REACHING FOR KNOWLEDGE. A student volunteer of Ugnayan ng Pahinungód, Angel Dagoy, extends her hand as she reaches for a journal for research.

No child left behind, we say. Yet five hours away from Baguio City sits Barangay Dalligan in Kiangan, Ifugao, a municipality whose education is so neglected that they have to beg for books and basic educational resources that should be a given already. 

Ifugao extremely values cultural heritage and written and oral literature like hudhud, epics, and poems, but how will the Ifugao text live on when they do not have access to learning resources that can aid them in enriching their perspectives? How ironic it is that a place rich in literature can possibly stop learning its own due to scarce resources. 

In the Philippines, the likes of Barangay Dalligan exemplifies the poorly prioritized sector of education.

"Pasensiya ta sagpaminsanak lang agkasignal. Awan signal ijay school mi. Nu rumwar kami lang nu weekends dituy centro (I'm sorry, the signal reception here is often weak. There's no signal in our school. We only go to the town proper every weekend.)," a teacher from Dalligan said when I contacted her for book donations. Came the pandemic, Dalligan is not reached by the government's plan for assisting communities in distance learning.

A former visiting professor at the University of the Philippines Baguio and a researcher in Barangay Dalligan, Professor Aurelio Agcaoili currently oversees the community library for elementary students in the municipality. Agcaoili told how underdeveloped and destitute Dalligan is of educational resources which is why he has been asking organizations for help in gathering books to help the remotest and poorest barrio of Kiangan.

The barangay has 291 residents, the 2020 Census reported. In the latest 2015 tally, about 4 in 10 residents belonged to the age bracket of 0-14-year-olds while the highest age group ranges from 5-9 years old, with 39 individuals. This means that the majority of the population goes to primary school, the first stage of formal education, crucial in a child's foundation of learning.

“To go to Dalligan is not for the faint-hearted, and poverty and wretchedness define the community,” Agcaoili said. 

The government is also not prioritizing remote areas in the Philippines in any of its assistance programs. The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) received a meager 1.96%  budget from the Department of Education(DepEd) in 2021 during the height of the pandemic. The DepEd reasoned that the allocation was aligned with the regions’ needs and priorities. With severely underdeveloped areas like Dalligan, does CAR have lesser priorities than other regions? 

Institutions in Manila have far better resources compared to the schools in barrios you would not hear about unless they are in calamity. The 2021 DepEd Budget report also revealed that there were 46 repaired classrooms in the National Capital Region, while only 20 classrooms were repaired in the whole CAR. The department also targeted procuring 377,822 learning materials for NCR but only 64,877 for CAR.

Furthermore, data from the Bureau of Treasury revealed that P2.4 trillion was loaned to several institutions in response to the pandemic crisis. From this number, distance learning assistance includes providing computers to schools, modules, and financial assistance for data or wifi connection. Seeing as how Dalligan suffers even after the pandemic emergency was lifted, did the P2.4 trillion reach remote areas? In this Manila-centric country, perhaps this is a timely reminder for the government to look far beyond the city and put its #NoChildBehind policy into actuality.

The literacy rate in the Philippines declined, the World Literacy Foundation reported in 2023. The reason? Low reading comprehension. But make no mistake, this crisis is no blame students have to take. The lack of provided educational resources such as books is the root of this problem. 

The lack of infrastructure catering to the influx of enrollees is another factor contributing to this crisis. Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte's 2023 Basic Education Report accounted for 28 million enrollees. However, there are only 327, 851 school buildings nationwide. Of this number, only 104, 536 are in good condition--safe in case of calamities. The report also revealed the scarcity of tools like chairs that affects the learning process of students.

Based on the Learner Information System (LIS) for S.Y. 2022-2023, there are more than 19 million students enrolled in public schools while data from the Education Management Information System Division reveals that there are only approximately 900,000 teachers in public schools. Not only do there is a lack of the tangibles, the manpower to serve quality education is insufficient. 

A fundamental right that is due to every Filipino, this education crisis will not be resolved unless it is put on the same pedestal as other government priorities. There are thousands of communities in the country that experience the same situation as Dalligan.

Lacking the resources to develop reading and writing as early as grade school sets the tone for these children’s future. Not everyone has the privilege to leave home to pursue quality education elsewhere, which is why the government must set its priorities straight and provide small communities with their rightful access to it. In a government that truly champions the best interest of the people, education is not something sought but outright provided.  

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To those who want to help the developing library in Dalligan, you can directly ship the books to the Dalligan Elementary School, addressed to Dr. Soraya Faculo, Superintendent, Ifugao Division of Schools, Lagawe, Ifugao.

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- Ariza Anjeli Diola