At a ritual blessing by seven Mangyan tribes in Mindoro, Baguilat noted that IPs “have cross-generational knowledge  about environmental protection that can lead the country’s actions against climate change”.

Baguilat, together with the leaders of the seven Mangyan tribes and other stakehokders in Mindoro Oriental, also signed a covenant recognizing the critical role of IPs in national development, environmental conservation, and the need for government to uphold IP rights.

The tribes also committed their support for Baguilat’s candidacy.

“It is high time that IPs are recognized and called to action to support the country’s development, especially as we face climate change and various environmental disasters,” Baguilat said.

Baguilat is vying for a seat in the Senate under the unified ticket of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. He aims to bring to the Senate the IP perspective which nurtures the environment, culture and human rights.

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Moreno was quoted in reports as saying “50% tax cuts sa oil, 50% tax cuts sa kuryente, at sigurado ako para ko nang binigyan ng ayuda hanggang bundok ng Tralala.”

Baguilat remarked, however, that “the move is a short-term fix for a long-term problem.”

“Of course, cutting taxes will reduce fuel and electricity prices, but they will also deprive the government of much-needed funds, especially money to jump-start the economy after the pandemic,” Baguilat elaborated.

“We should also remember that electricity prices have several components, as anyone’s electricity bill will show, so simply saying that taxes on electricity should be cut is an over-simplified statement that sounds pleasant but is short on practicality,” he added.

Noting the factors affecting fuel prices, Baguilat said that “even without taxes, fuel and electricity will still be affected by international prices, especially costs associated with oil, which have rarely dropped. And international conflicts like the one in Ukraine also tend to lead to oil price spikes.”

“The more sustainable solution is to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and switch to renewable energy and technologies, including switching to electric vehicles, which is what VP Leni Robredo is pushing for. It may take time, but the gains will be far more extensive and permanent,” Baguilat said.

Baguilat is running for the Senate in the 2022 elections under the unified ticket of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. He aims to bring to the Senate the platform of indigenous peoples and the indigenous mindset which nurtures and promotes rights, culture and the environment. #

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“Vegetable smuggling poses a serious threat to the livelihood of the farmers in Benguet,” Baguilat remarked. Baguilat noted that Benguet farmers have yet to recover from the devastation to their income caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and now they have to deal with losses caused by smuggled vegetables.
Benguet farmers are the main suppliers of salad vegetables to major markets like Metro Manila and Cebu, but smuggled vegetables have flooded these markets.
Baguilat is acutely aware of the plight of the farmers of the Cordilleras. This is one of the motivating factors behind his decision at the height of the pandemic in 2020 to help bring Cordillera farmers’ produce to Metro Manila through a social enterprise.
Baguilat thus joined the Benguet group of vegetable traders in appealing to the government to immediately stop the illegal entry of agricultural products which are taking away precious income from the farmers.
“When there are smuggled goods like vegetables from China, there are people who earn from corruption. They enrich themselves at the expense of our farmers,” Baguilat said.

Baguilat is vying for a seat in the Senate under the ticket of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. He aims to bring to the Senate the indigenous peoples’ mindset that nurtures the
environment, culture, human rights as well as agriculture.
Baguilat stressed that a Robredo government will prioritize stopping the smuggling of vegetables.
About 58,000 households in Benguet, Ifugao and Mt. Province depend on farming. Together they produce about 80 percent of the country’s highland vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, broccoli and carrots.

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Senate aspirant Teddy Baguilat urged students of Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) to bring the government to the people and encouraged future public servants to be responsive to the needs of the masses.

Speaking at the webinar marking the 21^st anniversary of the SLSU Public Administration League of Students, Baguilat shared his experiences from when he was mayor of Kiangan, Ifugao up until he became governor of the province.

“Isa sa pinakamalaking problema ng ating pamahalaan, ng ating politika, is the culture of corruption (One of the biggest problems of our government, of our politics, is the culture of corruption),” Baguilat said as he discussed corruption in its different forms.

At the webinar entitled “How a Public Administrator Becomes a Public Administrator,” Baguilat narrated how he pushed back against corruption by declining all sorts of “SOPs” (standard operating procedures) and “regalos” (gifts) from people he encountered during his term as mayor.

“Every day, as a politician, you are exposed to this temptation (of corruption),” Baguilat lamented.

Baguilat advised that to be an effective public administrator, the individual must keep in mind that their service is always for the masses and not for greedy individuals who exploit the people.

“Kasi ako, bilang public servant, naniniwala ako na ang public office is a public trust. Pinaniniwalaan ka ng tao, kaya ka binoto, pakinggan mo sila (I as a public servant believe that a public office is a public trust. The people trust you, that’s why they voted for you, and so you must listen to them),” Baguilat concluded.

The webinar can be viewed by following this link:

https://www.facebook.com/PALS2000/videos/2031999286978300/

Baguilat is running for the Senate in the 2022 elections under the unified ticket of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. He aims to bring to the Senate the platform of indigenous peoples and the indigenous mindset which nurtures and promotes rights, culture and the environment. #

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“We indigenous people (IP) are not uneducated. We have our own knowledge, our own spirituality.”

Thus affirmed Senate aspirant Teddy Baguilat Jr. at the webinar of the University of St. La Salle – College of Education Student Council entitled, “Crossing Cultural Boundaries: Building Intercultural Relations In The Challenged Areas.”

At the webinar, Baguilat shared his experiences in teaching IP communities, and urged the government to have a more culturally appropriate, diverse, and decentralized curriculum that adapts to the tradition and practices of IPs.

Baguilat cited as an example some classes he witnessed under the Indigenous Peoples Education Program of the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2012 while he was Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Indigenous People. Teachers under the program went to IP areas to teach subjects such as English, Science, and Mathematics, but Baguilat noticed that the volunteer-teachers treated the IPs as if they were uneducated.

Baguilat stressed that although IPs need to learn the basic subjects, they more importantly need to know their rights and how they can fight for them through legal means. He added that the most important topics for IPs are climate change, environmental protection, and the preservation of their culture.

“Lagi kong sinasabi sa mga IPs tuwing ako ay nagtutungo sa kanila na mayroon tayong karapatan, kinakailangan na ipaglaban niyo iyon kasi hindi naman ibibigay ang mga iyan (I always tell IPs when I go to them that we have rights and they need to assert their rights because those will not be given to them) on a silver platter. You have to struggle for them,” Baguilat said.

He also shared that some IP communities have their own schools that teach their own alphabet, have a different curriculum, and focus on teaching the youth about their ethnicity, traditions, cultural beliefs and practices. However, Baguilat lamented that DepEd does not recognize these schools and IP students from those schools who want to go to high school still need to undergo an additional year of study in a conventional school.

Baguilat added that IP schools struggle to register as official schools because of the requirement to submit to the curriculum handed down by DepEd, which Baguilat calls “Tagalog-centric.”

These conditions have led Baguilat to file the IP Education bill while he was a congressman. Aside from mandating the DepEd to recognize IP schools, Baguilat’s bill also aims to integrate IP culture into the regular school curriculum.

Baguilat has vowed to continue to push for this legislative proposal. Baguilat is running for the Senate in the 2022 elections under the unified ticket of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. He aims to bring to the Senate the platform of indigenous peoples and the indigenous mindset which nurtures and promotes rights, culture and the environment.

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We are aware of the significance of indigenous peoples in other countries. They are always linked to environmental action, and their struggles are often in the news.

But in the Philippines, indigenous peoples remain largely unnoticed and neglected, even though they similarly struggle for their rights — from dealing with stolen ancestral lands to demanding access to basic social services.

Some Filipinos may have picked up bits and pieces about cultural minorities from their social studies and history classes. But many are blissfully unaware that the water they drink and the electricity they use more often than not come from watersheds that are part of ancestral lands. Many modern devices rely on minerals ripped out of mountains in ancestral domains. The homes of indigenous peoples are continually devastated to make modern life possible for the common Filipino. Yet the indigenous peoples themselves are mostly discarded and ignored.

One person hopes to bring down these barricades of neglect against indigenous peoples – Teddy Baguilat.

Baguilat is a former Congressman of Ifugao. A full-blooded indigenous person with Tuwali and Gaddang roots, he is passionate about many things, such as human rights, the environment, and K-dramas.

Indeed, common misconceptions about indigenous tribes condemn them as ignorant and unsophisticated. In truth, they have similar aspirations and interests as any other Filipino. And when given the chance, they can rise to even greater heights.

These are some of the reasons why Baguilat is keen on promoting the welfare and heritage of indigenous peoples. Their rich culture and wisdom promise a goldmine of learnings that can help overcome many of the challenges that the country is facing. Their close relationship with the environment, for example, hint at solutions to climate change.

Baguilat is committed to breaking the stigma against indigenous peoples, and he hopes that indigenous communities will finally gain the respect they deserve.

As a Congressman, he ceaselessly sought to protect and empower indigenous peoples by pushing for such measures such as the institutionalization of indigenous educational systems, the extension of the period for indigenous communities to secure titles to their ancestral lands, and the protection of indigenous and local communities conserved areas, among many other proposed laws.

For a time, he chaired the House of Representatives Committee on National Cultural Communities, where he not only led deliberations on proposed laws affecting indigenous communities, but he was also sought out by tribes to mediate disputes owing to their respect for Baguilat. It is not too late for Filipinos to shake off their prejudices against indigenous peoples. With Teddy Baguilat championing their cause, indigenous peoples may yet herald an age of sustainable progress for the country.

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