SISC High School Monarchs engaged in traditional Filipino games as part of the 5Cs Month event Laro ng Lahi last February 13 and 21, 2024. Through this, they celebrated Philippine culture through sportsmanship in this mini-game tournament held in the Monarchs Gym.
Due to time constraints, the event was split across two days. The first part was held in Monarch’s Gym on February 13, concluding the games Agawang Panyo, Patintero, and Luksong Lubid. The remaining Pinoy Henyo, Sipa, and Dama matches were concluded at a later date, February 21. The results of the championship games and the overall champion of Laro ng Lahi were announced on February 27 during the 5Cs Month Culminating Activity.
Agawang Panyo
With the objective to capture a raised handkerchief and safely bring it to the team’s safe zone, if the other team managed to tap the person holding the handkerchief captive before they reached their spot, the point would go to them. Each match involved twenty students (ten per batch), and players were individually assigned a number from 1-10 per team. They stood across the other team at a distance. Within this distance, a teacher raised a handkerchief while another would call out one or more numbers to step onto the court. The active players could choose to make an attempt at stealing the handkerchief, defend it from being stolen by the other team, or tag any successful opponent.
A 10th-grade participant in the game against 7th grade, Seohyung “Matthew” Joo, was asked what the best part of Agawang Panyo was. To this, he revealed the excitement of wholesome rivalry and getting lost in a fighting spirit alongside friends. He attributed his motive for joining to the interest he had upon hearing the mechanics, particularly running after the handkerchief, and the “fun [of playing] with friends.”
For boys’ Agawang Panyo, Grade 7 and Grade 10 fought for the championship. This was eventually secured by the latter, bagging 10 points as opposed to their opponents’ 5 points. For the girls, Grade 7 and Grade 9 went against each other for the championship. Grade 7 emerged victorious, holding 8 points against the 9th graders’ 6 points.
Patintero
Patintero had two major roles in store for the players: guards and runners. The playing grounds were visually separated into 6 rectangles using masking tape. The runners were tasked to make a run for the other end of the rectangles challenged by the guards, who would strive to block and eliminate them by tapping. However, the guards were also challenged with movement restrictions, as they could only move sideways along the tape lines, and each guard was assigned one line.
For the boys’ rounds of Patintero, Grade 7 and Grade 9 competed for the championship, resulting in Grade 9 winning with 18 points against 12 points. Meanwhile, the girls’ rounds had Grade 9, with 20 points, win in their final game against Grade 8, with 10 points.
Luksong Lubid
Luksong Lubid, popularly referred to as Chinese Garter, is a traditional game that involves players jumping over a cord that is progressively raised to a higher level each round to increase the game's difficulty until 1 remaining team is standing.
Siddiq Siddiq of 10-Patriotism rose to the first rank of Luksong Lubid after coming forth as the last man standing, becoming its champion.
Pinoy Henyo
A game of stock knowledge and limited communication, Pinoy Henyo explored Filipino culture by looking into different places, objects, people, animals, foods, and traditions. Here, all groups consisted of a pair. One is presented with a Filipino-related word prompt that cannot be seen by the partner, who must ask a series of yes-or-no questions to deduce what the prompt is specifically referring to. The partner aware of the prompt can only reply, “Oo (yes),” “Hindi (no),” or “Pwede (maybe).”
When asked the question, “What challenges did you encounter while preparing for and during the event?” Psalm Borines from 10-Responsibility. shared about his and his partner's preparation. “So, being not-so-seasoned when it comes to Pinoy Henyo topics, my partner and I reviewed a lot.”
This was not their only adversity though, but that did not stop them from focusing on what could be done in the moment and powering through regardless of outcome. He continued, “During the event, brain fog hit both of us really hard, so it was pretty challenging, but remembering what we could from our review sessions, we pushed through.”
His partner, Stacy Schuck, responded to the question: “What insights were you left with after the event?” She replied, “I realized I should be getting out of my comfort zone more often. I shouldn't hold back just because of my lack of confidence; I should think of new opportunities as a learning experience.”
That pair, from 10-Responsibility, seized the championship after taking 23 seconds to succeed on their first word. The runner-up was the pair of Joshua Santos and Juan Lobien of 10-Commitment after taking 1 minute and 9 seconds to succeed on their first word.
Sipa
Sipa is a staple in Filipino culture. Typically played outdoors, players volley a small, flat-bottomed ball using various parts of their bodies except for their hands. All teams stand in a circle and take turns kicking the ball to each other.
The 10th Grade won as champions with 41 points. Following them were 8th Grade with 21 points, 9th Grade with 9 points, and 7th Grade with 7 points.
Dama
Dama is also known as "Filipino Checkers." It is a traditional board game similar to international checkers. The game is played on an 8x8 checkerboard with pieces called "dama" or "pilápil," and players must capture their opponent’s pieces by jumping over them.
Aira Diesmos of 8-Integrity came out as the champion. Following her was the 1st runner up JC Roman of 10-Prudence, and 2nd runner up Heejun Park of 9-Fortitude.
Laro ng Lahi concluded with 10th grade as the overall champion. Ultimately, regardless of the competition, opponents remain as companions. The games that were played, rooted in Filipino tradition, served not only to entertain but also to preserve and showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines. By engaging in these activities, Monarchs upheld the values of sportsmanship while celebrating the diverse and vibrant aspects of Filipino culture.