Apu Palamguwan Cultural Education Center
About APC
Apu Palamguwan Cultural Education Center (APC) is a Jesuit-run cultural and ecological school in partnership with the Pulangiyen of Bukidnon. It offers K-12 in its main campus in sitio Bendum, barangay Busdi, Malaybalay City. APC contextualizes its curriculum so that the learning process is grounded in the ancestral domain (gaup) and culture (kagena) and learning outcomes are geared towards sustainable life in the uplands. The curriculum includes communication skills (in Binukid, Filipino and English), mathematics, science, culture and livelihood. Bisaya culture and language have been incorporated as several migrant children also study in the school.
The partnership with the Pulangiyen people began in 1992, when the community of sitio Bendum sought the help of Fr. Pedro Walpole, SJ to set up a school. With Fr. Pedro leading, the Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSC) assisted the community in setting up APC in 1992. Volunteers from the Year of Service (YOS) and Jesuit Volunteer (JVP) Programs organized literacy classes with help from community members and developed a full-fledged elementary curriculum. There are now four local village schools connected to the main campus. APC draws on local residents for both teachers and administrators. (Excerpts from Partners for Better Futures, a nonprofit organization that support APC)
School Manager: Jenny Lynn Lee
Principal: Datu Nestor Menaling
Director: Fr. Pedro Walpole, SJ
Address: Sitio Bendum, Barangay Busdi, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon 8700
Mission Community
Bendum is a village located on the eastern part of the Upper Pulangi watershed in the northern part of the Pantaron mountain range which straddle the border of Bukidnon and Agusan del Sur. It has a population of about 300 people, 80% of whom are indigenous (mostly of Pulangiyen ethnicity).
APC has nearly 150 students and staff of 10 to work with the culture and diversity needs. The school calendar starts in the last week of May and ends in the first week of March. There are two breaks within the school year to take into consideration the farming cycle throughout the year and enable the students to help in their families’ livelihood during times of greatest agricultural activity. A significant number of students come from communities along the Pantaron range. As assistance, on average 20 students stay in the school dormitory. Food is also provided.
The Pulangi River forms a natural barrier between Bendum and Busdi, Thus the sitio is more closely associated with nearby barangay St. Peter which is on the same side of the river. Bendum is around 50 kilometers from Malaybalay City proper and can be reached in 1.5 hours via motorcycle ride via St. Peter. Through Busdi however, it is an hour’s hike through the hill trails across the Pulangi Canyon.
The Pulangiyen People
The Bukidnon Pulangiyen is a group of indigenous people whose documented ancestry dates back to the early part of the 19th century. These people subsisted mostly by hunting and gathering and lived along rivers in the forest. As a way of life and also due to occasional tribal conflict, the people constantly moved up the mountains to seek better resources.
While some accepted the Spanish colonizers, their presence impacted their way of life and most opted to retreat to the inner forests of Northeastern Mindanao. Settlements were formed along the Libang, Maasam, Adjaoan and Umayam Rivers in Agusan. Others continued their upstream migration until they reached the Upper Pulangi area in Bukidnon. The elders identified the groups according to the tributaries they inhabit. Thus, those who settled in the Tagaloan were called Tagaloanen, those in the Maasam River were called Maasamnen, and those near the Pulangi River were called Pulangiyen.
The school bears the name, "Apu Palamguwan", the mythical ancestor of the indigenous Pulangiyen people. Tradition has it that he desired for his people to be educated so they could write down their story and learn how to protect their land. Jenny Lynn Lee, APC School Manager, and Mercy Pakiwag, her assistant, share how they accompany the students and their families in their journey towards education. Click the link below to learn more about their service and commitment to the Bendum community.
APC Priorities
In addition to scholarships to help send deserving Bendum children to school, APC has established a farm school, the Forest Farm and Leadership in the Margins (FFLM) Center and supports its Youth Work Experience (YWE) program to provide alternative opportunities for vulnerable youth in Bendum who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. YWE is a two-month program held at APC’s Balay Laudato Si and it provides skills training and formation to youth in community while building their forest, farm, and leadership skills to contribute to their management of the ancestral domain. Participants are given an allowance during their training period to help upland families and communities cope with the economic repercussions of the health crisis. The initial run of the YWE program was recently completed with 11 young men and 9 young women.
Watch the videos below on CULTIVATING HOPE IN COMMUNITY.
Youth training and accompaniment
Youth training and accompaniment
Youth training and accompaniment
FFLM - YWE seeks to provide opportunities for vulnerable youth who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. This story is from Yanyan Yacapin, whose focus is youth training and accompaniment. Click image to watch video.
Hope and change
Youth training and accompaniment
Youth training and accompaniment
Shela Gamalo-Cabale, a young mother of three, lives in the uplands of Bendum. Before the program, she was too shy to relate to other people. Now she shares her story of hope and change. Click image to watch video.
Finding purpose in collective vision
Finding purpose in collective vision
Finding purpose in collective vision
Jonil Lumisod, after two months with FFLM, decided to stay in Bendum instead of finding work in the city to ensure that his children have access to clean water and a future to look forward to. Click image to watch video.
Indigenous farming practices
Finding purpose in collective vision
Finding purpose in collective vision
In this video, Armando Lambon discusses organic farming that draws on indigenous farming practices to deepen the participants' understanding and appreciation of soil and water management. Click image to watch.
School life
