Ben&Ben, PhilPop to capacitate young tribal artists of Bukidnon

Paolo and Miguel Benjamin of the Ben&Ben band visited Bukidnon for a songwriting workshop aimed at young tribal artists in the province. The envisioned tribal workshop is a joint undertaking between the band’s non-profit organization, PUHON, and PhilPop, formerly known as Manila’s Metropop Music.

The ‘Sounds Like Change” project aims to empower young tribal artists who have talents and potential in music and is focused on bringing indigenous music towards nation-building.

PhilPop’s advocacy is to foster songwriting throughout the Philippines.

“The beauty of this workshop is a cross-learning experience. We’re trying our best to get the very brilliant participants and artists to create songs together to popularize the culture embedded in music and be shared by many. Both the students and the mentors (PhilPop artists) can share learning from each other,” Miguel said.

The Benjamin twins visited Bukidnon State University (BukSU) on March 13, 2024, where they met with artist students from various Indigenous Peoples (IP) tribes at the Bukidnon Studies Center (BSC).

A total of 30 young Bukidnon IP artists will be under this training slated for April this year.

“Thank you for involving our students. We would love to let them grow and enjoy the workshop and, at the same time, learn,” BukSU President Joy M. Mirasol said during the courtesy call.

BSC Director Ms. Loreta Sol Dinlayan hosted the visit and challenged the IP students to be their best.

“We are happy because this is shared knowledge and receiving knowledge. We are thankful because we are working hard to promote and share our culture with the world. We are finding a partnership with you through music,” Dinlayan said.

“My challenge for the IP students, especially those who will join the workshop, is to make the best, and for the rest of the IP students, we still have many more projects along the way. BukSU dearly supports the IP through projects. With this, thank you for coming to Bukidnon; also, thank you, PhilPop,” she added.

The Office of the Bukidnon IPMR Representative, through Bai Melinda Saway, expressed support for young IP artists and gratitude to BukSU, PhilPop, and Ben&Ben.

“The office is very supportive of them; our community assures you that we support you. Ben Ben&Ben and PhilPop have been visiting us and consulting us frequently. We are happy to welcome you again and thank you. We hope that we can inspire more youth through this [project],” Bai Saway said.

The project is also supported by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-Bukidnon. (BukSU-Information Unit) (With information from Stepanne M. Bracero)