How well do Pinoy kids know sungka? This bill aims to 'preserve' the traditional game

It takes two people to play a game of traditional Philippine sungka, but it would need understanding among all the Filipino youth to keep it alive.

According to a report on GMA News TV's "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho" on Tuesday, Congress has yet to pass House Bill No. 6192, or the proposed "Philippine Indigenous Games Preservation Act," which aims to "to preserve the rich cultural heritage of Filipino indigenous peoples and promote the significance of traditional games in uplifting the wellbeing, especially of the youth."

Among the proposed law's provisions is the staging of annual regional and national indigenous sports competitions. It also calls for the inclusion of indigenous games in the basic education curriculum.

As the bill has yet to be passed, GMA News reporter Oscar Oida took a sungka board to the streets to see if young people walking were familiar with the game.

Unfortunately, those asked didn't quite know what it was or how it was played.

Oida, who is a millennial himself, met veteran sungka enthusiast 60-year-old Lola Ligaya, who saw him playing and taught him a few tricks.

She said she was pleased to hear that there are measures in place to preserve traditional Filipino games such as sungka.

Vicky Makalinga, a 68-year-old who also played the game with Oida, likewise said, "Dapat matuto sila dahil...larong Pilipino talaga 'yan."

—Margaret Claire Layug/JCB, GMA News