Legazpi City – A resounding call to fight for farmers echoed across Albay Astrodome as University of the Philippines (UP) Ibalon, the sole regional organization of Bicolano students at UP Diliman, spearheaded Padunungan 2024 with the theme “Cultivating the Future: The Role of Filipino Youth in PH Agricultural Resilience.”
Kicking off its second post-pandemic installment with a record-breaking participation number of 668 students from 22 schools across the Bicol Region, this year’s Padunungan is the biggest in the event’s rich 37-year history—a development as it marks the beginning of UP Ibalon’s golden jubilee, celebrating 50 years of service to the university, the people, and Bicolandia.
John Vincent Rosales, Padunungan 2024 event co-head, emphasized that Padunungan 2024 aims to enhance the participants’ academic pursuit while nurturing a strong sense of responsibility, which, this year, is deeply anchored to the pivotal role of the Filipino youth in shaping the nation’s agricultural sector.
The competitions featured in Padunungan encompass a diverse range of events, including a quiz bee, essay writing, tigsik writing, short-vid making, poster making, infographic design, editorial cartooning, debate, and impromptu stage.
Said events unfolded after Lester Narvaez, Deputy Director of Bicol Consortium for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (BCAARRD) and a professor at Bicol University College of Agriculture and Forestry (BUCAF), delivered an enlightening talk on crop science and the necessary mindsets in need of change to benefit the country’s agricultural sector, followed by Jake Abila’s discussion on the reality of farming and the struggles faced by his fellow farmers. Abilay is a farmer technician and trainer at FARMER, Inc. and National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates (NNARA) Youth Bicol Coordinator.
Sean Gabriel Estadilla, Ateneo de Naga University’s English essay writing representative, expressed, “This… What we are doing… This is our fight for our farmers. Regardless of our skills, we’ll thrive in our respective categories, as we thought of it as not just a competition but a platform on which we hope our call would be heard.”
“Wake up. We, the participants of this here event, are no longer children to just stand by and do nothing. Spread the word: ‘Fight for our farmers!’” Estadilla added.
Padunungan’s origins go way back to 1981, as part of UP Ibalon’s goal to promote academic excellence and leadership. It started as a quiz competition held in either Naga or Legazpi, evolving over time with the introduction of additional events like poster making, debates, and educational discussions, continuously expanding to larger venues to accommodate the ceaselessly growing number of participants. I Kian Kirby Florano
Photo courtesy: John Vincent Rosales