20/03/2026
๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ; ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฌ-๐ฐ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
PROSPERIDAD, AGUSAN DEL SUR โ Under the banner of โWE for Gender Equality and Inclusive Society,โ Philippine Normal University Mindanao turned its campus into a center for advocacy on March 18, 2026. The day-long event focused on the subtheme "Lead like Babaylans, Filipinas!" and featured a series of high-energy competitions.
The celebration, organized by the Gender Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Unit and the Advocates of Human and Gender Rights, took place alongside a high-level campus visit from CHED Commissioner Ricmar P. Aquino, CHED Caraga Regional Director Nelia A. Alibin, Ph.D., and NEMSU President Dr. Nemesio G. Loayon. Their presence gave regional leaders a firsthand look at how PNU Mindanao is putting gender-responsive education into practice.
The morning session opened at the Accreditation Room with a keynote from Ms. Dece Jhenn M. Reponte of DICT Agusan del Sur. In her talk, "Gender Equality in the Digital Age," she challenged faculty and staff to carry the bold, ancestral spirit of the Babaylan into the 21st-century digital landscape.
The momentum shifted to the creative competitions in the afternoon, where the Feature Writing contest took center stage. Participants were tasked with a deep-dive exploration of the subtheme "Lead like Babaylans, Filipinas!", producing stories that connected historical leadership to the modern-day successes of Filipino women.
This spirit of advocacy extended into other venue as well. In the Digital Cartooning session, students used graphic tools to visualize the modern Babaylan, while the Editorial Writing contestants tackled the difficult reality of how global wars impact gender equality today. Meanwhile, the university hosted Cinemaria, a film showcase held in partnership with BPHE students that focused on women's resilience and health. The dayโs competitive spirit peaked with RightsCon 2026, a campus-wide pitching contest where students presented their own tech-driven solutions for pressing human rights issues.
Supported by the Student Government and the Student Affairs and Services Unit, the event showed that PNU Mindanao is a space where students don't just study historyโthey use it to advocate for a fairer future. The day ended with an awarding ceremony, proving that for these modern Babaylans, the digital age is simply the next frontier to lead.
