Muro-Ami PIT wins grand slam in Lawig

By Larnie L. Bacalando

The Muro-Ami contingent of PIT won grand slam in the Lawig Festival Category C dance competition on December 2, 2018 at the PIT oval grounds after garnering three consecutive championship titles since 2016.

As part of its Muro-Ami concept, the dancers shaved their heads. According to Overfishing Campaign, it is a type of fishing that was introduced by the Japanese involving children who dove into water and formed a wall in order to scare fish toward a distant net.

The Category C was comprised of the winners from the past Lawig competitions who were Alfredo Parilla National High School (APNHS –2nd place), Taberna National High School (TaNHS-3rd place), Palompon National High School (PNHS) and the Association of Barangay Council (ABC).

“The concept actually did not much focus on Muro-Ami. It was just my artistic freedom and choice of composing something new in the production. Our concept during ` focused on the Palomponganon’s paglawig: panginabuhi, kalikopan ug pagtoo,” PIT Lawig contingent Head Choreographer Nelson N. Enage said.

Enage confessed that the team faced struggles particularly in the financial aspect which included procuring for the materials needed for the props, costumes and other expenses. Despite all he said, the administration managed it well.

He added that the PIT faculty and staff helped and contributed in the success of the PIT Lawig contingent by sponsoring the snacks and meals of the participants.

“There were lots of challenges I faced but because of the help of everyone, still, a successful performance was achieved. Prayers, commitment and hard work [were] my weapons,” he said.

Meanwhile, Enage clarified that the competition was held in the Institute’s oval grounds in response to the request of the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Palompon due to the port renovations.

Since the first Lawig Festival, the venue of the showdown competition has been at the Palompon Port until 2018.

“It was a collaborative effort of the two agencies– LGU and the institute,” he noted.

Concerning the allegations from other competing schools saying that PIT was in favor because the competition was held in its home court and it had PIT crowd, Enage stated that they respected their perspectives but he said that they had struggles during their practices.

“We could not practice while the rest were having blockings at the performance area because of the music and the stage was just constructed two days before the competition. We had the same feeling of big adjustments to the place,” explained Enage.

He further said that the crowd was not purely all from PIT since it was an open activity. "With that, the audience was not monopolized by the Institute," he said.

On the other hand, San Guillermo National High School was the Category B champion and the Category A titleholder was the Palompon South Central School.

Enage said that he was happy and proud that despite the challenges they encountered, the PIT contingent was able to prove that it could not be easily defeated.