CAPIZ – The Panay Bukidnon Indigenous Peoples (IP) community in this province are proud.
Two of its members from the town of Tapaz graduated from college with top honors, a Magna Cum Laude and a Cum Laude.
Rosie Barnizo Galagate of Barangay Roxas, Tapaz graduated with the degree Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education Major in Filipino, Magna Cum Laude, at Capiz State University Main Campus.
Galagate was a merit-based scholar of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) – Capiz.
The Panay Bukidnon are one of only two indigenous communities in the Visayas, the other being the Iraynun-Bukidnon.
Also known as the Tumandok or Suludnon, the Panay Bukidnon communities are scattered across the hinterlands of Panay, particularly in the interiors of Tapaz.
Because of this isolation, several of the community’s pre-Hispanic practices persist to this day. The community of around 18,000 speaks its own language called Ligbok or Igbok, a language related to Panay’s Kinaray-a language.
The other IP member who brought honor to their community is NCIP-Capiz Educational Assistance Program grantee Rhyna Ann Carlos, Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Social Work at Capiz State University -Pilar Satellite College.
The NCIP -Capiz Community Service Center (CSC) also congratulated nine other IP college graduates from the Panay Bukidnon of Tapaz and Jamindan. They are beneficiaries of the NCIP Educational Assistance Program and merit-based scholarship.
“Your steadfast perseverance to achieve your degree is truly laudable. May your fellow IP youth emulate your resiliency amidst difficulties and inherit your zeal towards the ultimate endeavour of breaking free from the bondage of poverty through education. Your NCIP-Capiz CSC family is honored to be always at your service,” NCIP-CSC stated./PN
