DIREK MANNY VALERA's older brother, Atty. Gil A. Valera, presented to the press at the Rave Art Gallery his vision for Agila, Katutubong Pilipino partylist, of which he's the founding chairman. A member of the Tingguian tribe in Abra, he wants to help marginalized ethnic groups from Luzon to Mindanao with livelihood projects and the enforcement of the Indigenous People's Rights. He wants to help them fight their continuing cycle of poverty through education so he aims to put up Pamantasan ng Katutubong Pilipino, where the bearers of our ancient and beautiful culture can equip themselves with knowledge and competence that will enable them later to help their own communities. He'll also buy them computers and put up internet learning centers to help educate them.
"I believe in long-term solutions, not dole outs," he says. "Education is the true catalyst for change to improve their lives. Actually, lahat tayo, nagsimula sa katutubo, not just the Igorot or the T'boli. The Tagalogs started as the taga-ilogs and even now we say, tubong Ilocano or tubong Waray. Agila partylist is therefore a collection of all these unique cultures that are part of our heritage. It seeks to alleviate the poverty of our indigenous peoples and help them continue their fight for ancestral domains, for environmental sustainability and responsible tourism."
There are now 187 candidates vying as partylist winner. Each voter can vote only for one partylist candidate and Atty. Valera wants to remind them: "No. 50 po kami sa balota. Yun po ang bilugan nyo." Their first nominee is Cedric Valera, followed by Resty Malangen.
"I believe in long-term solutions, not dole outs," he says. "Education is the true catalyst for change to improve their lives. Actually, lahat tayo, nagsimula sa katutubo, not just the Igorot or the T'boli. The Tagalogs started as the taga-ilogs and even now we say, tubong Ilocano or tubong Waray. Agila partylist is therefore a collection of all these unique cultures that are part of our heritage. It seeks to alleviate the poverty of our indigenous peoples and help them continue their fight for ancestral domains, for environmental sustainability and responsible tourism."
There are now 187 candidates vying as partylist winner. Each voter can vote only for one partylist candidate and Atty. Valera wants to remind them: "No. 50 po kami sa balota. Yun po ang bilugan nyo." Their first nominee is Cedric Valera, followed by Resty Malangen.
