Article by: Crismhil S. Anselmo and Alexandra Isabelle G. Delavin
Graphics by: Albert Dylan D. David
In celebration of this year’s Buwan ng Wika, the Mapúa University Senior High School (SHS) and Department of Arts and Letters (DAL) hosted a series of competitions and activities following the theme “Filipino at mga Wikang Katutubo sa Dekolonisasyon ng Pag-iisip ng mga Pilipino” held last August via various online platforms.
DAL Filipino Cluster Head Jose Sonny N. Soriano shared that the theme of this year’s Buwan ng Wika, which was set by the Commission on the Filipino Language (Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino or KWF), was inspired by the role of language in the decolonization of the Filipino mind.
“…kailangan nating balikan ang ating mga pinagmulan, yakapin muli ang ating Wikang Filipino at mga Katutubong Wika,” Prof. Soriano said.
For the SHS department, the Mapúa SHS - Samahan ng Filipino (SNF) Makati and Intramuros branches organized various events to promote the national language that centered around this year’s theme. As for DAL, the college department spearheaded their events for Buwan ng Wika on the last day of the month.
Last August 11 to 13, the SNF Makati branch hosted “Halaga sa Tanaga”, a poetry contest, and “Obrahuyo”, a drawing competition. Then, a writing contest entitled “SulaTinig” was held last August 11 to 15. Following that, a photography contest entitled “Retratorika” was organized last August 16 to 20.
They also held an event entitled “MaPiYa”, a competition on linguistics from August 18 to 19, followed by a Filipino dubbing competition and music video contest entitled “Boses ng Silakbo” that began on the same day until August 22. They then hosted an event entitled “BigkasLakas” where a representative from each section presented a short speech before the audience last August 20.
Furthermore, the said branch held “Huwaran ko, o’ bayani” in which the students reenacted the lives of the Philippine heroes from August 23 to 25.
Meanwhile, the organization’s branch in the Walled City hosted “Alab ng Sining”, a postermaking contest held via Instagram, “Tweet Tula”, a short poetry contest through Twitter, and “Sumbong mo sa meme mo!”, a meme creation competition on Facebook last August 16 to 18.
The Intramuros branch then organized an essay writing competition last August 19. Starting on the same day, a song writing competition that aimed to promote the Filipino language and culture was held until August 23. A day after the start of the song writing competition, they organized a quiz bee via Kahoot. The said branch held an extemporaneous speech competition last August 23 as well.
The next day until August 26, the Intramuros branch hosted more contests for the monthlong celebration of the national language. These included competitions that involved short plays and speech choirs and showcased the different talents of the SHS students. Finally, on the last day of the month, the SHS department recognized the winners of the events through a ceremony livestreamed on SNF’s Facebook page.
Before August ended, DAL also hosted a number of events in celebration of Buwan ng Wika. During the opening of the spoken word poetry and digital poster-making contests, DAL Chairperson Ma. Eliza S. Torres highlighted the importance of celebrating Filipino culture and language. “ [Ito ay] bagay na dapat natin patuloy na buhayin, palakasin, at pagyamanin lalonglalo na sa hanay ng mga kabataan,” she remarked.
Following this, DAL held a virtual exhibit entitled “Lantaw” that featured the celebration of Pistang Nayon on campus. Moreover, a webinar about the importance of the Filipino language was conducted with Ms. Jeslie Del Ayre, a Senior Language Researcher from the KWF, as the keynote speaker.
Despite the challenges brought by the online setup, the two departments pushed forward to celebrate and promote the importance of the Filipino culture and language, not only to the Mapúan community, but also to other Filipinos.
With this, Prof. Torres called on Mapúans to continue upholding the excellence of Filipinos to the world. “Nawa’y patuloy din nating asaming bigyang-buhay ang pagkilala sa yaman at ganda ng wika at kulturang Filipino sa buong mundo,” Prof. Torres said. “Taas noo, Mapúan. Taas noo Filipino,” she added.
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