CHED Comm, Nat’l Peace Ambassador Adamat emphasize peace ed, development

Bukidnon State University (BukSU) welcomed Commissioner Ronald L. Adamat of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) last Thursday May 2, 2024 at the BukSU Main campus.

Commissioner Adamat, also the National Peace Ambassador, brought insights and inspiration on peace education and development.

Him also being the Chair of the BukSU Board of Regents (BOR), the Office of the BukSU President provided a ‘SMART Dialogue’, BukSU’s brand for interaction between the administration and stakeholders. Comm. Adamat lauded BukSU for its high respect to the indigenous people (IP) which are evident in its subject offerings, support to IP-led activities, and having IP-blooded individuals to perform most of the major administrative functions in the university.

‘“One of the strengths of BukSU is ‘buhay na buhay’  ang IP development. We need to champion SUC faculties and students for peace and development. As the Chair of the BukSU Board, I will do my best to extend my 200% support to BukSU,” Comm. Adamat said.

A film viewing activity was held for the university personnel and students enrolled to general education courses (GEC) and institutional subjects (IS) of the university.

The multi-awarded film, ‘The Blind Soldiers’, is directed by National Peace Ambassador Adamat himself. The movie is a historical depiction of the life of the five uneducated IP young men from Upi, Maguindano belonging to the Teduray tribe, who despite their educational infirmity applied to be conscripted into the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) during the Second World War to help defend the country from the Japanese invaders. The film demonstrates the indigenous peoples inherent love for their country as able defenders of the rights of the people while further demonstrating the values of education, patriotism, peace, respect, and love.

Ms. Jorrie Mae Hernandez, faculty member of the Language and Letters Department expressed her feelings after watching the film.

“The movie made me appreciate more the peace and freedom we enjoy right now. You see, the movie walked us through the journey of these unsung heroes coming from a Mindanao tribe, Teduray, and at the same time, it also carries the message of the importance of education which not only focused on the four walls of the classroom but learning how this knowledge we teach and learn in school be applied in peace and nation building,” she said.

“As an English Language teacher, I am more inspired to teach and reach out to our own IP communities in our future extension projects and researches, and maybe, in the future, collab with indie directors and producers to Filipino local films featuring stories of our Bukidnon tribes. Indeed, the movie presented heavy themes but was shown in a light way, a very Filipino way,” she added. (BukSU-Information Unit)