DOÑA Remidios Trinidad, Bulacan — THE Dumagats, one of the 22 tribes inhabiting in the mountain ranges of Bulacan, are rallying behind Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte’s advocacies for education and family planning.

Duterte on Sunday visited the town and met with the tribal people in a makeshift bench under a tree.

She urged the tribe to put high premium on education and family planning as a way to cut the shackles of poverty that has been a top problem in the country.

Duterte, as a local chief executive, is also active in empowering Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in Davao, ensuring that major government programs like education reach tribal communities and enable inclusive development among Dabawenyos.

She initiated the program called Peace 911 in Davao City’s Paquibato District area to address the issues concerning the IPs. While Peace 911 is a civilian-led anti-insurgency program, it was designed to provide IPs with livelihood, education, and other programs to uplift their living conditions.

The Lakas-CMD vice presidential candidate also personally initiated the program Pagbabago, where she distributed school bags containing educational materials for children and responsible parenthood reading materials for parents.

“Lagi naming sinasabi sa kanila (tribes in Davao) ang importansya ng pagpapa-aral sa kanilang mga anak,” Duterte said.

“Naglagay kami doon sa mga lugar na kung saan paglabas nila ng kanilang bahay ay andoon na ang eskwelahan para sa kanilang mga anak mula elementary hanggang high school. Lagi namin sinasabi na dapat ay araw-araw nilang pinapapasok ang mga anak nila sa eskwelahan,” she added.

Duterte also emphasised that proper family planning should be practiced as the country moves forward to further development.

“Pangalawa sa lagi namin sinasabi sa mga katutubo doon sa amin sa Davao ay ang pagpaplano para sa ating pamilya. Hindi po pwede na mag-anak tayo nang mag-anak pero wala tayong plano paano natin sila papag-aralin,” Duterte shared.

Gemma Santos, 22 and a mother to a six-month baby, was among those who subscribed to Duterte’s program path.

“Dapat planuhin ang pamilya dahil sa kahirapan. Gustohin ko mang magkaroon ng maraming anak, kung hirap na po kami, paano naman po yung mga anak namin mabubuhay? Ayaw ko naman pong makita yung mga anak kong hindi kumakain,” the mother said while breastfeeding her infant on the side.

Michelle Bertudes, 33 and a resident of Sitio Bunga, also believes that education is essential especially in communication to protect the tribe from any form of discrimination.

“Para po kaming mga Dumagat ay kahit konti meron namang marating para po pag kami bumababa ng bayan, may kaunti kaming ibebenta sa kanila, hindi po kami kayang lokohin. Ang mangyayari po sa amin porket wala kaming pinag-aralan, kung magkano nalang po ang ibibigay sa amin,” Bertudes said.

Duterte thanked the tribe for coming together to support her advocacies and for believing in her leadership.

“Ang laki po ng pagpapasalamat namin dahil kayo po ay bumaba para makilala namin kayo ngayong umaga na ito,” Duterte said.