DFA’s Women’s Month Celebration Highlights Indigenous Women

The Department of Foreign Affairs Ladies Foundation (DFALF) headed by its President Celeste Vinzon Balatbat (fifth from left), and DFA Office of Strategic Communications and Research represented by Director Victorio Mario Dimagiba Jr. (third from left) and Assistant Director Khrystina Corpuz Popov (third from right), lead the Women’s Day culminating event at the Carlos P. Romulo Library of the DFA  on 27 March 2019. The event featured babaylan Robielyn Caguit-Canto (center) as the special guest, and a screening of “Ang Babae sa Likod ng Mambabatok”. (DFA OPD Photo)

MANILA 05 April 2019 – A young lady babaylan (spiritual healer) from the Manobo tribe and famed Kalinga tattoo artist Fang-Od were the featured personalities during the culminating celebration of National Women’s Month on 27 March 2019 at the DFA’s Carlos P Romulo Library.

The event was jointly hosted by the DFA Office of Strategic Communications and Research-Cultural Diplomacy Division (OSCR-CDD) and the DFA Ladies Foundation (DFALF).

In her opening remarks, DFALF President Celeste Vinzon Balatbat stressed the importance of equity between men and women. She urged the audience to work so that women may be empowered with the appropriate and adequate resources for them to fulfill their work properly and with dignity.

For his part, DFA OSCR-CDD Director Victorio Mario Dimagiba Jr. recognized the role of women in “preserving, promoting, and propagating” Philippine indigenous culture in his remarks. He encouraged the attendees to examine and experience regional heritage to fully appreciate the Filipino identity.

Manobo tribe babaylan and dream weaver Robielyn Caguit-Canto shared her story about living out the babaylan role in their tribe. She related that baylans are chosen by ancestral spirits or anito, and it is a responsibility that one cannot and should not run away from.

As a young Baylan, Ms. Caguit-Canto wants to adapt the modern and present-day realities in the beliefs and practices of their tradition. She also practices dream-weaving, telling a person’s life story by praying to the gods to manifest the stories in her dreams, and interpreting them through her weaves.

Through the auspices of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, “Ang Babae sa Likod ng Mababatok” was screened as the main feature of the event. The film is a short documentary by director Lauren Sevilla Faustino which takes a personal perspective of Fang-Od, the oldest traditional tattoo artist of Kalinga.

Fang-Od relates the reason she became a mambabatok (tattoo artist), her family traditions that affected her life decisions, and her belief that the mambabatok custom will live on in the younger generation.

To accompany the celebration, an exhibit on the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan women awardees was also on display until 03 April 2019 at the DFA Lobby.

OSCR-CDD plans to undertake quarterly film appreciation events in the Department to promote the wealth and variety of available Filipino films. END