Loren Legarda puts a spotlight on Filipino games, sports, and dance

Award-winning documentary series “Dayaw” hopes to inspire Filipinos to renew their energies and be more active through its new season on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC).

Premiering on August 5, the eleventh season of “Dayaw” titled “Kaka-ibang Sigla: Our Vital Energy” focuses on the energy, competitiveness, and sportsmanship of Filipinos as manifested in traditional games, sports, and dance.

“Dayaw’s 11th Season is vital in reminding our young generation, especially those who spend endless hours on gadgets and mobile games, to be physically active as well as experience and learn from the world outside,” said its host, House Deputy Speaker and Antique Representative Loren Legarda.

Shot before the pandemic, the six-part docu series begins with “Mula sa Pagkabata,” an episode on games that Filipino kids play such as taguan, patintero, piko, and luksong tinik and traditional Maranao games like Sipa sa Lama and Sipa sa Manggis.

Ifugao’s famous annual punnuk tug-of-war ritual, now among UNESCO’s list of important intangible human heritage, is featured in the second and third episodes, followed by the exciting two-part special “Tikas at Lakas” on Filipino martial arts like arnis, silat, and eskrima.

Episode six “Sayawang Pinoy,” meanwhile, puts the spotlight on the treasure trove of folk and indigenous dances that make the Filipino soul visible with their enchanting rhythms and movements.

According to Legarda, traditional games, dances, and martial arts instill important values in Filipinos that enable them to persevere despite uncertainties, overcome challenges, and thrive in the direst circumstances.

“To win in these traditional games, we have to be precise, focused, and work with the team in achieving our main goal – win against our opponent. We carry these values that our traditional games taught us in every aspect of our life.”

She added, “Our traditional dances mirror the ways of life of our ancestors and how they celebrate tradition. Our martial arts embody our strength and determination, an art that is part of our intangible heritage that we need to sustain and enliven.”

Hence, it is important to teach the youth about them.

“We can only save these from extinction by continuing to instill their importance in our young, and let them practice and learn these treasures,” she said.

“Dayaw,” a production of ANC and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), is a concept of Legarda, NCCA's Dangal ng Haraya Patron of Arts and Culture awardee.

Watch it every Thursday at 6 pm starting August 5 (Thursday) on ANC on cable and the ANC Facebook page.

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