THE TATAG Indigenous People Foundation Incorporated (TIPSF Inc.) supported 30 ata-manobo members through the Tatag IP Students Tourism Center at Purok 6-A, Sto. Niño, Talaingod, Davao Del Norte.
Major Mark Anthony Tito, the spokesperson of the 10th Infantry Division, said the tourism center will shoulder the educational requirements of 12 IP college and 18 IP high school students, including their day-to-day allowance and dormitory expenses.
The Tatag IP Students Tourism Center, inaugurated on Aug. 12, 2023, offers a five-meter-wide and 25-meter-long swimming pool; a function hall that can accommodate 400 people; a restaurant that can cater 200 guests; a souvenir shop with local craftsmanship; and five uniquely designed cottages named after Talaingod sitios – Sambulungan, Pongpong, Bagang, Peroy, and Nalubas.
The center operates from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
The TIPSF Inc., 56th Infantry (Tatag) Battalion under the 10th Infantry Division, and the 7th Air Reserve Center of the Philippine Air Force collaborated to realize the project.
Misiyang Dogiyon, an IP TATAG student, said that no one finishes education in her community and that she’s the only one who reached college.
“Noong wala pa ako sa foundation, mahirap talaga ang buhay namin. Nag-aaral ako, pero hindi iniisip na makapagtapos. Ang sa akin lang, matuto lang ako magbasa at magsulat (Our lives were hard before the foundation. I studied with no dreams of finishing. I only wanted to learn to read and write),” Dogiyon said.
Now, she’s striving hard to be known as a role model for other IP students to emulate.
“Ngayong tinulungan kami ng foundation, malaki na ang opportunity na makapagtapos ng pag-aaral at nabigay lahat ng pangangailangan namin. Yung mga gamit na hindi pa namin alam tulad ng laptop, ay ibinigay sa amin (Now the foundation is supporting us, we have a bigger opportunity to finish our studies since they provide us with everything, such as a laptop),” she added.
In his message, 10ID Commander Major General Jose Eriel M. Niembra vows to support the foundation and the IP students in achieving their dreams.
