By: Cristine Joy Aromin, Staff Writer, The Alternative

The Political Science Society conducted its Technovironmental Symposium on March 16, 2023 at the UC Auditorium. The event was attended by Hon. Teodoro “Teddy” B. Baguilat as the guest speaker. He is a politician and journalist, as well as an activist and advocate of the indigenous peoples and minority groups’ rights.

The symposium discussed the advancement of science and technology in the modern world and how it had both positive and negative effects on the society and environment, especially in the lives and culture of the indigenous people.

Mr. Baguilat also tackled the Indigenous People’s Rights Act that has been continuously violated as a result of urbanization, as the ancestral lands and domains are being extracted and used by other companies, particularly the mining industry. He also stated that indigenous individuals have been significantly affected by modernization and that they continue to resist it, particularly in Ifugao. Although he acknowledged that modernization is beneficial, he also pointed out that it has significant negative environmental consequences, most notably pollution and climate change.

Mr. Baguilat left a final note to the audience that if the youth want to save and make a change in the environment, they must think and act as an indigenous people.