Local partners express support to reinforce MATATAG Agenda programs

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The Department of Education (DepEd) secured the commitment anew of its local partner organizations in providing relevant assistance in the realization of MATATAG Agenda during a consultative meeting on Tuesday at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan at the Central Office.

The forum aligned the local partners to the MATATAG Agenda and presented the proposed menu of education interventions that can be accomplished through partnerships.

Through the consultative meeting, both DepEd and partners discussed the distribution and classification of the programs and projects of the local partners ranging from partiality in regions, grade levels, type of program, and project scope.

"The MATATAG Agenda is not merely a dream, it is a commitment, so now more than ever, we need your continued collaboration," DepEd Chief of Staff and Spokesperson Michael Poa said.

The representatives of DepEd local partners discussed their existing programs and its alignment with MATATAG Agenda, while others expressed interest in what additional programs can be added to the roster. The new menu of interventions provided the necessary platform for the partners to identify and realign their projects in favor of the Department’s new education agenda.

“We do appreciate and we are very much honored for the unwavering efforts, valuable partnership, and our joint objective to achieve the goals towards a Bansang Makabata and Batang Makabansa,” Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla said.

Partners voiced out their willingness to tap into teacher welfare by pitching programs for teacher capacity-building, scholarships, financial literacy, and health. Additionally, partners offered their commitment to helping learners through their well-being and health programs.

DepEd also encouraged its local partners to sign up to the newly-launched DepEd Partnership and Assistance Portal (DPAP) and see the School Improvement Plan (SIP) of various schools, which they can directly access through the website.

Spearheaded by the External Partnership Service , the event is attended by representatives of the 92 private and public partner organizations and DepEd officials and staff. This is the third meeting that the Department has organized in preparation for the upcoming Partners Forum on May 25, 2023.

Instituto Cervantes celebrated Book Day by honoring Philippine literature in Spanish

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Last Saturday, April 22, the Instituto Cervantes in Manila celebrated the International Book Day with a recital of Filipino poetry in Spanish, a language which, although almost extinct in the Archipelago, is the language in which written literature in the Philippines was born.

The Día del Libro (Book Day), whose celebration was first introduced in the Philippines by the Instituto Cervantes in 2006, was inaugurated this year with the premiere of a video in which, thanks to the collaboration of the embassies of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela and Spain in the Philippines, more than thirty Spanish speakers from various continents recited the poem "Canto del viajero", by José Rizal. The video can be viewed on the Instituto Cervantes’ YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/InstitutoCervantesManila). According to the director of Instituto Cervantes, Javier Galván, this intiative aims "to highlight, through the variety of Spanish accents, the richness of Filipino poetry in Spanish, specifically that of Rizal, the great Filipino classic, who created his works in Spanish".

The Instituto Cervantes has been immersed for years in a campaign that tries, on the one hand, to encourage young Filipino authors to write in Spanish through creative-writing workshops, and on the other hand, to increase awareness of the Filipino literary heritage in Spanish. The Miguel Hernández Library of the Spanish cultural center has managed to gather a valuable section of Filipiniana resources. And in 2006, the center inaugurated the Hispanic-Filipino Classics collection, through which it has been possible to rescue out-of-print works such as Cuentos de Juana, by Adelina Gurrea, or lost titles such as Los pájaros de fuego, by the Manileño Jesús Balmori.

A new step in this effort to recover the memory of Spanish in the Philippines is the Philhispanic Poetry Recital. Through the second edition of this recital, which was recorded during the Día del Libro and will soon be posted on the Instituto Cervantes’ YouTube channel, the Spanish cultural center invited poetry aficionados to recite poems written in Spanish by Filipino writers, whether classics like Rizal or contemporaries like Guillermo Gomez Rivera, Daisy Lopez, or Wystan de la Peña.

Conceived as a celebration of books, Instituto Cervantes’ Día del Libro was not limited to the Philhispanic poetry recital. From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., those attending the cultural day were able to enjoy activities for children, games, storytelling sessions, book presentations, book signings, art exhibitions, free Spanish classes, gastronomy, and talks and discussions by Filipino leading writers such as Jessica Zafra, Vicente García Groyon, Glenn Diaz, among others. To cap off the event, there was a concert by the band Talahib People's Music.

There was also the traditional book market, with the presence of Manila's leading bookstores and publishers, which displayed their offer of books at a 20% discount at the Instituto Cervantes’ facilities in Intramuros. Following the Spanish tradition, the booksellers gifted the public with roses.

In addition, to commemorate Miguel de Cervantes Day, Instituto Cervantes challenged visitors to join in a quixotic attempt: to handwrite Don Quijote de La Mancha. The final handwritten book will be deposited in the Instituto Cervantes’ Library. Scenes of the Book Day can be seen in the Instagram site (https://www.instagram.com/institutocervantesmanila) and Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes Manila: https://www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

Organized by the Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines and Intramuros Administration, the Día del Libro was supported by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, the Spanish Ministry of Education, the Embassies of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela, as well as the Alejandro Roemmers Ibero-American Chair of Cultural and Creative Industries of the Miguel Hernandez University (Spain). Participating bookstores and publishing houses included Ateneo University Press, Milflores Publishing, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Vibal Publishing, Far Eastern University Publications, Ortigas Foundation, Kahel Press, and Artbooks.ph.



Caption to cover photo: Mr. Javier Galván, Instituto Cervantes Director / H.E. Ricardo Bocalandro, Ambassador of Argentina / H.E. Marcela Ordóñez, Ambassador of Colobia / H.E. Miguel Utray, Ambassador of Spain / H.E. Álvaro Jara, Ambassador of Chile / Mr. Richard Gregorio Espinoza, Counsellor, Embassy of Venezuela / Mr. Marcos Octavio Vara, Head of Cultural Affairs, Embassy of Mexico.

BingoPlus parent company, DigiPlus, registers big gains after one year in operation

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DigiPlus Interactive Corp. (formerly Leisure & Resorts World Corporation or LRWC), the mother company of BingoPlus is set to expand its site operations by acquiring new machines and expanding its game offerings for the rest of 2023.

The bullish outlook was prompted by the tremendous revenue growth registered by the company in 2022 which grew to PhP 8.91 billion from PhP 2.81billion in 2021.

The biggest revenue contributor was its Retail Games business, which amounted to 91.7% or Php8.16 billion of the total revenue. This segment is driven by the traditional on-site bingo operation, remote BingoPlus platform operations and e-game services. The retail business is expected to keep its profitable operations as it gains the favor of social gamers and bingo-loving Filipinos. BingoPlus continues to be the leading bingo operator in the country.

“What we accomplished in 2022 is remarkable. The Company re-aligned its new business strategy and returned to profitable operations. We believe that there is strong momentum in our future business growth and the outlook is positive.” said Andy Tsui, President of DigiPlus Interactive Corp.

The significant turnaround was due to the resumption of the majority of its site operations and the launching of its own technology platform.

DigiPlus Interactive Corp. is one of the leading providers in the gaming and leisure industry. Its 20-year expertise has led to its dominance in the retail gaming market where it provides world-class multi-gaming platforms with a strong distribution network of entertainment sites in key locations in the Philippines.

The name change from Leisure and Resorts World Corp to DigiPlus went into effect on February 28, 2023. DigiPlus functions as a holding company for all its subsidiaries in various gaming and entertainment sectors.