13/10/2026
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ
โAllow yourselves, today and tomorrow you will be at the oars!โ
Nearly four centuries after Sultan Mohammad Dipatuan Kudarat issued this sharp warning to protect his peopleโs freedom and heritage from erasure, faculty researchers from Sultan Kudarat State University (SKSU) stepped into the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) to safeguard the province's living culture.
Carrying the national heroโs legacy and a mission to empower communities through cultural and heritage education, delegates from SKSU met with officials of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in Manila on October 8, 2026. The coordination meetings benchmarked on institutional accreditation and technical support for key cultural preservation initiatives, including a proposed STEAM Museum and comprehensive provincial heritage mapping.
The consultative meetings took place immediately following the delegatesโ participation in the three-day training-workshop titled "Cultural Mapping: Documenting Heritage, Empowering Communities," led by the University of the PhilippinesโAsian Institute of Tourism (UP-AIT) from October 5 to 7.
Translating their training into institutional action, the SKSU team first conferred with Myla T. Buan, Chief of the NCCA Plan, Policy Formulation, and Programming Division, through Secretariat Coordinator Gina Barcelon. The dialogue advanced the evaluation and documentation requirements for the universityโs proposed Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Museum.
To ensure regulatory compliance for incoming government grants, the delegates coordinated with Rodelio "Oden" Candor, Accreditation Officer of the NCCA Grants Processing and Accreditation Section. The consultation verified and updated SKSUโs active status as an accredited state university eligible to receive official NCCA project funding and technical assistance.
In a separate technical consultation, the researchers met with Cultural Mapping Section Project Leader Belle Ballon and Project Coordinator Jethro Anot. The section aligned field protocols and survey instruments for two university-funded research initiatives. The alignment ensures that all collected community data complies with the recording requirements of the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property.
The SKSU consultative body was led by research project leader and College of Teacher Education (CTE) faculty researcher, Ramil M. Arciosa. Joining him were CTE faculty members and university administrators: ACCESS Campus Director Dr. Christine P. Abo, Instructional Materials Development Center Director Dr. Amira Mae C. Gumanoy, Socio-Cultural Affairs Director Dr. Emy A. Morbo, Curriculum Review and Development Chairperson Sherry V. Mecida, and faculty researcher Evora H. Dioneza.
The meetings concluded the university's preliminary coordination phase in preparation for full-scale field data gathering across the province and the wider region.
โ๏ธ Evora H. Dioneza
๐ธ Raml Arciosa and Sherry Mecida
