THE COUNCIL of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA) just got a little bigger.
In a Facebook post shared on May 25, COA announced the inclusion of Baybayin into the council as its 53rd official member. Prior to this, the Filipino advocacy group had been a part of the League of Independent Organizations, a coalition of unaccredited orgs in the Ateneo.
Founded in 2014, Baybayin is a Filipino-language organization that seeks to advance interests of Filipino heritage in the Ateneo community. According to Baybayin moderator Michael Coroza, the inclusion of Baybayin in COA will allow a greater voice for a local Filipino culture that has yet to appreciated by the larger Ateneo populace.
“Hindi masyadong nahahalagahan ang maraming aspekto ng kulturang Pilipino sa pangkahalatan (A lot of aspects in Filipino culture are not valued by the Atenean community),” Coroza said.
He asserts that there is a need to look back at the legacy of Filipino culture to better grasp the current situation and shape the outlook for the future. Baybayin aims to remind Ateneans of this legacy as well as the legacy of the Filipino people, which Coroza believes must extend beyond beyond classroom walls.
Bridging the divide
Coroza also said that Baybayin is in a unique position to introduce Ateneans to the larger Philippine society.
“Kasi marami naman sa ating kasama sa komunidad ay ang kalagayan sa buhay ay medyo angat, hindi rin nakakatapak sa lupa minsan, kaya sa isang banda, ang Baybayin pwede maghatak sa kanila para tumapak sa lupa (Because a lot of the members in our community are more privileged, they are not able to step into the lives of the less advantaged and that is what Baybayin can do – bring them down to earth),” he said.
Current Baybayin President Marc Vanguardia echoed Coroza’s statements and said that Filipino culture serves as a sort of bridge that connects Filipinos from all walks of life. He said that when he first entered Ateneo, he encountered a culture shock that made his Ilocano “probinsyano” upbringing seem incompatible with the Manila lifestyle.
However, he said that Baybayin helped him acclimatize to college life through Filipino culture. Vanguardia shared that it was through the organization that he was able to meet people from different ethnic and language groups. He then realized that this was how they could all come together as one family, under the banner of Filipino culture.
Cultural melting pot
Moreover, Vanguardia said that Filipino culture serves as a sort of melting pot that brings together discrete elements of local heritage as well as foreign influences.
“Pinakita sa akin ng Baybayin na ‘yung kulturang Pilipino mas dynamic siya, at multifaceted. Hindi siya ‘yung tumitigil lamang sa iisang lebel ng kultura. Nandito ang pag-assimilate din natin ng kultura ng iba (Baybayin showed me that Filipino is dynamic and multifaceted. It doesn’t stop at a single level because it involves our assimilation of other cultures),” he said.Vanguardia explained that instead of seeing Filipino culture as an imitation of foreign influences, it should be seen as something entirely new that adds to the complexity of Filipino culture.
“Mayroon tayong sariling pagbabago na dinadagdag doon, at pagkatapos noon, hindi lang siya bagay na hiniram, kundi bagay na inangkin na rin natin. (We make our own changes to the cultural influences we receive that adds to the original source. Thus, we just don’t borrow foreign cultures, but we make it our own),” he said.
According to Baybayin Executive Vice President Johann Capugan, these aspects of Filipino culture are what makes it so important to Ateneans.
“Isa kami sa mga taga-preserba ng kulturang Pilipino na admist sa nangyayaring pagbabago sa mundo, kami ang tatapik sa balikat ng mga Atenista at sasabihing pakinggan ang kulturang Pilipino (We are one of the caretakers of Filipino culture amidst the changes across the world. We are the ones to remind Ateneans to listen to and appreciate our local culture),” he said.
An uphill battle
Now that Baybayin is an accredited organization, Capugan said that Baybayin will get straight to work for their advocacy.
“Aminin namin, lagi kaming ambisyoso (I’ll admit, we’re very ambitious),” he said.
According to Vanguardia, the accreditation is one step in Baybayin further achieving its goals of raising awareness of Filipino culture and heritage.
“Magkakaroon kami ng funding, magkakaroon kami ng org room, mas magkakaroon kami ng avenues for dissemination and discourse with regards to Filipino culture. (We’ll have funding, an org room, and we’ll have more avenues for dissemination and discourse with regards to Filipino culture),” he said.
“Ang end goal naman namin ay magkaroon ng Ateneans na culturally sensitive at culturally aware at culturally passionate when it comes to Filipino. (Our end goal is to make Ateneans culturally sensitive, aware, and passionate when it comes to Filipino),” he added.
