Globe Telecom makes going back to school easier for Manobo-Tinananon children

The Manobo-Tinananon community in Tumanding, Arakan, Cotabato has a vision for its youth to have access to continuing education so that the lives of their people would be changed positively.

While the goal seems easy to achieve, life is not easy for the residents of Tumanding.  Not only do they have limited access to social services such as clean water and electricity, but they are also dependent on farm labor for income.  Thus, although they can send the children to public schools, they have little to spend for anything else.


Being one of the communities in Arakan that Globe has adopted under its Community of Practice (CoP) program showcasing the various advocacies of the company, Globe has decided to offer educational support to the children this current school year to lessen the financial burden to the parents. 

As initial assistance, Globe provided 180 primary and high school students of Tumanding Elementary School and Sto. Nino High School with basic school supplies applicable to their respective grade or year level. The school supplies were given as conservation incentives for habitat restoration partners of Globe in SEBNAKA (Sinaka Eagle Bagtok Napunangan
Kayupaton Association), the tribal council which represents the Manobo-Tinanong community. SEBNAKA is duly registered as an Indigenous People’s Organization under the Department of Labor and Employment and is also an active member of the Arakan Civil Society Organizations.

“Indirect conservation incentives like this are given as merits for the community’s good performance in forest restoration.  While Globe is helping them increase their income through agro-forestry support, we are at the same time assisting them with their immediate needs such as the provision of school supplies.  Hopefully, these incentives would also be able to promote forest restoration as an attractive option for non-partners,” said Yoly Crisanto, Head of Globe Corporate Communications.

The Manobo-Tinananon community which is comprised of some 50 households, handles the reforestation and protection of around 150 hectares of forest in Mt. Sinaka which is among the important wildlife habitats in the area and is regarded as one of the world’s important bird areas due to the relatively high proportion of unique threatened birds it contains.
Last year, Globe has entered into a partnership with the Philippine Eagle Foundation to restore wildlife habitats through rain forestation on grasslands along the forest corridor between the mountains of Mahuson, Sinaka and Kabalantiian-Binoongan-Kulaman (KABIKU) in Arakan Valley as well as provide assistance to its community partners with the end-goal of preserving the breeding places of the Philippine Eagle. 

While the project is mainly about rain reforestation, Globe and PEF also find ways to improve the welfare of the communities by providing livelihood, education, and other basic needs of the communities which are working to help achieve the goal.