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"Kennon: Road to Global Peace and Unity"

< Press Release by JAPITAC >

REMEMBERING THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR FORCE OF
KENNON ROAD THROUGH THEATER


Kennon: Road to Global Peace and Unity”, a three act music-theater
play attempting to immortalize events on the making of Kennon Road
based on the script written by Mr. Ventura Bitot, Artistic Director of
Mountain Province and OBON DI MALAYAD, Inc., is to be staged during
the Baguio Centennial Celebration on September 3, 2009 at the
Baguio Convention Center.

The Japan Philippine International Peace Theater Art Festival
Committee(JAPITAC)
in cooperation with the Baguio Centennial
Commission
had taken the initiative to facilitate the production of the
theater play. JAPITAC, chaired by Mr. Hidenobu Oguni, president of
Japanese Association in Northern Luzon(JANL), has topped the Japan
Foundation
and Sojitz Foundation for the production financial assistance
supporting Japanese participants in the play production, while the substan
tial amount for Filipino participants and directors are raised locally from
private sectors and individuals, etc.

In addition to the Japanese artists group and OBON DI MALAYAD,
Benguet State University Center for Culture and the Arts , (Dr. Edna
A. Chua
, the Director of the Center, Dr. Norma S. Mayos and
Ms. Janet B. Mede, Dramatics Club Coordinators), joined JAPITAC.

The training and rehearsal program is being coordinated by Mr. Toshihisa Yoshida, Theater Art Director from Japan, and Mr. Ventura Bitot, with the assistance by JANL.
JAPITAC invited artists both from Japan and Philippines to participate in
the production. Also, Eng. Leopoldo S. Escano, Executive Director,
Filipino Japanese Foundation of Northern Luzon, Inc. has been providing
several services to support the production of the play.

It is hoped that the presentation of the play will be one of the big events during the coming September, not only in the celebration of Baguio
Centennial year, but also a commemoration of the General Yamashita
Surrender Day, or we would say, Baguio Peace Memorial Day, and to honor
the international labor force that built the famous Kennon Road.

The play will be depicting sensible values to recall such as the
following
:

The building of Kennon Road did not only developed friendly relations
among the different international labor force but it had intensively
developed the unity of the various tribes in the Cordilleras;

The opening of Kennon Road during the American occupation was intended primarily to have a cool city resort for the American government officials in Manila where they can work and relax with fresh air during summer months (the concept of Summer Capital). Unexpectedly, it has ushered the
building of Baguio Metropolis that brought the Cordillera people into a city
of peace, understanding and unity;

Kennon Road escalated the development of the whole region, the mines,
the industrial gardens, educational city center of the Northern Philippines;

It depicts too the court struggle of the late Mateo Carino, and Ibaloy
leader who fought for his ancestral ownership over Camp John Hay, a U.S.
Military Rest and Recreation facility inside Baguio City that eventually
decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on his favor in which, the popular
Carino Doctrine came about for the Benefit of the indigenous peoples
of the whole world;

Lastly, but not the least is the depiction of the unselfish participation of
the International Labor Force approximately composed of 46 countries
most specially the Japanese who shared the dignity of work and many lives
and limbs being mostly assigned with the Igorots to the upper part of
rocky cliffs and who composed about 22% of the total work force, also the
well known Igorots who exhibited great trust and honesty by working well
without supervisors watching them.

Finally, the play encourages sustained advocacy pushing a challenge to
the local and national government as well as the people living along
Kennon Road and other stakeholders to rehabilitate its natural
magnificence as a Friendship Highway and to promote an International
Heritage for Global Peace and Unity.



Written by Ventura Bitot & JAPITAC
July 16, 2009



"Kennon :
    Road to Global Peace and Unity"

Written by : Ventura Bitot/Obon Di Malayado, Inc.
Directed by : Toshihisa Yoshida
Artistic Directors : Norma S. Mayos, Janet B. Mede & Ventura Bitot
Producer : Hidenobu Oguni/JANL

Japan-Philippine International Peace Theater Art Festival
for the celebration of Baguio Centennial

Time/Date : 2pm & 7pm,
         Thursday, September 3, 2009
Venue : Baguio Convention Center


Presented by :
JAPITAC
(Japan-Philippine International Peace Theater Art Festival Committee)

Organized by:
Obon Di Malayado, Inc.
Japanese Association in Northern Luzon(JANL), Inc.
Benguet State University Center for Culture and the Arts

In cooperation with :
Baguio Centennial Commission
Filipino-Japanese Foundation of Northern Luzon, Inc.
University of The Philippines Baguio - College of Arts and Communication
Hon. Maximo B. Dalog, Governor, Mt. Province
V.P. Tessie Marestela and Dr. Edna Chua of BSU


Supported by :
Japan Foundation
Sojitz Foundation
by janlbaguio | 2009-07-22 21:47 | JAPITAC 日比平和演劇祭
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