PROJECT SAYSAY GETS P80K FROM DIGITAL LG QUIZ DIRECTOR

BEHIND Batang 90s’ quiz show: Direk Pat Perez (front, third from left) with the staffs of the Digital LG Quiz, ca. 2000. Image courtesy of Ina Quesada

Project Saysay, an advocacy project that brings free posters featuring the words of wisdom of great Filipinos to various Philippine schools, last 19 January 2017 received the amount of PhP 78,660.00 from Direk Pat Perez, the director of the popular quiz show, Digital LG Quiz, which ran from 1999 to 2003 every Saturday on GMA 7.

The said amount will benefit around 500 classrooms, equivalent to 1,000 posters or 13.61% of the 7,350 target posters to be produced this year (including the 3,300 backlogs from the previous year). pSaysay initially allocated the budget for the schools in Batanes, Camarines Sur, Quezon City, Valenzuela City, Pampanga, and Cebu. Also, part of the amount will be used for lectures and exhibits slated this year.

Now the vice-president for Creatives of LeGIT Entertainment + Media, Co., Direk Pat recently directed Apolinario Mabini: Talino at Paninindigan, the first documentary of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines under its Heroes Documentary Project. The said documentary was launched on 5 August 2016, during a pSaysay activity at its beneficiary school, San Francisco High School, in Quezon City. Direk Pat said she was so moved and inspired by the message pSaysay is spreading that she wanted more schools of the country to benefit from it.

Responding to this, Mr. Ian Christopher B. Alfonso, the founder of pSaysay, said that there are three seasons of poster turnovers this 2017: first in May (4,000 posters) in time of the opening of School Year 2017-2018, next in August (2,500 posters) in celebration of National History Month, and last in October (850 posters) during the culminating activity of the National Teachers’ Month. Moreover, pSaysay will explore giving posters to various Philippine schools overseas with the help of its benefactors.

Since 2013, pSaysay has been relying on benefactors and institutions shouldering the cost of production of posters. As of 25 January 2017, there are already 1,650 posters distributed in the country. Apart from this mandate, pSaysay also organized and chaired the 1st National Youth Forum on Heritage National in November 2015.