I love doing things.
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Pero of course, there's that parang plans of the family
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for you to be, you know, in a corporate world and stuff like that.
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And since I love volunteering work, sige uban ko.
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So daghan niya, actually.
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So we went there as a class and then we went to this community
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and we met up with the Koreans.
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There were about 20 or so Korean students
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and they were there to do some community work.
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And the fact that I am a Filipino
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and Koreans are coming to the Philippines to help.
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It's a slap on my face.
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Why are you not helping your fellow Filipinos?
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So that, actually, I wrote about it.
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That was really an awakening for me.
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Kaya tungod lagi, naaday ko dapat buhaton.
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And that started it all.
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That passion of doing this kind of work now.
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So continuing it.
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So regardless of how difficult the trail would be.
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I walked to Mount Kitanglan.
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At that time, nag-volunteer ko.
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And then I was called.
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Kaya nag-submit naman ko ang application.
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Gitawagan ko sa foundation.
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Nga, ma'am, interview hon ka na kay schedule.
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But then, of course, opportunity came.
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So I have a lot of roles, actually, in the foundation.
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So I handle projects.
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I also am the administrative officer.
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And now, with that parang responsibility
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of being a deputy director,
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encompasses everything in the organization.
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I see this kind of work as not really work.
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kung saan ba tawag?
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It's part of my life.
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It's life, actually.
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So, that's why hindi siya difficult sa ako
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ang buhaton niya, regardless of
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asa lagi kang ibutang, layo ka ayo,
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halos di nakamukaon,
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halos magutman ka sa dalan,
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ma-stranded ka sa dalan.
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When I was exposed to this kind of work,
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parang I felt sad
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that there's this community paliay.
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All the more nga meron
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naka-exposed ko sa yunan ng klaseng
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community, yunan ng klaseng work,
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yunan ng road trip.
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Na-realize na ko nga,
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there's really that need pala di ay.
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You wake up very early in the morning,
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travel for so long,
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and then coming to the community,
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and sharing to them
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unsa man ang inyong projects,
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unsa man ang inyong mga activities.
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they absorb it bitaw na
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maski wala na ka,
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na sinsero sila sa imuhang ginabuhat.
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These are our communities.
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They are the BYKs.
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Currently, we are now in
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This is at the foothills
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of Mount Kalatungan Range.
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Xavier Science Foundation,
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that's the foundation
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that I'm working in now,
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it's a 53-year-old foundation,
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and it has been founded
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by Father William Masterson.
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Xavier Science Foundation
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is a foundation that works
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to support development programs
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It acts as a conduit of funds.
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It's an initiator
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of innovative programs,
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and then it's also a forum
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So, that is our mission.
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And we really work to support,
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that Mindanao to be hunger-free
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The foundation initiated
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or worked in an initiative
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called the Payment
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for Ecosystem Services
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back in, I think, 2014.
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That's also the time
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where I started in the foundation.
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for Ecosystem Services
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a financial mechanism,
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that supports IP communities
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to be able to plant trees
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and at the same time
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from the work that they do,
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from planting trees.
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it was initiated,
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it's also for the fact that
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many of our forests
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the country is faced
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with a lot of logging,
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a lot of deforestation.
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And we experienced that
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in Cagayan de Oro
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And that really destroyed
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many of our communities
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in the downstream communities,
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especially major cities
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like Cagayan de Oro,
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and neighboring municipalities.
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And that was a big awakening
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also for our part
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because we really did not expect
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to happen, you know.
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And through the many studies
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conducted thereafter,
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it was found out that
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most of the floodwaters
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came from the sub-watershed
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found within the Calatungan Range.
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And the very reason why
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there was flooding
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is because the watersheds
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There are no more trees
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that hold on to the water.
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And that's caused flash flooding.
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it was even more strengthened,
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because of deforestation,
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there are no more floodwaters
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that can be found
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in our communities.
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for our indigenous peoples' communities
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residing within the Calatungan Range
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because as part of their culture,
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they really support
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or they continue to do that
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at their own accord.
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No one is telling them,
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but it's really part of their culture, no?
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He's the tribal advisor of Namamayo.
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And Ate Angelina Ginto,
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the wife of Dato Minyo.
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Also a woman leader here in Namamayo.
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They are the ones who are in charge
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of the waterways.
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Arun, our Calatungan
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is our protection.
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because our Calatungan
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because it's where we get our products.
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is where we think
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and get our goods
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because it's our heritage.
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It's where we protect
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it's part of our culture.
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Even these people,
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the children, we protect
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because they are the ones who buy
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It's not that we are protecting
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but we are protecting
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It was only then realized
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for the Calatungan,
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you are the ones who can do it.
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That's where the PES
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mechanism was initiated
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of the resources that we get
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from nature, from the environment
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and that is being paid to the communities
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So that's a part of the incentive that they would get.
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with the IP communities is because
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they are the ones who added this. It's their land.
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It's part of their
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What we can only do is to incentivize
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what is being already
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by the community.
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Now, we are going to
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the community nursery
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some endemic trees.
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That's what you call it?
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The foundation finds it
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promote and advocate payment for ecosystem
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services. It's not just
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again planting trees.
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Everyone can probably plant a tree
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but the idea of planting
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that it grows, making sure
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that it will really
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the longest time, it will outlive
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and I am a planter.
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The most important thing
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in the nursery is
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we can think of our
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reasons is because
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it's a community, right?
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I think this is one key factor
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why there is a need
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to support the indigenous people's
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communities is because they have the knowledge
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and the skills and even
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the old practices, cultural practices
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that they have been doing
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when we were around.
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in terms of protection and
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protecting the environment.
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better people to do this
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Given that we are
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kalatungan landscape
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it's a protected area.
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Forest Foundation
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came about in 2014-2015
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a project with them.
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We call it Echo Seed
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Project. So it's really
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an enhancement of community capacity
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for sustainable ecological
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development and economic
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development. So we
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support the communities. At first,
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our pilot for two years
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only two communities.
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Kalatungan area. And then
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thereafter, we also saw
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other potential partner
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communities. And so
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on the second phase, we
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entered again an agreement with
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Forest Foundation Philippines
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to have a project with them
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Echo Seed Phase 2 for
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five years. And this comprises
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here within Mt. Kalatungan range.
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Forest Foundation
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forest conservation. That's one of their mandates
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to support communities, to support
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programs and projects that advocates
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forest conservation
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The past five years that we have
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worked with the communities, the IP
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I think the one visible
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impact that we have
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done in the program or in the project
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construction or the
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establishment of the
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It's the tribal hall, if we
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call it that. This is a place
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where they really revert
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to us a sacred place
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in a sense that this is part
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of their culture. This is where they make
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their decisions, this is where they conduct
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We are now at the
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Sitio San Ginto. This is the Turugan
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or the tribal hall of
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the Namamayok, the Indigenous Peoples
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This was established with
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support from Savior Science Foundation
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and Forest Foundation Philippines.
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This was one of the
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It's like a place for
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More than just a quarter
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it's also a venue for the
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IP community to meet.
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This is where the meetings are held.
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occasion should revolve around
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Various rituals are also
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Since we are partners with the
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community, so every time
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we come here and we have
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2-3 days of activities,
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series of activities, then we
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get to stay here.
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when they grow up,
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they will camp here.
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These are tents that are provided
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For us, in the project at that time,
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we will just construct a building.
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Something like that.
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later on, we realized that this is
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really more than just a building.
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So, I think if you ask
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most answers that
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we get from the community
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in terms of the impact.
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things that we talked about
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the importance of
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Indigenous Peoples' Governance.
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we are eager to show
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that we have a village
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or we have a venue
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where we can gather
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and talk to the people there.
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will answer the problems
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will be able to help
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so that we can teach them
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about the justice system
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That's the venue where they can observe.
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Pangantukan Activity,
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again, this is a pilot
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or a phase two of the
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here in Kalatungan.
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Aside from just, again,
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planting, there has to be
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you have to take care of
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the entire program.
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So, there has to be some meetings,
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there has to be planting,
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area monitoring, and other activities.
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So, the role of the core team
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is essential in terms of
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facilitating all these activities.
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So, that's where the
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capacity building also comes in.
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We have to train them on
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financial management. We have to train them on
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project management. We have to
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train them on forest
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Landscape governance.
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So, those things, so that
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they can widen their
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Even knowledge and the skills are being enhanced.
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When the time comes
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we have to find out what
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we can teach them.
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Because right now,
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for our ancestral domain
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as required by the National Commission
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of Indigenous Peoples in our application
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for the Certificate of
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Ancestral Domain Title.
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Instead of just the genealogy,
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they are the venue.
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or the sites where they are
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growing, they have to follow
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the genealogy of their ancestral domain
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to their ancestors.
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True to its name,
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nagkahiusang, manobong,
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manununod sa yutang kabilin.
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So, they are united,
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one manobo, united
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for that common goal of protecting
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the ancestral domain
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generations to come. So, it's really not
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for them, the current leaders,
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but it's really for their
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for the next generation.
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are there already
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Even before we have all these
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mechanisms in place.
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indigenous peoples, it's again,
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as I've said, it's part of their culture.
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So, no one is telling them
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what to do. It's not
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us telling them. However,
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I believe protecting the environment
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or conserving the environment
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is a shared responsibility.
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It's not just for the IPs alone,
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it's not just for the community
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downstreams alone, but it's
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a co-existence of
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us as human beings
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or with the environment.
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If we see ourselves as human
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beings, then it is our
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responsibility to take care
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of the environment.
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And probably, no one will have
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but it should be felt
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deep down inside.
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While others would have some
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na kay giignan ko
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or kay nakita na ko or kay na-experience
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na ko, but more importantly
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I think, it's how you feel.
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And I know for a fact
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that I cannot do it alone,
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and there should have to be people
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together on this endeavor.
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The very reason why I'm still
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here again is because
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there's still a need for me to be here.
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Ang gigat siya dahan lang na
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ko kang mamting, and
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hindi lang ako but the whole community
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ang ihang ka down to earth
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as a person. Kabalo siya
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makiduyog kung dapat asa siya
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madu, dapat unsaan
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pag respito ang isip ko sa kamalang
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lumad. Kung positivo ang
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ito ang ginahisgutan, dakot kayo
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siyag impact para sa ako as a rekey.
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Isa siya sa nag-umulsa ko as a person.
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around me telling me that
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you are a lady, you are not supposed to be doing
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this kind of work because
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be in a corporate or sitting in a
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I don't know, in an office room
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But why you chose
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going to the mountains?
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Well, it's fresher here.
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It has a nice view
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and all of that, and it lets
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you connect to that inner self.
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So people may not understand it
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or may not have realized it
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but maybe in time
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they will, and hopefully that would
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that young people would make in the
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Well, I'm not for certain
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the kind of legacy that
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I depart this world.
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on this journey of my
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development work, even my
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experiences and my exposure
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Protecting nature is
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or protecting the environment
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is protecting the people.
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to consider nature
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abode, as our home
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and we have to take care of it.
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Nature will again continue
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doing its own thing
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who has that capacity to
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think, who has that capacity to
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it's us who should take
23:22.0
responsibility and we should
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take care of the environment
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not the other way around.
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Thank you for watching!
