4th Gawad Agong names new set of awardees
by Sharmaine Paden
Six media practitioners and two alternative media institutions were awarded in this year's Gawad Agong para sa Pamamahayag at the Campus Maintenance Office grounds Friday night.
The awarding coincided with the weeklong Kampuhan sa Diliman of national minority groups.
On its fourth year, Gawad Agong continues to recognize media practitioners and organizations who have devoted their time and effort in publicizing the issues of the indigenous peoples.
"Ito ay ang parangal para sa mga [kabahagi ng] midya na may puso para sa mga katutubo ng mamamayan,” Indigenous Peoples Communications Forum (IPCF) representative Joe Torres said in his opening speech.
Meanwhile, DZBB’s Benjie Alejandro bagged the radio award for his show “Boses ng Balita-Manilakbayan 2015”.
Desiree Caluza of VERA Files bagged the Gawad Agong para sa Mamamahayag sa Print with her “Bontoc Woman is a human rights icon,” which features the struggles of a woman political leader in Bontoc and her continuous fight against the oppression of the minority.
Online media was honored with Christopher Pasion of Pinoy Weekly’s “Institusyong aaral ng Kultura’t Pakikibakang Katutubo”, which tells about an institution’s efforts to preserve Lumad culture being threatened by the ongoing violence in their community.
Lian Nami Buan of subselfie.com won for her documentary “The Lumad of Surigao del Sur”. It features a tribe’s fight for their right to education and their claim on their ancestral land.
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Hon Sophia Balod of GMA 7’s Saksi won the prize for news on television for "Edukasyon ng mga Lumad, nagsakripisyo para sa karahasan".
The Baguio-based community paper Northern Dispatch Weekly bagged the Gawad Agong for Indigenous Media. Meanwhile, Kilab Multimedia, a Davao-based alternative press, won the recognition as the Outstanding Media Institution Reporting for Cultural Minority Groups in Mindanao.
Gawad Agong is led by Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KATRIBU) and Indigenous Voices in Asia-Philippines.
