8th NAKEM CONFERENCE ON THE ‘THE CENTER FROM THE MARGIN’: THE 4 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

The Hon MAGTANGGOL GUNIGUNDO

Member, House of Representatives

Republic of the Philippines 

 

I am truly honored to introduce our first keynote speaker, the Honorable Magtanggol T. Gunigundo.

 

Of the many gifts and talents of Congressman Magi, the name we use—we who are part of the struggle to fight for the right of our people to their own language and culture in a culturally and linguistically diverse country like the Philippines—one that strikes me most is his sense of humility and his simplicity.

 

In a country like the Philippines where these virtues will lead you to salvation, and therefore to the seventh heaven, it is rare to find a political leader like him who walks with and among us on the ground, we who are there with the people all the time and see the dirt and grime of how to fight, and how to fight with dignity for even the most basic things in life as one’s language and culture.

 

Congressman Magi will be remembered as the primus motor—the prime mover—of the movement to change the policy direction and bad educational philosophy in basic education in the Philippines—the education of our educatees in the basic life-long skills in a language not their own. Now called the RA 10533, or the Enhanced Basic Education of 2013, Congressman Magi was the legislative heart and soul of this movement, joining us in campaigns from Zamboanga to other places.

 

When I first met him—he was the deputy majority floorleader of the House of Representatives at that time—we were on our early morning flight to Zamboanga City. I looked at him from my corner, and he was there, seated in his corner, in that Ignatian silence he probably picked up from his law studies at the Ateneo, a kind of silence that, perhaps, not common at the University of the Philippines in Diliman where he finished his bachelor’s in political science. To enhance his political skills, he want to Harvard for a course on the management of economic reform. We now know that the peoples of the Philippines are the beneficiary of these gifts and talents.

 

I am part of an advocacy group based in the Philippines, and the thinking of this group is that we have in Congressman Magi the making of a good secretary of education. We want him to be the next one because he knows how to become one. Like Valjean in Les Miserables, I want to sing that song, ‘Bring Him Home,’ to ask the divine that opportunity be given to him so that, finally, the Philippines will have a person who understands the implications of diversity and multiplicity in basic education and in state-building. I am proud—and I truly am—to have, one way or the other, worked with a sharp and brilliant mind like Congressman Magi. 

 

Dr Quirico S. Samonte Jr.

Professor Emeritus, Eastern Michigan University

 

There is one thing in Dr Samonte that so few people know: that the University of the Philippines lost him to the Eastern Michigan University, and this American and the American public gained a man, and a proud Ilokano at that, who is oozing with humility and brilliance. There is no other proof than his having achieved the highest honor one can be accorded to an academic, the position of Emeritus Professor, a post he holds at Eastern Michigan.

 

I have had the good fortune of doing a critical review of his two narrative works, Panagani and Not At the Table, Please, for a newspaper. In those works, I saw in him that capacity to describe with ethnographic accuracy and precision the difficult issues of the day—the big and small social problems affecting the Philippines. His studies in sociology, first at the University of the Philippines, and then another at Michigan, and then eventually in comparative education for his doctorate has equipped him with that unique gift to dissect the social problem, and offer a solution. From his stint in the United States both as a classroom academic, and then eventually as administrator, he has seen what it takes to teach and to pass on the same passion for teaching to his students. In some other periods of his career, he was chief administrator of several education initiatives in other countries, an experience that brought him to the very roots of multiculturalism in education, to diversity in public life, and to the richness possibilities of cross-cultural encounter.

 

For many years, he remained in the United States, and established a bicultural family, marry Mrs Judith who is a visual artist by whom he has two daughters now grown. This bi-cultural Filipino-American family would make a trip to the Ilocos, to Dr Samonte’s homeland, and would re-experience what the he had gone through as a child of the rural areas.

 

One country’s loss, another country’s gain. That seems to be the many stories of people gifted people like Dr Samonte—people whose light could not be extinguished. I am honored to present to you, Dr Quirico S. Samonte Jr.

 

 

Dr Belinda Ancheta Aquino

Professor Emeritus, U of Hawaii at Manoa  

There are many pillars of the Filipino-American community in Hawaii and one of them is Dr Belinda Aquino.

 

There are many exemplars Filipino academics at the University of Hawaii and one of them is Dr Aquino.

 

There are many activists in the State of Hawaii and one of them is Dr Aquino.

 

There is not one thing that Dr Aquino has not done, and it is for this reason that I am very proud to present her to you today as our next plenary speaker.

 

At one time the Vice President for Public Affairs of the University of the Philippines when I was just a lowly, unnamed assistant professor, in between her teaching career at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Asian Studies and Political Science Departments, Dr Lindy also served the Center for Philippine Studies as the founding director, and stayed in that position for more than 30 years until her retirement several years ago. She studied English, went on to work for the government, took up an East-West scholarship in political science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and then Asian Studies and comparative politics at Cornell. She was on her way home to the Philippines—and was in Hawaii at that time—when Martial Law was declared. That would become the raison d’etre of her decision to stay in Hawaii until today.

 

One of the few Ilokano public intellectuals in Hawaii, she knows the story of the Ilokano people the way she knows the back of her hand, and today, we are going to pick so many things from her recounting and analysis of Ilokano history. 

 

Dr Alegria Visaya

Professor, Mariano Marcos State U &

Chief, Center for Ilocos-Amianan Studies 

 

Together with Dr Miriam Pascua, president of the Mariano Marcos State University, Dr Alegria Tan Visaya is another primus motor—a prime mover—in the Nakem Conferences movement in the Philippines.

 

We were able to put up Nakem in the Philippines because she made it sure that Nakem will find a place there. I must say that the history of Nakem Conferences Philippines is a history of our serendipitous encounter when she came for the Nakem Conference in 2006 in Honolulu, and I challenged them—she and Dr Pascua—to pick up the challenge of putting another Nakem Conference in the Philippines. They did—and this was in 2007, with Dr Alegria and myself co-chairing the conference. 

 

That is how she has put her heart and soul to this movement.

 

She would call me up about six thousand miles away.

 

I would call her up six thousand miles away—and by the phone lines we would be able to solve issues, concerns, and problems.  The reason is that she knows how to solve all of these.

 

She studied mathematics at the MMSU, finishing on top of her class as summa cum laude; went on to study administration and the social science at both Ateneo and the University of the Philippines, and then finishing her degree in educational administration that would lead her to become registrar of her university, professor of graduate studies, and eventually, secretary of the board of regents on top of her being chief of the newly-founded Center for Ilocos-Amianan Studies. 

 

One of the concerns of the Center is the production of emancipatory Amianan and Ilocos knowledge via museum and the maintenance of a library and information services. This is what she is going to talk about today. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to present to you, Dr Alegria Tan Visaya.  

THE CALL OF THE MARGINS, THE CRISIS OF THE CENTER

By Aurelio Solver Agcaoili

U of Hawaii at Manoa

Presented at the 8th Nakem International Conference on ‘The Center from the Margins,’ U of Hawaii at Manoa, Nov 14-16, 2013

 

“The Call of the Margins, The Crisis of the Center”

 

 

The argument of my presentation is simple: that in a state such as the Philippines, a state marked by multiplicity, there is no place for the fascistic notion of a nation-state built upon the 19^th century notion of state and the search for a proverbial ‘national language’ at the expense of other languages of the multi-nation state.

 

Let me be clear with my concepts: Multiplicity is meant the quality of being various, many, manifold, or multiple. Fascism’s many components is ‘the belief of the supremacy of one language, or one ethnic group’ over other languages or ethnic groups in a political body, or state.  ‘National language’ is the language imposed upon a people by law, by instruments of the law, and by the cultural and educational institutions and apparatuses of the state that believes in that fascistic component of the supremacy of one language.

 

The issue of multiplicity in the Philippines, as well as in the United States, and many other countries for that matter is a fact.

 

There is not only a single Philippines, with just in the center.

 

There is, at the very least, per Ethnologue data (retrieved August 15, 2013), we have 185 languages in the Philippines, with 4 already extinct (based on estimate of Wurm 2007), Crystal 2003, Lobel 2004, 2005, 2012). This leaves us with 181 living languages but with this situation per Ethnologue: 43 are institutional, 70 developing, 45 vigorous, 13 in trouble, 10 dying.

 

We are not going to look too far for the reasons of this terrible situation of the Philippine languages: except for Tagalog (also known as P/Filipino, and English), there has never been public appreciation, valuing, respect, and recogntion of the importance of these community languages by the government. This attitude is the same attitude of all countries that are obsessed with coming up with its own ‘national’ language as a symbol of its being a nation. We forget that nationhood is not in the language, but in the collective commitment of people to bind themselves and for a union, and from that union, presumably a state would be created, with the state making it sure that the good of everyone, what we call in Latin as summun bonum, is protected and assured.

 

The summum bonum—the highest good or the common good—is the primus motor of the building of a society. Why build a society when the rights of everyone, when the good of everyone, is not protected? One might as well live in the mountains, or in the wildness and do a Henry David Thoreau and create our own Walden Pond. 

 

I will argue that the evolution of the national language is a bad concept, a bad ideology, and an anti-people provision of human rights, and if by human rights here we mean the rights of people to their sense of the good life, to their person, their property, and their sense of freedom.  The 19^th century ideal of a ‘nation’—an ideal borrowed from the Italian, Spanish, German, English, and French sources—is a phantasmagoric dream and a case of that which is surreal.

 

What happens with this borrowing of templates—of the wrong models of nation-building—is a repeat of the same horrific acts of these countries, acts that are tantamount to the suppression of the basic rights of peoples to their languages. Let us take France, one of the countries that would fight to death the maintenance of French as its official language. It has this situation: it has 25 languages, 2 of these already extinct. Of the 23 living languages: 5 are institutional, 11 developing, 3, vigorous, 2 in trouble, and 2 dying.  Considering that France is the country of ‘egalite, franternite, and liberte’, I wonder where the contradictions lay—if at all there is—in officializing only one, and with the rest remaining in the margins or in the periphery?

 

Let us see Spain: 15 languages in total, all are living. The situation is bad as well, with 4 in trouble of becoming extinct. Of these 15 too, 5 are institutional, 2, developing, and 4 vigorous.

 

Given the above argument, and limiting the discussion to the Philippines in the hope of expanding the argument in countries that are also linguistically diverse, we have a problem in the ‘nationalization’ or ‘officialization’ of one and only one language from within, and one and only one language from the outside. When we push this situation further, we end up with the absurd, such as educational practice that penalizes students for every word of their own community language that they speak, or at worst, having them expelled as in the case of the three students heard speaking Ilokano in a sectarian school that has adopted an English-only policy. The intention in these practices, of course, is noble, with the provision of mechanism for students to get to speak either Tagalog, or English, or both—so that they will be able to demonstrate their national, and so that they would become the literate group of English-speaking elite in the Philippines.

 

There is however, a principle in ethics that talks about the integral good, and saying that ‘bonum ex integra causa malum ex cucumque defectu: or, for a good to be good, it must be entirely good, and that any defect it has vitiates its goodness.  We look at this whole exercise in the Philippines—an exerce that has been going on for the longest time—for three generations, or 78 years since 1935, or 76 since 1937. These dates are crucial for our argument.

 

Let us look at the very ideology of state education, and we see here the bundle of contradictions in the Philippines: we are not fully accounting our languages in the Philippines, and that the only myopic way we look at our language is to make them instrument of a presumed, even fantasized, national communication and conversation.

 

We forget, of course, that prior to the evolving of Filipinas, our own diverse people have been conversing with each other because we know how to deal with each other, and because we spoke the language of each other, or the other. Today, we have forgotten the very tenet of good community relationship by insisting on the singularity of a national language and aided by the use of a language of international communication.

 

The whole thing, really, is bad governance.

 

When you deprive the students and communities of their own language—and therefore their own culture, you are pushing them to extinction. And if we care about birds going extinct, or tarsius monkey becoming memory, there is that clear paradox why we cannot seem to be alarmed by the extinction of one of our own languages. We have succeeded in making extinct 4 of our languages and 10 are already dying. When we factor in the fact that it takes a thousand of years, at the very least to evolve a language, our situation is truly alarming. But when we look into the real nature of language—as the carrier of our being, as abode of the human soul, as depository of human knowledge that took hundred of years of crystallization—we are all in the wrong.

 

Thus, our notion of the center—with the national language as the pivot of national conversation is utterly poor, impoverished, and unfair. The languages pushed to the margins must now begin to account its own possibilities and declare once and for all that languages—all of our languages—are our social resource.

 

The rainbow is beautiful because it has those colors and hues that are diverse and manifold. 

 

This is the way we should look at the Philippines. This is the way we should look at the languages of the world.

 

Rising from Death–Daniw Maipapan iti Yolanda

RISING FROM DEATH
[For Rommel Maitim and all survivors of Yolanda.] 

I do not know where Yolanda is now. I cannot text her, I have no cellphone. Maybe she and Ondoy are together in the afterlife. I want to text her, ‘Don’t ever come back. You put me through a worse experience than Ondoy.–Rommel Maitim, a survivor of Yolanda and Ondoy 

You cannot but face it, this death by the doorstep. 
And you have made it to shore, and here, in these lines
Are the stories you wrested from the surge of the sea
Raging to take what it can, and then burying in its abyss. 

There is lottery in life as in death. A numbers game, this, 
And between sobs and the anguish of welcoming the morning
Is the question demanding an answer. And there is none
To wait for except to keep the laughter within, threatening

Threat itself in order to have the chance to live. 
You held onto a tree trunk or flotsam or fear
And here you are telling us how how you managed
To float, your body the altar of courage with limits. 

This birth of a child past Ondoy to welcome Yolanda
Is a syllable of hope, one at a time, until the breeze 
Of the future comes back into the present to offer
Something better than what was in these thousand deaths. 

Hon, HI/
Nov 17, 2013

 

Tearing up for Tacloban

TEARING UP FOR TACLOBAN

[For a son who understands what Yolanda meant to the poor and the wretched.] 

We do not have the sun with us as well. 

The rays streaking through our picture window
take their leave today. You open the gauzy curtains

of light green, a remnant of your mother’s Divisoria-going
days to let in the skeletons of morning light. It is the Sunday 
of rest. But in this living room filled with boxes meant

for others, we calculate how much offering we can give 
to ease what can be eased by the tender mercies 
of our drunken days. The world up there in the Central Visayas
must be crazy. You have blood coming from there, 

the warrior Waray people by your mother’s side, 

and the Chinaman ancestor who came to clear the fields, 
and then in Ormoc planted sugarcane to make 

hardened molasses for his immigrant dreams. 
These are your people, son, and I understand
where the tears come from. These are your people

and some of them have died in fear. And the children, 
dead too in the arms of their dead parents, what
anguish is this, what Camus cannot lie, what Camus
cannot protest against those who lie in life

as in death? I must tell you: two years ago, I was 

a peregrine in Tacloban, and the iniquities 
are a full act play that begins in that altar of a god-child,
ends in the streets with jaywalking tickets

for those who do not cross through 
the dotted lines. It is a city pretending to be one,
and here, in street corners are the catafalques 
of a false god, this urban nothingness gone wayward. 

The storm surge was biding its time.

It knew where to go, wiping off desires 
so we can begin anew, from the rubble 

from the garbage and the flotsam, 
the garbage to the altar of the child-man, 
the flotsam to the calming sea that settles 

in the abyss of another time. 
Tear up, son. You need that first act
to remember what can be remembered,
to permit courage to reside in our broken hearts. 

Honolulu/
Nov 10, 2013

3

 

A Waray Father’s Poem

A WARAY FATHER HOLDS HIS LIFELESS DAUGHTER IN HIS ARMS 

(From a front-page photo, Inquirer, Nov 11, 2013) 

Its name changes depending on where we are looking. 
It is Haiyan. It is Yolanda. It is death as this wall of water
reaches up to the limits of this small Tacloban universe

where lives are lived as before. The rich earth is sacred,
the calm water so, and the all-giving sea, sanctified forever
even as it buries bodies bloated after days of buoyancy

in the wrong places and times. It is carcass we see, 
and let us all shoo away the insatiable birds of prey, drive them 
to where no woman or man is found, to the depths of this pain

that you all have go to through. Now, now, let me speak 
with you, nameless father holding your own daughter,
dead to the world, dead to life, her arms and legs

limp as you hold her like a gift. I see Abram before
he conquered his fear. I see Isaac, and your daughter
is one oblation to life, not in the appropriate places, 

but here we go, co-father, what else is there but grieving 
and this grief, personal and private, public and phantasmagoric!
I do not like these adjectives, but let me die a thousand death

with you for I am a father too, sir, and I know what happiness
there is to carry your young child, caress her so, smoothen
her unruly wavy hair blown by this hurricane of a restless wind 

whose name changes in the way our fortunes do. 
Let me walk with you, co-father, and pray
that each step you take will lead you to belief,

this one salve we can have after the chaos has subsided. 
You will grow strong, and you will have other children
and you will see your daughter in your neighbors’. 

And please, accept our prayers for you and for her.
Let her, this dear daughter, go with the blowing wind, free
and freed from this violence, go forth in that life hereafter,

and become the good, generous earth, the sweet water, 
the gleaming ray of the sun in this tragic Tacloban, 
this sunken city of your mourning, grieving soul. 

Honolulu/
Nov 11, 2013

Poem: The syllable of desperation

THE SYLLABLE OF DESPERATION

TACLOBAN, Philippines — In the wake of the devastating Super Typhoon Haiyan, international help trickled into the central Philippines Monday, with promises of more help on the way soon. But in the city of Tacloban, desperate survivors seeking to flee the typhoon one were made to wait another day. weather.com & AP, Nov 11, 2013

The race is on, this lifting of babies, 
an act to catch some hope to get out
of this wasteland. It used to be home,

this city of crisp laughter and refreshing rain,
comely maidens dancing with their young lovers
weaving what rainbow dreams can be woven

out of fertile fields and magical mountains.
In the remote past, healing words came out
of the murmur of riveting rivers, swaying seas 

singing of the future, sunshiny bright
and warm and loving, a time after time
but this, this desperation in its deathly form! 

It is ten thousand ceremonies of sorrow. And more. 
When grips let loose and we have but this,
we permit the young ones to go away. 

They do not deserve any second of this,
not this sadness that reminds of how the hours 
were too long to wait, and the misery

is longer, far more, with no blue water
nor savory food to imagine. It is the usual meal
announcing its absence, and death

is by the door, and every door is let loose, 
swung open for the rampaging waters to come in,
wrestle with everything, life and limb including, 

carry all these beyond memory, 
beyond seeing, to the depths of unseeing. 
It is Tacloban, this city. It is more,

And the towns will recount what hit them, 
and then we will no longer sing. At this
time, to lament is the order of the day. 

See the syllable that is in the dirge,
this despair that stays, staying death
to appear for a while. Until then,

we count each sound we can count, 
each meaning we can make out of this,
even as we try harder not to come to our knees. 

Honolulu/
November 11, 2013

8th Nakem Conference

8th Nakem, List of Abstracts

COMPLETE LIST OF ABSTRACTS & CONCEPT PAPERS

8^th Nakem International Conference

Nov 14-16, 2013, Honolulu, HI, USA

 

 

Agcaoili, Aurelio S. University of Hawaii at Manoa. 

“The Call of the Margins, The Crisis of the Center”

 

The paper argues that in a state marked by multiplicity, there is no place for the fascistic notion of a nation-state built upon the 19^th century notion of state (as espoused by Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon) and the search for a proverbial ‘national language’ at the expense of other languages of the multi-nation state.  What the Philippines and other similarly situated countries needs to do is recognize and respect the fundamental rights of peoples to their languages. This act of respect includes the provision of public space for all these languages including the education of peoples in these various ethnolinguistic groups and communities in their own respective languages. Unless the ‘national language’ project in its fascistic and schizophrenic form is stopped and the other Philippine languages normalized, the pursuit of real and honest-to-goodness education in democracy and social justice will never be realized.   

 

Agngarayngay, Nestor. Mariano Marcos State University.

Agngarayngay, Zenaida. Mariano Marcos State University.

“Adams: A Paradise in the North Western Philippines”

 

The study is an exposition of the current condition of a pristine place in the hinterlands of Ilocos Norte. This is the municipality of Adams. By using the trope of ‘paradise,’ the exposition looks into what Adams can offer in the context of the border cultures of Ilocandia, and how these border cultures affect our sense of cultural preservation, our understanding of heritage rights, and our resolved to value the indigenous knowledge of sustaining the earth.

 

Alejandro, Rex-Belli. Mariano Marcos State University

“Panagtagikua ken Panagparangarag: Engaging Philosophy of Liberation as a Point of Departure for a Contextual Panagmennamenna”

 

The paper argues that by replacing “philosophy” with the Iluko term “panagmennamenna” as Ilokano critical thinking, we can inaugurate a way of doing philosophy in Ilokano.  This paper also introduces “panagtagikua” (owning) as the first objective of “panagmennamenna,” a necessity in putting an end to colonial mindsets of Ilokanos. The paper concludes with the concept of “panagparangarang” or epiphany. This concept revisits the Ilokano condition by investing on the peripheral or subaltern view, and thereby rescuing what it means to be subaltern from its obscurity and hegemonized position. That subaltern position may have within itself the key to forging a road to liberation, and thus, emancipation from all forms of colonization.

 

Alterado, Danilo. Saint Louis University.

“The Margin as Hermeneutical Key: Awakening the Communicative Potential of Silence in Indigenous Linguistic Worldviews”

 

The paper explores the communicative potential of silence from non-western cultural spaces to Asian-indigenous worldviews as hermeneutical key to critical and cosmic consciousness. Specifically, it speaks of the Ilokano cosmic Nakem and Laozi’s Dao.  At the core of the Ilokano Nakem is a cosmic impulse that situates this indigenous culture resilience within the dissipating ecological integrity. On the same light, in the Daoist classical text, Laozi speaks of a heavenly Dao that is the origin and the law that sustains everything in the world. In the Ilocano cosmic self and Laozi’s Dao lay a core of cultural belief – an ontology that is deeply founded on the tradition of silence. By seeking out a decisive break from dominant frameworks, this paper argues for the possibility of articulating alternative cultural and linguistic experiences as a political imperative towards democratized world.

 

 

Arce, Gilbert. University of Northern Philippines.

“The Role of the Higher Education Institutions in the Pursuit of Multilingual Education”

Rountable Discussion with Dr Alegria Tan Visaya, Dr Raymund Liongson, and Dr Aurelio S. Agcaoili

 

 

Asia, Facundo. Mariano Marcos State University.

Asia, Ninfa. Mariano Marcos State University.

Pascual, Carolyn Pilar. Mariano Marcos State University.  

“Archives of Traditional Fishing Gears and Methods of Ilocos Norte, Philippines”

 

Using indigenous taxonomy, this research looks into the broader context of names and the act of naming fishing implements among fisherfolk in Ilocos Norte in order to surface the deep-seated indigenous knowledge system of the Ilokano people. A revaluation of the fishing methods sheds light on the richness of the Ilokano mind, a mind that reveals a certain understanding of the universe, and the tools needed to relate well to this universe.  

 

Asia, Ninfa. Mariano Marcos State University.

Lucas, Marilou. Mariano Marcos State University.

Tagay, Angelina. Mariano Marcos State University. 

“Pasarabo in the Broader Understanding of Ilokano Economic Philosophy” 

 

The research looks into the place of the practice of pasarabo in the economic life of the Ilokano people. By analyzing how this pasarabo has become entrenched in the day-to-day life of the people, and by looking at the role of the returnee, or balikbayan, the paper interprets this practice in light of a variety of classical economic theories of production and productivity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aurellano, Rachelle, Waipahu High School

Soria, Julius, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Soria, Trixie, Waipahu High School

“Creating Educational Space through Heritage Language Learning and Teaching: The Case of Ilokano in a Secondary Classroom in Hawaii”

 

This presentation provides a language education model that assumes the need for grassroots school and community planning efforts in creating pedagogy towards linguistic diversity and addressing the needs of heritage learners. It is a model that offers a space to give or help give voice to young Ilokanos who are the inheritors of the language and culture of Ilokano and Amianan (North) peoples, yet marginalized within the cultural and language groups of the Philippines.

 

 

Badua, Steve Ryan, San Francisco State University

“Informing Identity, Identifying Culture: Aural Language Instruction on Intended Messages and Interpreted Meanings”

 

This paper is a commentary on the effectiveness of the Bachelor of Arts program in Philippine Language and Literature, Ilokano concentration.  This paper focuses on the course, Ilokano Aural Comprehension.  Utilizing the program’s mission statement, benchmarks, and Student Learner Outcomes as the intended messages set by the faculty members of the program, this research explores the students’ receptivity of these messages and their interpreted meanings derived from these messages.  This research also assesses how these students derive meanings through the various activities in which they partake.

 

 

Bautista, Clement. OMSS, University of Hawaii at Manoa

“The Issue of Multiculturalism and Diversity and the e-Fil Project” 

 

The paper explains the rationale behind the e-Fil project. The e-Fil archives documents on Filipino-Americans through the electronic medium for wider access by communities in need of these archives. The sharing of information is seen as a means of expanding knowledge and for a richer understanding of the experiences of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in the State of Hawaii and the United States.

 

Cajigal, Aris. Mariano Marcos State University. 

“Scaffolding the Success of the Ilocano Youth – The Ilocos Norte Experience”

 

The paper presents the overall results of the educational initiatives done by the local government of Ilocos Norte in meeting its Millennium Development Goals.

These initiatives include a comprehensive scholarship program in the elementary, high school, and college levels, extensive school improvement, teacher empowerment, and subsidy for basic school resources and utilities.

 

 

Camarao, Mark. Northwestern University

Cadiz, Neyzielle R. University of the Philippines Baguio

“Why not Iloco? A Study on Ilocos Norte High School Newspapers”

 

The research uncovers the reasons why there is a prevailing non-compliance in the Department of Education order for schools to publish student papers in Ilokano. It also unravels the non-Deped factors that continue to reinforce dominant beliefs and practices in campus journalism in the Ilokano language by looking into the practices of the 27 student-produced campus newspapers in the province of Ilocos Norte.

 

Garces, Nicki. UHM Hamilton Library.

“The Ilokano Library Collection and the Production of Amianan Knowledge: The Case of the Hamilton Library Ilocaniana Collection”

 

The research provides an analysis of the assessment of the Ilocaniana Collection of the Hamilton Library of the University of Hawaii. The assessment is framed by the various needs of the Ilokano people of Hawaii, a group that makes up almost 90% of the total Philippine and Philippine-descended people. Another rationale of the assessment is the need of the UH Manoa Ilokano Language and Literature Program for more relevant reference materials.

 

 

Clariza, Maria Elena. UH Manoa Hamilton Library.

“KADAGATAN:  An Online Curriculum on Filipino Culture and Marine Ecology”

 

This paper explores Kadagatan’s impact on Filipino cultural revival and community empowerment.  KADAGATAN embraces a cultural-based science and social studies curriculum.  The term “Kadagatan” means  seas or ocean in the Cebuano language.  It incorporates Filipino culture and core values in teaching tropical marine ecology.  Its aim is to engage students about environmental stewardship and to inspire them to take action in sustaining the wellbeing of their environment. This curriculum focuses on Filipinos and their intimate relationship with the sea, but the concepts covered in three modules are universal.  The website can be access through the following url: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/cseas/teaching/.

 

 

 

Coloma, Anna Maria Socorro. Tarlac State University.

“The Lexical Features of the Emergent Tarlac Variety of Ilokano”

 

This study identifies variations in the Ilokano language. Ilokano is a dominant language in the area. The study employs William Labov’s language variation theory which postulates that language contact with non-linguistic variables, like age and educational background, contribute to the emergence of a language variety. The study looks into the lexical features of the Ilocano variety that is marked by borrowing from the Tagalog and English languages. The study also notes variations in terms of affixation as well as in orthography.

 

Dulay, Amadeo. Guild of Ilokano Writers. TMI Filipinas.

Manuel, Marialita. Guild of Ilokano Writers. TMI Filipinas.

Manuel, Ruperto. Guild of Ilokano Writers. TMI Filipinas.

Perez, Filma. Local Government of Nueva Vizcaya.

“Name-Giving Practices Among Ilokanos”

 

The paper presents the name-giving practices of Ilokanos particularly those from the Ilokanized region of the Cagayan Valley area. Such practices simulate the same age-old practices of the Ilokanos in the Ilocos. In many instances, however, these practices have been tested by the changing social conditions in many Ilokanized areas, and the onslaught of more Americanized and Western ways of assigning names of children.

 

“Social Change Among Ilongots”

The presentation looks into the assimilation patterns of the Ilongots, otherwise known as headhunters of the hinterlands of the Cagayan Valley area. It looks into the various factors that have contributed to this change in their outlook, practices, beliefs, and ethos. It further explores how social contact with various ethnolinguistic groups has contributed to this marked social change.

 

Felicitas, Ausbert. University of Northern Philippines.

Jaramilla, Aldrin. University of Northern Philippines.

“Towards a Social Phenomenology of ‘Gasat’”

 

Using a synthetic and syncretic approach to analyzing ‘gasat,’ the presentation reframes this key concept in the Ilokano schemata of understanding a view of human life. ‘Gasat’ is juxtaposed against the concept of planning, prediction, and willpower. Drawing from the indigenous Ilokano views of the bigger narrative of human life, a narrative that involves even the unexpected, the paper provides a framework for explicating a philosophy of life that goes beyond asking existential question to account responsibility and human freedom. 

 

Gatdula, Avelina. Northern Luzon Polytechnic State College

“The MTB-MLE in the Field of Instruction: Recounting Observations and Practices in Sta. Maria District, Department of Education”

 

The papers provides anecdotal evidence of the efficacy of the MTB-MLE, and suggests ways to make the delivery of this new approach to basic education in the Philippines more efficient in keeping with the principles of community ownership and empowerment. The educational pedagogy of the MTB-MLE is tested not so much in the area of conceptualization but in the area of implementation and execution. This is the reason why educational leaders and classroom teachers must always be mindful of the challenges of innovation and change. 

 

Gatmen, Edna. Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College.

Tuzon, Gloria. Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College

“Campus Journalism as an Intervention Strategy in Communication Arts”

 

The research, in several towns in Ilocos, demonstrated how campus journalism could become a vehicle in sharpening the linguistic skills of educatees. The act of writing in two specified languages honed not only the competencies of educatees in writing, but also honed their ability to think and argue for the variety of perspectives that related to their own experiences. Journalism on campus, thus, is one vehicle that could be explored to equip their communication skills of educatees.

 

 

Lino, Marlina. Mariano Marcos State University.

“Bringing into the Center the Ilokano Youth’s Voice through Paka(sarita)an”

 

The research revisits the salient power of the narrative in the form of the  ‘paka(sarita)an’ henceforth theorized as a methodological approach and theory within the Nakem Conferences discourse. This discourse has been developed through the years, but it owes its seminal energy from earlier critical discourses of scholars on Ilokano language, culture, and ethos. Centered on this act of revisiting is the need to anchor the act of story-telling and story-making on the capacity of the young people to tell their own stories, or to equip them with the skills to do so in the hope that in their telling of their own stories, they could reframe their own narratives for purposes truly their own. 

 

Liongson, Raymund Ll. University of Hawaii Leeward CC. 

“Language Rights and Human Rights: The View from International Covenants and Social Justice”

 

The paper revisits the issues of language and culture and reframes these using the lens of human rights. By deploying the principles laid down by various international covenants, the question of language is seen as inalienable, and thus, requiring basic respect. Any act that runs counter to this requisite is deemed violative of this fundamental right, and a state that violates this right is as guilty as any other party, even if the state hides behind claims to ‘common good.’

 

 

Lorenzo, Natividad. Mariano Marcos State University. 

Lorenzo, Joanica. Mariano Marcos State University.

“Linguistically Diverse Pupils Learning with the Lingua Franca”

 

The paper articulates the possible problems to be addressed with frankness when the classroom is not linguistically homogenous, but diverse. Key pedagogical issues have to be solved, and compromises have to be drawn up in order not to jeopardize the education of the educatees. Despite this, questions remain—and these questions are both theoretical and practical: up to what extent one can come up with compromises in the classroom without sacrificing educational substance? The paper tries to revaluate this and offers some possible solutions. 

 

 

“Written Communications in Ilokano, No More? …Why Not?”

 

By using textual analysis, plus other complementary tools, letters are analyzed and the dominant domains in them surfaced in order to account a bigger story, or narrative. What this narrative is all about depends much on so many variables including the language used, and the form and style of communication deployed. This paper presents such relationships in an effort to understand that texts are never neutral, but always deploying meanings and symbols that are sometimes different from what is commonly thought.

 

Madariaga, Eufe. Mariano Marcos State University. 

“The Language of Politics in Infomercials”

 

The research looks into the language evident in the infomercials of two towns in Ilocos Norte, and analyzed by looking at the inflections of the words used, frequency of the buzzwords, and the apparent theme, or themes, being suggested or projected in the way the claims have been constructed. Even with a limited sample, we can see here some element of the ‘critical’ in these infomercials, and some element of the ‘drumbeating,’ or the tendency to present the candidates’ accomplishments in the active voice of the verb. 

 

Piano, Mae Oliva. University of Northern Philippines.

“Pagannurotan, Galad, Panunot, and Kinapateg as Regulative as Part of the Cultural Value System of the Young Ilokanos: The Search for a Regulative Ideal”

 

The paper presents the intricate connection of, and among, four key concepts related to the core values of the human person as understood by the Ilokanos. Tested against the young people, these values are then redefined, revisited, and reconceptualized through a variety of exchanges among members of a group of college of students (ages 16-19). By drawing on the results of the focused group discussion, and by analyzing the responses of students, the values are drawn out and contextualized in the contemporary life of the young Ilokanos.  

 

Ranchez, Jesus Basilio.* Mariano Marcos State University.

“The Unpublished Ethnic Dances in Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte: Their Dance Literature”

 

The study documents the ethnic dances of Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte. The dances are interpreted by taking into account the action, gesture, movement, and steps of the indigenous dancers popularly called Tinguians or Isnegs. Likewise, the particular instruments used suggest ways of accounting the meaning of these dances especially when these are juxtaposed against the community rites and rituals, ceremonies, and healing practices. 

 

Soriano, Nonadel. Philippine State College of Aeronautics.

“Translating Aeronautical Terms Towards Development of Aviation Lingo in the Vernacular Languages”

 

The work presents the techniques, approaches, strategies, and principles used in the translation of English aeronautical terms. The movement of the L1 to the L2 (Tagalog and Cebuano) is described and the difficulties of accounting such a difficult movement is brought to the surface in an effort to evolve a productive compromise. That compromise is not tied to the linguistic fact alone, but also to context, and to other considerations of comprehension, clarity, concreteness, and conciseness.

 

Suarez, Cecilia. Ateneo de Manila University.

Lasam, Ruth. Commission on Higher Education. 

“The Role of Independent Publishing in the Pursuit of Critical Education”

 

The presentation looks into the criticisms hurled against the implementation of the MTB-MLE from the perspective of (a) preparedness; (b) availability of instructional materials; and (c) appropriateness of such materials from the perspective of production of such materials and the training of teachers who use them. As independent publishers, the paper articulates the same questions raised by other independent publishers. These questions relate to access (a) to public resources in the development of instructional materials and (b) to government subsidy in the production and reproduction of books and reference materials for students and teachers alike.

 

Washburn-Repollo, Eva Rose. Chaminade University.  

“Cultural Allies Towards a Discursive Turn of  First Languages”

An alternative to developing a discursive turn to the first languages marginalized by hegemonic and political policies in colonized societies is to shape a discursive turn by a visible use of the first language by academics, authorities and role models. The theory that “we want to learn the language spoken by those we love and respect,” necessitates an essential foundation that can be provided by cultural allies who come from positions of power and influence. This paper proposes three different avenues for a discursive turn in the use of the first language. The three structures that can build on already vibrant local usage of the language can be situated in the following media and performance venues: 1) Radio shows inviting local celebrities and talents that use the first language to express views and share vocabulary, 2) Classrooms where teachers model first language use with appreciations for figures of speech with students, 3) Family and office gatherings where exchanges of information are made accessible to local and non-local participants (providing translations of the non-local). All of these venues offer agentive spaces for a reflexive shift to redefine the use of the first language. This is where new ideas and concepts are debated and created to increase vocabulary and love for their own language.

 

 

Yumul, Herdy. Mariano Marcos State University.

“English-Only Policy as Palisi: The Case of Saviour’s Christian Academy”

 

The presentation gives an account of what happened to the three students of Saviour’s Christian Academy from beginning to end. In particular, it narrates of the dynamic involved in forging a collective resistance to such an abuse of power and authority, in staging an organized campaign, and in drumbeating the cause of language and heritage rights. 

 

 

 

PANELS

 

The Logic of Language Access in Various Social Services

Colmenares, Serafin Jr., Office of Language Access

Cuaresma, Charlene, SEED, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Manzano, Helena, Department of Health-Hawaii

Lydia Pavon, Domestic Violence Action Center

 

Access Rights and Commitment to Social Justice

Acido, Jeffrey T. University of Hawaii at Manoa, “Getting There—But Not Yet. Or Why We Have Yet to Word the Struggle for Critical Education”

Lee, Gordon. University of Hawaii at Manoa, “Meaning What We Say in Critical Education”

 

 

 

Student Panel: Our Words, Our World

Alonzo, Erna Marie, “The Exploration of One’s Cultural Identity”

Bugarin, Channara Heart, “Finding the Ilokano-Self in Second Generation

      Immigrants”

Casinas, Jethro, “Language Transition and Pride of the Ilokano Language”

Domingo, Dean, “Coming Full Circle: From Student in the Program to Teaching in the Program”

 

 

Community Language Needs 

Dela Cruz, Castora, “The Language Needs of our Communities in the Health Sector”

Dela Cruz, Rommel, “The Language Needs of our Heritage Communities in the Big Island”

Report of Student Summit, with the Waipahu High School Ilokano GEAR-Up Program, with Alycia Kiyabu, Steve Ryan Badua, Lydia Pavon, Facilitators

 

 

Language Access and the Ilokano Community

Custodio, Jennifer, UH Manoa Honors Program, “Serving the Needs of the Students in Higher Education”

Duldulao, Glenda, KKV-CFS, “Ilokano and the Kokua Kalihi Valley Clientele”

Galacgac, Ashley, UH Manoa, “Ilokano Language and the UH Manoa College Student”

 

 

*Godspeed, Professor Jessie Ranchez. 

8th Nakem, Cultural Programme

8^th Nakem Opening Ceremonies

November 14, 2013, 0830 AM-0930 AM

UH Manoa Campus Center Ballroom

 

National Anthems                   ‘O Filipinas,’ Nailian a Kanta

                                                Ms Roselle Julian, UH Manoa

 

                                                ‘Star Spangled Banner’

                                                Ms Shayna Joy Benigno, UH Manoa

                                   

                                                ‘Hawaii Ponoi’

                                                Ms Shayna Joy Benigno, UH Manoa

 

Doxology                                ‘Iyawidmo,’ a Prayer for the 8^th Nakem Conference

Dr Julius B. Soria

                                                Assistant Professor

                                                UHM Ilokano Language & Literature Program

 

Greetings                                 Dr John F. Mayer

                                                Chair, Dept. of Indo-Pacific Languages & Literatures

                                                UH Manoa

 

                                                Dr Vina Lanzona

                                                Director, Center for Philippine Studies

                                                UH Manoa

 

Welcome Remarks                  Dr Amy Agbayani

                                                Director, Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity

                                                UH Manoa

 

Presentation of Delegates       Dr Raymund Ll. Liongson

                                                Co-Chair, Nakem 2013 Organizing Committee

                                                Coordinator, Philippine Studies Program

                                                     UH Leeward Community College

 

Presentation Procedures         Dr Julius B. Soria

                                                Co-Chair, Nakem 2013 Organizing Committee

 

Declaration                              Formal Opening of the Conference &

                                                Introduction of the Plenary Speaker

                                                Dr Aurelio Solver Agcaoili

                                                Chair, Nakem 2013 Organizing Committee

 

Plenary Address                     The Hon. Magtanggol T. Gunigundo

                                                Member, House of Representatives

                                                Republic of the Philippines

                            

                             Dr Raymund Ll. Liongson

                                                  Master of Ceremonies

 

 

 

 

8^th Nakem Cultural Programme

November 14, 2013, 530 PM-930 PM

UH Manoa Campus Center Ballroom

 

 

National Anthems                   Nailian a Kanta, ‘O Filipinas’

Ilokano 301 & Ilokano 401 Students:

Arrieta, Allyson; Alonzo, Erna Marie; Basig Mary Grace; Boado, Brian; Caluya, Christian; Domingo, Jensine; Julian Maribel; Julian, Roselle; Juliano, Benedict; Namnama, Premar; Tagaban, Lauren; Velasco, Brenda

                         

                                                ‘Star Spangled Banner’

                                                Ms Roselle Julian, UH Manoa

                                   

                                                ‘Hawai`i Ponoi’

                                                Ms Roselle Julian, UH Manoa

 

Doxology                                ‘Iyawidmo’, Prayer for the 8^th Nakem Conference

                                                Dr Julius B. Soria

Co-Chair, Nakem 2013 Organizing Committee

                                                 

Welcome Remarks                  Dr Aurelio Solver Agcaoili

                                                Chair, 8^th Nakem & Program Coordinator,

UH Manoa Ilokano Language and Literature 

 

The Hon. Julius Torres

Consul General

Philippine Consulate General of Honolulu

 

Message of Welcome              Dr Robert Bley-Vroman

                                                Dean, College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature

                                                UH Manoa

 

 

Dance of Welcome, 1              “Ka Uluwehi O KeKai,” a Hawaiian Dance  

                                                Ms Mary Grace Basig, UH Manoa

 

 

Musical Inspirations               “Filipino Waltz Medley”

Banda Kawayan Live, with

                                                Maestro Rafael Velasco, director and conductor

 

 

 

Hiphop                                   Mr Godwin Polendey

                                                Alumnus, University of Hawai`i

 

 

Dance of Welcome, 2              “Otea,” a Tahitian Dance

                                                Ms Mary Grace Basig, UH Manoa

                                                 

Delegates Respond                 From the Philippines

 

Delegates Respond                 From the Philippines

 

 

Cordillera Suite                       “Ragragsakan,” & “Uyaoy,”

Linglingay Filipino Cultural Dance Troupe

                                                Mestro Ramon Edenny Acob, founder and director

 

Delegates Respond                 From the Philippines

 

Love Serenade                         “Kunada/Matud Nila” & “No Dadduma/Usahay”

                                                 Maestra Eden Esman

                                                Campbell High School

 

Recognition                             Presentation of Certificate of Appreciation to Sponsors

                                                2013 Nakem Organizing Committee

 

Closing Remarks                     Mrs Lynne Gutierrez

                                                Chair, Fund-Raising Committee

                                                2013 Nakem Conference

                                               

Ms Channara Heart Bugarin, UH Manoa

Mr Christian Caluya, UH Manoa

Masters of Ceremonies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8^th Nakem Cultural Programme

November 16, 2013, 730 AM -0200 PM

UH Manoa Campus Center Ballroom

CLOSING CEREMONIES & TIMPUYOG DRAMA FESTIVAL

 

 

Nakem 2013 Photo Op                       c/o Timpuyog Ilokano Student Organization &

                                                            Nakem 2013 Organizing Committee

 

The Timpuyog Drama Festival          The Ilokano Language Students

                                                            University of Hawai`i at Manoa

                                                            c/o Timpuyog Ilokano Student Organization

 

Wrapping Up: Impressions                Select Participants/Delegates

                                   

 

Awarding of Certificates                     Nakem 2013 Organizing Committee

                                                            Ms Clem Montero

                                                            Lecturer, UHM Ilokano Language & Literature

                                                                        Program

 

Announcement of 2014 and 2015

Conferences                                        Dr Alegria Tan Visaya

                                                            President, Nakem Conferences Philippines

 

Thanks & Formal Closing                   Dr Raymund Ll. Liongson

                                                            Co-Chair, Nakem 2013 Organizing Committee

 

Goodbye Song                                                “Aloha Oi”

                                                            Dr Julius B. Soria

 

Panaglalanglang: A Meal Together

 

 

                                                           

                              Ms Erna Marie Alonzo & Ms Lauren Tagaban

                                                                        Emcees

 

8th Nakem, List of Speakers, Delegates, Participants

LIST OF SPEAKERS, PAPER PRESENTERS, & DELEGATES

 

Abad, Jasmin Joy, Waipahu High School

Abes, Katrina, OMSS, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Acido, Jeffrey, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Agbayani, Amefil, SEED, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Agcaoili, Aurelio, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Agcaoili, Makana, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Agngarayngay, Nestor, Mariano Marcos State University

Agngarayngay, Zenaida, Mariano Marcos State University

Agustin, John Kenneth, Waipahu High School

Aichi, Cody, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Alayvilla, Alden, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Albano, Maybellinda, Data Center College of the Philippines

Alcaraz, Chelsea Jordan, Waipahu High School

Alejandro, Rex-Belli, Mariano Marcos State University

Alonzo, Erna Marie, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Alterado, Danilo, Saint Louis University

Aquino, Belinda, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Arce, Gilbert, University of Northern Philippines

Arrieta, Allyson, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Asia, Facundo, Mariano Marcos State University

Asia, Ninfa, Mariano Marcos State University

Aurellano, Rachelle, Waipahu High School

Badua, Steve Ryan, San Francisco State University

Barretto, Jeraldine, Waipahu High School

Bartolome, Christian Jay, Waipahu High School

Basig, Mary Grace, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Bautista, Clement, OMSS, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Baxa, Eric, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Benigno, Shayna, University of Hawaii at West Oahu

Bley-Vroman, Robert, LLL, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Boado, Brian Jyriel, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Bonilla, John Paul, Waipahu High School

Brown, Patricia, Filipino-American Historical Society of Hawaii

Bugarin, Channara Heart, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Butay, Jessica, Waipahu High School

Cadiz, Neyzielle Ronnicque, University of the Philippines Baguio

Cajigal, Aris, Mariano Marcos State University

Caluya, Christian, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Camarao, Mark, Northwestern University

Canosa, Kimberly, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Cardenas, Jim-Michael, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Casinas, Jethro, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Castillo, Paul John, University of Hawaii Maui College

Cauton, Natividad, Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College

Clariza, Elena Maria, University of Hawaii Hamilton Library

Colmenares, Serafin Jr, Office of Language Access-Hawaii

Coloma, Anna Maria Socorro, Tarlac State University

Coloma, Loreto, Jr., University of Hawaii at Manoa

Corpuz , Julienne, Waipahu High School

Cuaresma, Charlene, SEED, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Custodio, Jennifer, UH Manoa Honors Program

Dalton, Jacob, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Dela Cruz, Castora, NGO Hawaii

Dela Cruz, Rommel, NGO Hawaii

Doles, Georgina Michaela, Waipahu High School

Domingo, Dean, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Domingo, Jensine, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Domingo, Mae Angelicca, Waipahu High School

Domingo, Maggie, NGO Hawaii

Dulay, Amadeo, Guild of Ilokano Writers Global

Duldulao, Glenda, Kokua Kalihi Valley CFS

Edralin , Brenton, Waipahu High School

Edralin, Justin Jude, Waipahu High School

Egami, Jennifer, SLD, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Eleazar, Mariya, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Escano, Ashley Jane, Waipahu High School

Estrella, Liza, Local Government of La Union

Etrata, Maria, NGO Hawaii

Etrata, Renato, NGO Hawaii

Felicitas, Ausbert, University of Northern Philippines

Fines, Amelyn, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Flores, Abraham, Jr, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Funtanilla, Janelle, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Galacgac, Ashley, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Galiza, Franalyn, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Garces, Nicolita, University of Hawaii Hamilton Library

Gasmen, Imelda, IPLL, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Gatdula, Avelina, Northern Luzon Polytechnic State College

Gatmen, Edna, Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College

Gendrano, Melga, NGO Hawaii

Gonzales, Dylan, Waipahu High School

Gruspe, Shandel, Waipahu High School

Guerero, Adrialina, OMSS, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Guillermo, Nigel, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Gumapos, Liehn Shane, Waipahu High School

Gunigundo, Adelma A. Yang, Valenzuela City, Philippines

Gunigundo, Magtanggol, House of Representatives, Philippines

Gutierrez, Lynne, Nakem Organizing Committee

Ignacio, Jessica, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Inofinada, Christen, Waipahu High School

Jaramilla, Aldrin, University of Northern Philippines

Julian, Maribel, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Julian, Roselle, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Juliano, Benedict, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Kiyabu, Alycia, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Labrador, Miana, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Lagan, Crystel Joy, Waipahu High School

Lanzona, Vina, CPS, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Lee, Gordon, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Lewis, Arlene, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Libed, Nievalyn, Waipahu High School

Lim, Daisy, Nakem Organizing Committee

Lim, Matthew, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Lino, Marlina, Mariano Marcos State University

Liongson, Raymund, University of Hawaii Leeward CC

Lobusta, Reinalyn, Waipahu High School

Lorenzo, Joanica, Mariano Marcos State University

Lorenzo, Natividad, Mariano Marcos State University

Lucas, Marilou, Mariano Marcos State University

Madariaga, Eufe, Mariano Marcos State University

Magsayo, Mar Anthony, Waipahu High School

Malate, Agnes, SEED, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Manog, Deborah, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Manuel, Marialita, Guild of Ilokano Writers Global

Manuel, Ruperto, Guild of Ilokano Writers Global

Manzano, Helena, Department of Health-Hawaii

Mayer, John F, IPLL, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Montero, Clemen, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Namnama, Premar, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Oliveros, George, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Orodio, Raevalyn, Waipahu High School

Ortega, Nadezna, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Pagkalinawan, Leticia, IPLL, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Pascual, Carolyn Pilar, Mariano Marcos State University

Pavon, Lydia, Domestic Violence Action Center

Perez, Filma, Local Government of Nueva Vizcaya

Piano, Mae Oliva, University of Northern Philippines

Ramirez, Aprilei, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Ranchez, Jesus Basilio, Mariano Marcos State University*

Ranchez, Shawn, Waipahu High School

Rasay, Erna Mae, Waipahu High School

Razalan, Mark Kevin, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Reano, Heazel, Waipahu High School

Retotal, Shane May, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Reyes, Jesha, Waipahu High School

Sadorra, Perlita, TMI Global Hawaii

Samonte, Judy, Michigan, United States

Samonte, Quirico, University of East Michigan

Santiago, Tiani, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Savella, Rhica Gia, Waipahu High School

Say, Jonathan, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Soria, Julius, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Soria, Trixie, Waipahu High School

Soriano, Nonadel, Philippine State College of Aeronautics

Suarez, Cecilia, Ateneo de Manila University

Sumaoang, Desiree, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Tagaban, Lauren Gaile, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Tagay, Angelina, Mariano Marcos State University

Tuzon, Gloria, Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College

Unciano-Sevidal, Chloe Paige, Waipahu High School

Valdez, Julie, Waipahu High School

Velasco, Brenda, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Velasco, Fe, NGO Hawaii

Velasco, Gladys, Waipahu High School

Visaya, Alegria, Mariano Marcos State University

Visaya, Eli, Local Government of Ilocos Norte

Vister, Milagros, Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College

Walch, Nancy, NGO Hawaii

Washburn-Repollo, Eva Rose, Chaminade University

Wood, Souchi, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Yumul-Florendo, Maria Rosario, University of the Philippines Baguio

Yumul, Herdy, Mariano Marcos State University

 

*Godspeed, sir!