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LAMITAN CITY, BASILAN — The Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) conducted the 2024 Regional Schools Press Conference (RSPC) and Regional Festival of Talents (RFOT) on April 17 to April 19 on this island province.
Headed by Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal, the MBHTE is one of the 15 primary governance organs of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Over 1,600 delegates from across the BARMM’s 10 school division offices (SDOs) attended the opening program held at the City Gymnasium.
In her welcome address, Lamitan City SDO Superintendent Dr. Myra Mangkabung, CESE, extended her gratitude to the MBHTE for giving them the opportunity to host such a big event.
She also thanked all the delegates for coming to Lamitan despite the distance being an island division.
“We are here not just to compete but to strengthen the relationship of the MBHTE from mainland to island,” said Mangkabung.
Underscoring the purpose of the many competitions, Bureau of Basic Education (BBE) Director Johnny Balawag said that the events marked a significant milestone in the educational landscape, particularly within the SDOs, as they come together to celebrate the talents, skills, and resilience of the learners and educators.
“The RSPC provides our learners with valuable opportunities to hone their journalistic skills for their future careers. By participating in this conference, they gain practical experience and insight to the dynamic field of journalism,” Balawag added.
Winners to represent BARMM and compete in National Level in Cebu City
Further, he stressed that the RFOT “provides opportunities for learners from diverse backgrounds, including those from public and private schools, as well as Alternative Learning System (ALS), Indigenous People Education (IPE), Special Needs Education (SNE), and Madrasah programs, to showcase their best products, services, and performances as authentic evidence of their learning.”
In his video message for the RSPC participants, MBHTE Minister Iqbal emphasized the importance of information as both a tool and a weapon by saying, “you are not just reporters of facts but guardians of truth, champions of free press, and architects of informed communities.”
Minister Iqbal also highlighted that the RFOT is a platform that goes beyond the confines of traditional classrooms to nurture creativity, critical thinking, and innovation.
The RSPC activities include individual contests (in English and Filipino for elementary and secondary) such as News Writing, Science and Technology Writing, Feature Writing, Editorial Writing, Sports Writing, Column Writing, Headline Writing, Copyreading, Photojournalism, and Editorial Cartooning.
For the group contests, there will be Radio Script Writing and Broadcasting (in English and Filipino for elementary and secondary), TV Script Writing and Broadcasting (in English and Filipino for secondary only), Collaborative Desktop Publishing (in English and Filipino for elementary and secondary), and Online Publishing (in English and Filipino for secondary only).
For the RFOT, there shall be Technolympics, Population Development, Read-A-Thon, Stemazing, and Musabaqah.
Winners of these competitions will represent the Bangsamoro region and compete at the National Level in Cebu City in the Visayas.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages that voted โYesโ in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
Recently, the 63 barangays are now eight new municipalities with SGA as their mother unit after its registered voters approved the creation in a plebiscite.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 (plus 8) municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. ย (โ)