The University of the Philippines Tacloban College, through its Leyte Samar Heritage Center (LSHC), will hold a roundtable discussion (RTD) on “Best Practices in the Teaching of Eastern Visayas Mother Tongues” on 19 September 2025, 1:00-5:00 PM at the LSHC Gallery. This is the first in the three-part “Pagpakusog han Aton Pinulungan Roundtable Series,” which aims to gather insights that will inform policy interventions for the promotion of Eastern Visayas languages in academic.
The discussants in the first RTD include: Dr. Voltaire Q. Oyzon (Leyte Normal University), Dr. Gretel Laura M. Cadiong (Schools Division of Tacloban City), and Dr. Rosemarie M. Guino (Department of Education Region VIII), who will deliberate on the general state of MTB-MLE implementation in the region; Dr. Alma Sonia Q. Sanchez-Danday (Leyte Normal University) and Prof. Phil Harold L. Mercurio (Northwest Samar State University), who will share their experiences and insights in researching and teaching Binisaya/Waray in Tacloban City and Calbayog City; Prof. Georgina M. Orbeta (Eastern Visayas State University-Ormoc City Campus), who will talk about researching and teaching Kana/Cebuano in western Leyte; and Ms. Milen C. Esteria and Dr. Mat C. Banagbanag, who will talk about researching and teaching Inabaknon in Capul, Northern Samar. Asst. Prof. Efmer E. Agustin (Faculty-in-Charge, UPTC Sentro ng Wikang Filipino) and Asst. Prof. Jessa A. Amarille (Chair, UPTC Division of Humanities) will moderate the discussion.
The second and third RTDs, which will be held in October and November 2025, respectively, will focus on learning materials production and literary translations into the local languages of Eastern Visayas. The “Pagpakusog han Aton Pinulungan” project of UP Tacloban’s Leyte Samar Heritage Center is funded by the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies under its Local Regional Network Studies Program.
