Cultural show 'Dayaw' returns for third season

MANILA, Philippines — The crusade for the preservation of the country’s culture and heritage continues for Sen. Loren Legarda as her documentary series “Dayaw” returns for a third season on ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Airing every Thursday at six p.m., the six-part, 30-minute weekly program focuses on the ways, beliefs, and practices of the indigenous peoples (IPs) in the Philippines. “Dayaw” is a project of Legarda – a known advocate of IP rights – in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the prime government arm dedicated to the promotion of Philippine arts and culture, and the country’s premier 24/7 all-English cable news channel.

With the goal of promoting appreciation and preservation of traditional arts and culture, “Dayaw” will now be streamed online via ABS-CBN News Online and ANC’s Facebook page to enable more people to catch the show, wherever they may be.

After exploring the facets that bind Filipino indigenous peoples such as respect for nature in the first season, and zooming into the arts and traditions of different IP groups that contribute to the identity of the Filipino in the second season, the theme for “Dayaw” this season is “Materyales Fuertes,” the tangible materials chosen by indigenous craftsmen to create tools, ornaments, and structures that have helped build our nation.

According to Legarda, viewers will better understand Filipino heritage based on the material things the Filipinos' ancestors used and will also appreciate more the passion and creativity of IPs.

“Unlike many of us who only buy what we need, our indigenous peoples make and build their own things—from clothes, accessories, mats, baskets, pots, to vessels, houses, and other structures—which are built following procedures and techniques that are significant to their indigenous community. Through our tangible heritage, we see expressions of a culture, we witness creativity that only those who are culturally enriched and one with nature can possess,” she explained.

The first two episodes, “Hinabing Lakas” Parts 1 and 2, focus on expressive fibers of distinct cultures, and how fibers weaved into textiles, baskets, mats, and utensils express our identity, celebrate life, and represent the strength and resilience of the weavers.

The third episode, “Mula sa Kalikasan” looks into the use of wood and stone by our ancestors to build structures dedicated to agriculture, exploration, and the community, and how these materials have helped shape an evolving image of a nation.

Episode 4, titled “Ginto, Pilak, Garing,” takes on the treasured and precious materials, the glittering materials that have been skillfully used to create beautiful things; while Episode 5, “Putik at Papel,” showcases how simple materials like clay and paper have been used to make unique works of art.

To wrap up the season, Legarda will give emphasis to the simplest yet most powerful material ever used by Filipinos – words. The episode “Sa Diwa, Sa Salita” celebrates the most inspiring materials from which we have sought to build a nation.

The former ABS-CBN broadcast journalist said the TV series has been very helpful not only in promoting our heritage but also in allowing more people to understand the ways and means of IPs, their concerns, and how we can make them active and valuable partners in development and nation building.

Legarda, considered the country’s most awarded broadcast journalist of her time, also discussed these issues in her previous shows with ABS-CBN. She was the executive producer and anchor of "PEP Talk," the first "telemagazine" show of ABS-CBN in the post-EDSA era, and "The Inside Story." She was also the anchor of the highly respected and multi-award winning news program, "The World Tonight," with the late Angelo Castro Jr. before she retired from ABS-CBN to run for the Philippine Senate in 1998.

“I am glad that I am able to continue my advocacy of raising awareness about our IPs through ‘Dayaw’. When more people are aware, they appreciate our culture and eventually we can engage them in our advocacy to protect our heritage and our IPs,” she said.

With the simultaneous airing of the program on cable and online, more Filipinos can now watch the documentary series and be part of the crusade for love and respect of traditional Filipino arts and culture.