Police officers serve as pallbearers during burial ceremonies for slain Mayor Dario Otaza of Loreto, Agusan del Sur Wednesday morning (28 Oct. 2015) in Butuan City. Otaza and his son were abducted and killed by New People’s Army rebels last Oct. 19. MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo | Read story

A young Lumad woman rides a horse across a ricefield in Molmol, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental. MindaNews photo by KARL GASPAR

A man holds on to his opponent to prevent himself from falling in this scene during a game called spider boxing in Barangay San Vicente, Baungon town in Bukidnon on Thursday (Nov. 5, 2015). The game is part of the celebration of Aldaw ta Kitanglad, an event where indigenous peoples around Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park gather to renew their commitment to protect the park, considered an important biodiversity site. MindaNews photo by H. Marcos C. Mordeno

Larabelle Caamulan (left), winner of the Laga ta Kitanglad 2015 contest, celebrates with Laga ta Kitanglad 2014 titlist Ana Marie Goayan in Brgy. San Vicente, Baungon, Bukidnon. Both are from Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. The contest is part of the annual Aldaw ta Kitanglad celebration to highlight the importance of conserving Mt. Kitanglad Natural Park, an ASEAN Heritage Site. MindaNews photo by H. Marcos C. Mordeno

MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews/07 November) — In Mindanao aboriginality is distinguished between Lumad and Moro. The latter is a term derived from the English word, Moor, which the Spanish used to disparagingly and collectively refer to Muslim natives during their colonial reign in the Philippines.

Interestingly, from this unusual polarization arose the tri-people imagination of Mindanao’s modern population─1) Christian majority who descended from migrant settlers from Luzon and the Visayas approximating 72% of Mindanao’s population; 2) Moro or Muslim minority comprised of 13 ethno-linguistic sub-groups making up 20% of the census; and, 3) Lumad minority covering 18 or so ethnic tribes that collectively make up 5 % of the region’s population.

The goal of this categorization is to recognize and accommodate the differences between the current inhabitants of Mindanao. Sadly however, it also remarkably echoes the Spanish colonial classification of the natives as Christian, Moro and Non-Christian (with lumads falling under the last category).

But this archaic grouping has become untenable because non-Muslim indigenous tribes in Mindanao are now asserting their own narrative amidst the noise and notoriety generated by the campaign for the enactment of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

For its promoters, the BBL is both a manifestation of the Muslim minority’s right to self-determination and the culmination of a laborious peace-process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Note however that non-Islamized ethnic tribes in Mindanao have expressed categorical opposition to being part of the Bangsamoro territory contemplated in the BBL.

Moreover, Lumads in Mindanao who have remained true to their indigenous practices are now loudly demanding state response to their own issues such as the encroachment of mining companies on their traditional lands and the disruption of their way of life due to the militarization of their communities.

The tragedy is non-religious Lumads continue to suffer in the fringes when it comes to development because state attention and resources seem to be directed primarily to the creation of a segregated Bangsamoro area within Mindanao.

This therefore beggars the question- Should this anachronistic view of its population then be challenged to achieve a more inclusive development of Mindanao?

First and foremost, a shift in outlook would paint Mindanao as an island amalgamation of different ethnic groups and not an essentially divided region of two religious faiths.

This alternative approach is actually more consistent with the secular regime in the country wherein all religions are guaranteed the freedom to exercise their rituals and to perform rites in the expression of their faith for as long as these acts do not violate state law and the constitution.

More importantly, this means the state is not an arena where the various religions compete for control. It is a neutral ground where any faith can lay claim to its own space. And any problems concerning the right to practice one’s religion automatically become a Constitutional issue with the courts as the only available recourse.

Furthermore, abandoning the religious overtone in the Mindanao narrative is largely relevant to the most important concern in the development discourse for this region—i.e. the adjudication of claims pertaining to traditional lands.

In a 1987 public lecture, well-respected Mindanao historian, Professor Rudy B. Rudil, asserted that the 13 different ethno-linguistic Muslim communities and the various Lumad tribes are the only groups of indigenous people in Mindanao who can make an ancestral domain claim.

Correspondingly, neither the MILF nor the projected Bangsamoro parliament can justify claims over traditional land rights in Mindanao. In this regard, the rethinking of the tri-people approach clearly places the premium on the capacity of each of these indigenous groups in Mindanao to assert their respective cultural identity and history in their very own terms.

Finally, this alternative picture of Mindanao can better facilitate a collective view of it, both as a territory and as a community of Filipinos. This may sound cliché but inculcating this kind of community mindset can overcome the prevailing “us against them” paradigm that has long fuelled the Muslim insurgency in Mindanao.

A wholistic view of Mindanao is indeed more appropriate in light of the fact that the entire region is considered the poorest in the Philippines. In effect making the tri-people division irrelevant given that a huge majority of Mindanao’s inhabitants are all struggling with poverty. Pertinently, the biggest problem afflicting Mindanao right now, power outages, does not discriminate among its population at all.

Indeed, a paradigm shift in plotting the development of Mindanao has already begun. According to the Mindanao 2020 Peace and Development Framework Plan (2011 – 2030), “the desired outcomes for Mindanao will not come from without – particularly not from the central government, the national capital nor the rest of the country – but will be achieved through the collective efforts of Mindanawons themselves, acting in unity and harmony”.

The caveat here is that simply adopting this integrated perspective in socio-economic development planning for Mindanao is not a sure-fire cure for all the region’s problems. Obviously, there are deeply-rooted political issues, such as the proliferation of local dynasties for instance, in the area that require further remedial measures.

More importantly, regardless of the strength of this inclusive approach to unlock the development potential of Mindanao, the self-determination aspiration of Muslim Filipinos still has to be respected. Therefore, the Bangsamoro campaign just cannot be abandoned full stop.

Nevertheless, as their self-imposed deadline to enact a new regional autonomy law looms, Congress should seriously revisit the view that creating a segregated Muslim territory in Mindanao is the only means to meet the self-determination demands of Muslim Filipinos.

In development parlance, Mindanao when viewed as a huge integrated market demands a coordinated and comprehensive strategy involving all stake-holders in the region. Ostensibly different to the one implemented now as a consequence of the splitting-Mindanao-into-two development model inadvertently promoted in the Bangsamoro campaign.

And while the Constitution calls for the creation of an autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao, Filipino Muslims are not automatically bound by this particular local autonomy regime.

At the very least, other political measures and governance devises more consistent with the goal of fostering “unity and harmony” amongst all the inhabitants of Mindanao has to be explored.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Atty. Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco is a practicing lawyer. He is presently completing a Masters of Law and Development in Melbourne Law School. He recently published a book entitled, Rethinking the Bangsamoro Perspective.)

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/13 November) — The creation of paramilitary groups accused in the killing of Lumad leaders and ongoing military operations in Surigao del Sur are linked to the entry of mining interests in the province, a report released by an international fact-finding mission said.

On Sept. 1, in Sitio Han-ayan, Brgy. Diatagon in Lianga town, members of the paramilitary group Magahat-Bagani allegedly killed Emerito Samarca, executive director of Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (Alcadev); Dionel Campos, chair of Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang sa Sumusunod (Mapasu); and Kiwagan Datu and Mapasu member Datu Juvello Sinzo.

Witnesses identified Bobby Tejero, his older brother Loloy alias Abab, Gareto Layno as the perpetrators.

The massacre forced close to 3,000 Lumad residents of Han-ayan and villages in neighboring towns to flee to Tandag City, the provincial capital.

A month after, around 1,000 Lumads from Brgy. Mahaba in Marihatag town also evacuated due to a military operation that reportedly involved paramilitary elements.

“Central to this issue (killing of Lumads and military operations) is the rich mineral resources in the Andap Valley Complex around which these communities and municipalities are clustered,” the probe mission report said.

It said Benguet Mines, Abacus Coal Exploration and Mining Corp., Great Wall Mining and Power Corp., PNOC Exploration Corp., and SKI Mining and Exploration Corp. are set to start operations in these communities.

“Their mining machinery and security outposts have already been put in place while the communities are in forcible evacuation.  The communities and their organizations have protested against destructive mining of their ancestral lands.

“The Andap Valley Complex is declared by these and other environment and indigenous peoples’ organizations as Ancestral Land At Risk of Mining site (ALARM site) since 2009 that must be protected to preserve the Manobo communities that thrive within the valley,” the report added.

According to http://www.doe.gov.ph/PECR5/index.php/area-1-surigao-del-sur (accessed on Nov. 13), Great Wall Mining holds Coal Operating Contract No. 145 for areas southeast of Carmen and Lanuza towns and Tandag City.

These areas and portions of Cantilan, Madrid, San Miguel and Tago towns (all in Surigao del Sur) as well as Sibagat town in neighboring Agusan del Sur cover 13,000 hectares and contain a potential of 209 million metric tons of coal, the same website said.

Abacus holds COC No. 148 which covers 4,000 ha within Tago and Tandag.

The other firms that are contract holders for Surigao del Sur’s coal mine sites are Empire Asia Mining Corp. (COC 192), Bislig Venture Construction and Development Inc. (COC 127), SKI Mining Corp. (COC 187), PNOC Exploration Corp. (COC 184), and Goodyield Resources Development Inc. (COC 176). Their contracts also cover Bunawan and Trento towns in Agusan del Sur.

The mission report further noted that Calpit Egua, a Lumad leader who heads a paramilitary group and is based in Sta. Irene, Prosperidad town in Agusan del Sur, runs a small-scale gold mining operation in parts of San Miguel, Surigao del Sur. It said Egua has been accused of forcing local communities to recognize his claims on farmlands and gold mine areas.

A report prepared by the 4^th Infantry Division said the armed group led by Calpit is operating in the towns of Bayugan and  Prosperidad in Agusan del Sur, and San Miguel in Surigao del Sur. (MindaNews, 09 October 2015)

According to the same MindaNews story, Jomar Bocales, a member of the paramilitary group that allegedly killed Samarca and company, said Calpit is the richest among the datus (tribal chieftains) having a gold ore mining site in the boundary of Barangay La Purisima in Prosperidad town and Barangay San Juan in Bayugan town.

Recognition

The mission report said that in meetings attended by local officials, government agencies and the military to tackle the evacuation in Diatagon caused by the killing of Mapasu leader Henry Alameda on October 24, 2014, the military recognized Egua as the leader of the armed Baganis. (Bagani means tribal warrior.)

It said Marcial Belandrez, Egua’s brother-in-law, was among the armed men who dragged Alameda from his house and shot him dead.

“Belandres has been implicated in other cases of intimidation and harassment in other communities but still remain at large.  He is among the so-called datu who were presented by the AFP in their press conference last September 15, 2015 in Camp Aguinaldo, exonerating the military from any involvement in the September 1 Lianga killings,” it said.

The mission report quoted an unnamed official of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples as saying the evacuees in Tandag can live in peace if they surrender to the government through Egua, who doesn’t hold any official position. The official supposedly cited the case of Datu Isidro Tejero who allegedly surrendered to Egua and is now granted clearance to return to his community.

“Marcos Bocales, one of the often-mentioned leaders of the armed groups, was officially introduced and acknowledged in 2009 by Col. Benjamin Pedralvez of the 58th IB as the ‘Commander’ of the Task Force Gantangan – Bagani Force (TFG-BF), the paramilitary group that was created by his unit ‘to maintain peace and order’ within the Mapasu communities in Lianga.  It was the 58th IB that armed Bocales’ TFG-BF.  This ceremony was attended by residents as well as representatives of the LGU who have attested to the fact,” the report added.

Witnesses interviewed by MindaNews on Oct. 1 alleged that some 30 Army troopers were with the members of the paramilitary group Magahat-Bagani who reportedly killed Samarca and his companions.

But the 4ID report contradicted the statements of Han-ayan residents that soldiers accompanied the killers. It said the soldiers were positioned some 100 meters from the “armed group” (Magahat) and the people who were forced to gather at the basketball court in Han-ayan.

The report said that while the soldiers had been given the go signal to engage the armed group, they chose to stand down in order not to endanger the civilians.

During the Senate public hearing in Tandag on Oct. 1, 4ID commander Maj. Gen. Oscar Lactao maintained the military doesn’t condone the presence of paramilitary groups like the Magahat.

In the same hearing, Col. Eduardo Purisima, commander of the 402nd Brigade said the military never issued firearms to the Magahat. “We can account all firearms in the brigade.”

Purisima said that since some of the Magahat were former New People’s Army members they could have brought with them their firearms when they left the movement.

Surigao del Sur Governor Johnny Pimentel, also speaking in the hearing, said many killings have been attributed to the Magahat.

“If they’re not supported by the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), why can they not be apprehended?” Pimentel said, addressing the military.

“How come they’re roaming around the province with high-powered firearms? Is government so inutile that they can’t be arrested?” he added.

The mission report said Purisima and other local military commanders refused to be interviewed, citing the foreign delegates did not have clearance from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The international fact-finding mission was initiated by the Friends of the Lumad in Caraga, a group composed of church people, human rights groups and other organizations.

The International Association of People’s Lawyers from Australia, Belgian and Dutch project partners of Alcadev and media practitioners from Vice News UK joined the mission that took place from Oct. 26-30. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)

GIGAQUIT, Surigao del Norte (MindaNews / 7 Dec) – Afraid that they will be caught in a crossfire, at least 211 Mamanwas in 43 families are still seeking shelter in the lower areas in Sitio Banban, Barangay Camam-onan here.

For 24 days, the Mamanwas led by Datu Esteban Naer have been staying at the shelters in Sitio Banban, a three-hour walk from their homes in Sitio Kalatingga, also part of Camam-onan.

Naer claimed they were forced to flee their homes when they heard exchange of gunfire between military forces and communist rebels on November 13. “The battle is so near our place, maybe just 100 meters away,” Naer told MindaNews on Saturday at their shelter.

After they heard the shots, the rest of his flock made an exodus, leaving behind their animals and farmlands.

“Two old men were left at our place. We don’t know until now if they are still alive,” he said in Surigaonon.

Naer said they could have returned right away had there been no more firefights. “We have been longing to go back to our homes in Kalatingga so we can attend to our farmlands,” he added.

But a few days after November 13 clash, Naer said fighter planes dropped bombs as mortars keep on pounding areas in Zapanta Valley. Meanwhile, there were still exchange of gunshots, he added.

“Its was so frightening as bomb explosions were very loud,” Naer said.

He said it was not their first time to evacuate the area. They fled their homes, too, in 2012 and 2013 due to skirmishes.

“We are not comfortable in here and we are running out of food. The kids get sick and we are all getting sick,” Naer lamented.

He said some of the families are seeking shelters in other areas, mostly in relatives’ homes.

“We are packed like sardines in one of the huts here,” Naer added.

“I wish we could go back to our homes and go back to work in our farms,” he said.

Naer and some members of the tribe’s counsel of elders expressed dismay that they have not been recognized by the government as internally displaced persons, or “bakwits” in the vernacular.

“It hurts that the government don’t believe we evacuated. Now that we are here in Banban, far from our homes, what would they call us?” asked Ronnel Anrique, one of the elders.

Indayflor Bangga, Camam-onan barangay chairman, said the Mamanwas have no reason to evacuate since fighting did not occur in their area.

“The war happened in Zapanta Valley in Kitcharao town in Agusan del Norte. While it is true that gunshots can be heard, more so the bombs dropped by fighter planes, and rounds fired from mortars, the battle is far from their place,” she stressed.

Bangga urged the Mamanwas to go home.

When asked by MindaNews, Bangga admitted she was not at Sitio Kalatingga when the firefight broke out.

Gigaquit Mayor Carlos Egay earlier told MindaNews that there is no evacuation.

But the local government unit of Gigaquit gave two sacks of rice to the Mamanwas who are seeking refuge at Banban.

Lt. Col. Arsenio Sadural, commanding officer of the 30^th Infantry Battalion, also told MindaNews there was no fighting that happened at the Mamanwas’ place. But he admitted that tribesmen did hear gunshots.

“We told the Mamanwas under Datu Naer to remain calm because the area of operations is quite far and directed against the lawless armed group,” assured Sadural.

On Saturday, a multi-sectoral group called Surigao Cares delivered sacks of relief goods to the evacuees despite the bad roads that they had to cross three rivers with strong current.

Edgar Canda, one of the group’s facilitators, said they were able to distribute the relief goods to the evacuees in Barangay Lahi.

“Even though these are not enough but at least we are able to send help to the evacuees,” Canda said.

He said each family got 10 kilos of rice, cans of sardines, a kilo of sugar, packs of coffee and noodles, medicines, among others.

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 26 Dec) – An alleged leader of the armed group Magahat Bagani Force warned journalists to refrain from covering the 47th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Saturday.

Every December 26, the CPP in Mindanao would usually invite a large number of journalists to cover its anniversary in the mountains.

“Maayong adlaw sa tanang media sa Mindanao, among ipahibalo nga kung kinsa man ang magtambong sa anibersaryo sa CPP/NPA/NDF nga taga media among apilon ug ambush. (Good morning to all media people in Mindanao. We would like to inform you that whoever joins the anniversary of the CPP/NPA/NDF we will include in the ambush),” said a certain Bobby Tejero, who claimed to be a commander of the armed lumad group, in a text message on Friday.

He said that they will consider the media practitioners covering the celebration as among the members of the NPA.

“Kay kun mutambong sa maong anibersaryo nagpasabot nga linya sa NPA, mao ng kinahanglan walay magtungas nga media arun dili maapil sa gira (Because if you attend the anniversary, that means to say you are with the NPA. That’s why, it is necessary that none of you will go up the mountains, so that you won’t be caught in the crossfire,” he said.

Some media practitioners in Davao City received that same message.

Tejero claimed there is an ongoing spat between their group and the New People’s Army (NPA).

“Gira nga NPA batok sa armadong lumad MAGAHAT. Walay labot ang kasundalohan ug mga police kay amo ra kining bangi TRIBU bersus NPA. Daghan salamat!! (This is war between the NPA and the lumad group Magahat. The military and the police are not involved because this just between us tribes and the NPA. Thank you very much!” he added.

12-day ceasefire

Last December 15, the NPA declared a 12-day ceasefire from December 23 until January 3 in its war against the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and other paramilitary and armed groups attached to the government of the Philippines.

Aside from observing the Filipinos’ traditional celebrations during Christmas and New Year’s Day, the rebel group declared ceasefire to execute “mass assemblies and public demonstrations to mark the 47th anniversary of the CPP and celebrate revolutionary victories of the past year.”

In a statement, the NPA said it has implemented a ceasefire to support the efforts of peace advocates who want Philippine Government and the NDFP to return to the peace table on the basis of The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

“The revolutionary movement calls for the release of all political prisoners including 17 NDFP consultants in accordance with the CARHRIHL and the JASIG,” the statement added.

“Personnel of the AFP and PNP who have no serious liabilities other than their membership in their armed units shall not be subjected to arrest or punitive actions. They may be allowed individually to enter the territory of the people’s democratic government to make personal visits to relatives and friends,” it stated.

EastMinCom’s wish

The AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command, in a statement issued during the CPP anniversary Saturday, said it wishes “that the CPP-NPA-NDF come to the realization that the armed struggle it is pursuing has only brought untold sufferings and miseries to the people. “

“EastMinCom also wishes for the Filipino people to strongly assert their rights and desires for peace and an end to terror and violence brought about by the armed struggle being carried out by the CNN’s [CPP-NPA-NDF] armed wing; the New People’s Army,” the statement said.

The military said that the communist operations in Mindanao hampered the government’s delivery of services and “causing insecurities to the communities.”

“The wish is for CNN to stop creating an environment which is detrimental to the security of the people in Eastern Mindanao and other parts of the country, by secretly or discreetly mobilizing them for the armed struggle through deception, threats, intimidation and manipulation,” it said.

The military also wanted the NPA “to tread along the peaceful path to change through the democratic space being provided to them, to heed the call of the people for just and lasting peace and join the mainstream Filipino society.”

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/18 January) – A 15-year old Grade 3 student of the Salugpongan School in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, was killed Sunday reportedly by the paramilitary group, Alamara, the Save Our Schools (SOS) Network said.

Citing reports from the community, the SOS Network in Southern Mindanao said in its press release that student Alibando Tingkas was reported killed in Sitio Laslasakan, Barangay Palma Gil, Talaingod by a member of the Alamara whom community members identified as Joven Salangani.

“We are enraged and saddened by this incident. The paramilitary group and their military cohorts will not stop from attacking and even killing lumads in the name of their counter-insurgency operations, even children are not spared anymore” Rius Valle, spokesperson of the SOS Network in Southern Mindanao said.

Valle said witnesses saw Tingkas and two adult companions walking home at around 3 p.m. Sunday, walking from Sitio Nasilaban, Brgy. Palma Gil heading towards Sitio Bayabas “when suddenly they were fired upon in Sitio Laslasakan, just a half-an-hour walk from Sitio Nasilaban.”

Valle said Tingkas was shot at the chest twice.

He said they have yet to confirm if the suspect, Salangani, was alone or with a group.

Valle noted that the suspect is from Sitio Barobo, “a known Alamara territory where a detachment of the 68^th Infantry Battalion (is) located.”

He said the community believes that the Alamara was organized and funded by the 68^th IB, an allegation the 68^th IB commander denied.

The SOS said that the Alamara, like the Magahat-Bagani in Surigao del Sur and other paramilitary groups in Mindanao, “are believed to be funded and organized by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to augment their forces for its counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan in Mindanao.”

Lt. Col. Vicente Edgardo de Ocampo, commander of the 68^th IB, told MindaNews “wala pong Joven Salangani na part ng 68^th IB, sundalo or CAFGU (Citizens Armed Forces Geographic Unit). Wala din pong Alamara sa lugar ng Talaingod. What we have are CAFGUs. Wala din po kaming detachment sa Sitio Barobo” [There is no Joven Salangani in  the 6^th IB, either as soldier or as CAFGU member. There is also no Alamara in Talaingod. What we have are CAFGUs. We also do not have a detachment in Sitio Barobo.]

The SOS Network said Tingkas was the “29th child victim of extrajudicial killing” under the Aquino administration’s “Oplan Bayanihan.”

Valle also said they have just received information that “teachers of Salugpongan school all over Talaingod have received threats from Alamara.”

“They said they will kill teachers in Sitio Tibucag, Sitio Nasilaban, Sitio Dulyan and Sitio Kamingawan on preposterous claims that these teachers are NPA (New Peoples Army) members,” Valle said.

He said the SOS Network will conduct further investigation as he called on local government officials in Talaingod  “to also investigate and apprehend those responsible, and for the national leadership to take heed lest things go out of hand and they will also suffer the consequences.”  (MindaNews)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 25 February) – A Lumad leader took to task the commander of Task Force Davao for claiming the February 24 dawn fire at the UCCP Haran compound that injured at least five persons, including a two-year old boy, was “orchestrated” by the Lumads to gain sympathy and donations.

“Sunugon namo ang among kaugalingon para magka-kwart mi?” (We will set ourselves on fire to gain money?), Kerlan Fenagel, chair of the Pasaka Lumad Regional Confederation-Southern Mindanao Region asked in a press conference Thursday at the Haran compound of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines’ (UCCP).

He said the statement of Task Force Davao (TFD) commander, Col. Cristobal Zaragoza is is an insult to them and the rest of the Filipino people.

Tata Manayab breastfeeds her 2-year old son Demon while waiting for medical attention inside a makeshift clinic at UCCP Haran compound, Padre Selga Street, Davao City on February 24, 2016. Demon suffered burns in his hands and face after unidentified men torched their camp where they are seeking refuge. MindaNews photo by TOTO LOZANO 

At the AFP-PNP press conference at the TFD headquarters on Wednesday, TFD commander, Col. Cristobal Zaragoza said the fire in Haran could have been a move to gain attention to receive more donations.

“It can be them or it can be somebody else (behind the fire incident). The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) will not go that far. We are protecting the people,” he said.

Initial investigation by San Pedro Police Station said five unidentified men burned the temporary shelter located near Gate 2 of the evacuation center. The Bureau of Fire Protection has yet to release its findings.

Brig. Gen. Ronnie Evangelista, Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) deputy commander said the military is open for investigation on the Haran fire incident.

“Anong makukuha namin? Bakit sila mag-finger point agad? (What can we get? Why are they pointing their fingers at us?),” he asked.

But Crestoni Latiban Monzon, secretary general of Pasaka-SMR, countered by saying they don’t have anyone in mind to blame for the fire other than the military and the paramilitary groups that they allegedly armed. He alleged it was a planned attack perpetrated by the AFP, an allegation the military denied.

Monzon said they recovered materials such as stick, gallon, and green and black colored Nike bag that contained the 1.5 empty liter allegedly containing the diesel used to burn the makeshift shelter and two dormitories.

The gallon was found near Gate 2 where the fire broke out while the bag that contained the empty bottle was discovered within the compound by morning.

The first incident took place at the five-room evacuation shelter at 2:30 a.m. and injured five Lumads — Magno Kulot, 14, Odessa Dumol, 12 and mother Elondia Dumol, 45, Loloy Manayab, 30, and son Demon, 2, all from Talaingod, Davao del Norte.

The shelter immediately caught fire as it is made of light materials.

The victims were brought to Southern Philippines Medical Center at 3 a.m. but they said they were not attended to until they left at 8 a.m.

“Naa mi mga medical practitioners diri karon nga naga-atiman sa ilaha (We have medical practioners here in Haran who are attending to them),” he said.

About 10 minutes after the fire was put out, Monzon recalled hearing an explosion and another fire ensued.

“Naay nag-ingon sa amo usa ka tricycle driver nga naa na pud daw nasunog (The tricycle driver shouted that there was another fire),” he added.

Electricity also tripped as the electric meter was deliberately removed from its post using a metal rod.

For the second incident, Monzon said the suspects likely found their way to the compound through a path that exits near Brokenshire Hospital, as they noticed that some strips of barbed wire fence were cut.

The dormitories — Walter Tong and Gregorio Gonzales — were about a meter apart where female and male borders, who are students and workers of the center, were housed.

Giovannie Mongado, a third year Bachelor in Physical Education Student of Brokenshire College of Davao, said they heard an explosion that was loud enough to rouse them from sleep.

He said they immediately got out of their room and rushed to the nearby Upper Gonzales dormitory to save the female boarders who were still inside their room.

He said all their belongings were lost to fire.

Grace Avila, Haran Evacuation Center manager Grace Avila said around 20 affected boarders were transferred to the main building after the incident.

She said there could have been casualties if the male boarders had not rushed to rescue the female boarders.

The survivors underwent stress debriefing.

Avila asked for help from the local police as the 1.5-hectare Haran compound only had one security guard.

Fanagel said there are about 700 lumads who are staying at the Haran from Brgy. White Kulaman in Bukidnon and Kapalong and Talaingod in Davao del Norte since May 2015.

About 200 lumads from Talaingod returned to their homes last December 2015 but they came back on January 29, 2016 after a 15-year old student of Salugpongan TaTan Igkanugon Community Learning Center was allegedly killed by members of the paramilitary group Alamara on January 17.

But Datu Lumansad Sibogan, a member of the board of trustees of the Council of Elders, said Tingkas, his grandson, was killed during a pangayaw or tribal war at Sitio Laslasakan, Brgy. Palma Gil, Talaingod. (Antonio L. Colina IV/ MindaNews)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 26 April) — I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic, sentimental and  very much affirmed  as I sat throughout the 2016 Commencement Exercises of the Ateneo de Davao University for its College of Law and Graduate Programs last Sunday, 24 April 2016, including the Baccalaureate Mass that preceded the graduation rites at the Finster Hall.  The auditorium was packed with close to 200 graduates, their parents and/or significant others, ADDU’s professors and staff and distinguished guests.

The nostalgia was courtesy of memories when I graduated from Ateneo de Davao College (it was not a university yet) sometime late March 1967, or roughly 50 years ago.  I thought as the ceremonies unfolded how lucky I was to still be alive and take an active participation in the 2016 graduation rites, perhaps the only one of around 50 members of AdeDC’s  Batch ’63.

Our undergraduate graduation rites in 1967 seemed like an event that took place in another time and space, compared to the one in 2016.  But then the late 1960s were a different era; things then seemed simpler, more innocent and promising for the graduates despite the nascent social ferment that was arising across the world. But then half-a-century has passed; things do radically change in five decades. After all, we were under the American colonial occupation for roughly fifty years and we as a nation was never the same again when self-rule took place.

If binary oppositions is one reality of life, two graduation rites (our time in 1967) and this time (2016) couldn’t be far too different; one wonders if it is the same academic institution conducting the same kind of ritual.  For a starter, every little memory remains of our Baccalaureate Mass on the day of graduation which made it practically a non-event. Our campus had a small chapel located adjacent to what is now the lobby of Finster Building. We couldn’t fit in that chapel, so we went to the gym of the old building of Ateneo Matina. The gym was really more of a basketball court than anything. This year, we were all accommodated in the new chapel of ADDU with its amazing images and paintings, its Muslim-inspired aesthetics and its solemn ambience.  The choir, too, sang in four voices; and, of course, there are the TV screens that invited the people to sing along.

But while the externals of this ritual were amazing and seemingly affluent; the depth of the message of the Gospel as textualized by the selected readings and interpreted by the celebrant/homilist, ADDU’s President, Fr. Joel Tabora, SJ anchored the whole ritual in the social realities of contemporary Mindanao situation.  His homily clearly manifested the challenges faced by the graduates of an institution expecting them to be “men and women for others!” Fr. Tabora spoke of a faith that opts to be on the side of the marginalized, that serves the poor and translates into praxis moral and ethical lessons internalized by those that have undergone a Jesuit education. For all these are integral to a faith anchored in the Gospel’s exhortation for Jesus’ disciples “to love one another!”

I do not remember anymore what the homily was at our own Baccalaureate Mass but even as 1967 took place right after Vatican II (1962-1965), the homilist  would have made very little reference to the Mindanao context for the graduates to reflect on. It just wasn’t done in those years.  And I doubt if most the graduates were interested to hear that kind of talk; most of us at that time were more concerned with finding a high-paying job outside of Davao.  In fairness, at that time, it was relatively easy for an Atenean to find a job, especially if one were not too choosy about job possibilities.

What was the biggest contrast between 1967 and 2016 was the choice of commencement speaker. Again, my memory is blurred and I couldn’t recall who our commencement speaker was. But at that time – and the residue of this practice continues until today for most academic institutions – the ones invited to address the graduates were mostly male, in his 50s or 60s,  highly distinguished persons of society with a high economic, political and social capital (key government officials, head of corporations, President of universities and the like), Roman Catholic naturally, urbanized and urbane and who could do the school a favor through various ways. The speaker of Batch ’63 would have been this kind of person.

But lo and behold – Batch 2016 was in for a major surprise! For the ADDU’s choice for a speaker to address the graduates was a woman, not yet in her 40s, distinguished among her people but still mostly unknown to outsiders, one born to a non-Christian belief system, raised in the uplands and whose community is the beneficiary of ADDU’s outreach program. Not many academic institutions in the country would have someone like Bo-i Jenita B. Eko, a Tboli woman from Lake Sebu in South Cotabato speak to graduates of a Law School and those finishing M.A. and doctoral degrees of a prestigious university!

Perhaps other universities have chosen such kind of person for their commencement speaker but – in Mindanao – what ADDU did was truly trail-blazing!  Edward Said, whose Orientalism called on reversing trends in asserting discourses would have applauded ADDU’s move which hopefully will influence other universities in the future.  But then Bo-i Eko is, indeed, a very distinguished person but only because the modern notion of distinction has been debunked in the West and has now reached our shores.  Her personal story, part of which she included in her address, is worth a book or a Lav Diaz film!

Born to illiterate parents who cultivated the land like many of their T’boli ancestors, her father at first opposed her going to school for why would a girl want to acquire a higher education? She persisted and in college, she was a working student at MSU GenSan where she finished Political Science and Law.  This academic program gave her “the intellectual capital to work with passion in the areas of women’s rights, education and culture, but it is her deep-rooted love for her own culture and identity that moved her to fight for Indigenous People’s rights and welfare” (quoted from program of graduation rites).

But before all these passion and options unfolded, just after college she was not unlike many descendants of Mindanawon migrant settlers, Moro and Lumad who dreamt of a high-earning job in Manila so she could help her family and advance in stature. She got recruited to work in a mining company, promised a monthly salary of PhP 45,000 with her own vehicle and a driver, as well as a security guard. Very tempting, indeed.  But before she signed the contract she wanted to visit first the mining site so she could find out what the situation was. To her dismay, only the much better-off Bisaya settlers were in favor of the mining and the Lumad in the area opposed it as it would dislocate them from their ancestral domain.  So much for her dream of becoming rich and affluent.

To make the long story short, this conscientizing experience made her decide to go back to her roots and, instead, check out on how she can better serve her people.  This revisiting of her roots brought her back to her gift as a Tboli dreamweaver, women who weave the tnalak cloth and realized that there was a potential in advancing the life of other women weavers. This led to the founding of the Lake Sebu Indigenous Women Weaver Association, Inc. (LASIWWAI) an acronym which when pronounced sounds like the Tboli word of “never compromise!”

Apart from encouraging women to hold on to their weaving tradition while making sure that weaving puts food on the table, she also led her community in “reviving the traditional but bnek and kermini, indigenous planting and harvesting rituals that celebrates life, which the Tbolis consider as sacred as life.”

The graduates were riveted to Bo-i Eko’s speech which she delivered in Pilipino and English.  She was part story-teller, sharing vignettes of her life and her people with funny stories that made the audience laugh; she was part teacher, exhorting her audience to be brilliant but also to be humble and she was an IP advocate challenging them to be engaged in solidarity with the Lumad.  In the end, she touched the hearts of her audience who gave her a standing ovation!

As she spoke I couldn’t help but be sentimental and look back to my years as a young development worker. I remembered  Fr. Rex Mansmann, the Passionist priest who was the first Catholic missionary who penetrated the Tboli uplands in the late 1960s and set up the Sta. Cruz  mission station at Lake Sebu when it took days to reach this mystical location by the lakes from Surallah.  It was easy to understand why Fr. Rex was seduced by the beauty of this location and mesmerized by the gentle Tboli.  When I first visited him in Lake Sebu in the early 1970s (working for PBSP who had development projects there), one rode a 2X2 army truck whose wheels were chained so it could go up the steep mountain trails and not fall off the cliff and then walk for miles to reach the Sta Cruz Mission. The whole sojourn was arduous, dangerous, could only be done by the physically fit. Its only reward was the beauty one found in this place and the wonderful hospitality and kindness of the Tbolis.

To help the Tbolis adjust to the modern times, Fr. Rex built schools, a hospital, a cooperative store, a rice mill and encouraged the Tbolis to set up houses in clusters.  Eventually he also dealt with the land issues and the problem of deforestation that got him in trouble with PANAMIN, the government agency under Elizalde during the martial rule.  Fr. Rex – who for idealistic young people like me seemed like a St. Francis of Assisi figure – was as gentle with the Tbolis as he was as harsh to those who abused them. I got so attracted to what he did in Lake Sebu that I almost resigned from PBSP to work with him full-time. But it was not meant to be (and this is another story as the Rex Mansmann tale would end up a bit sad and tragic even!)

Once his boys and girls finished high school in the mission, he searched for a school where to send them to college.  He decided it would be Ateneo de Davao college, and I must confess that there were some of us who thought it was not appropriate.  He chided us by saying why would the Ateneo be appropriate to us and not his boys and girls?  He persisted and in the 1970s, the first Tbolis of Lake Sebu enrolled at the Ateneo, finished their course and returned to Lake Sebu where today they are teachers, government employees and leaders of their community.  I thought Bo-i Eko’s desire to go to college must have been influenced by the choices made by her older kinspeople when she was still a young girl!  And looking at Bo-i Eko confidently speaking before the graduating class, I thought, Rex should have seen her for he would be vindicated!  I just felt so lucky that in my lifetime, I got to see the early years of Lake Sebu where a young girl in that location grew up to be the commencement speaker in my alma mater!

But as if this was enough, there were other parts of the program that dovetailed with the over-arching theme of the rites. Even the song sung by the Ateneo Glee Club as intermission – Gary Granada’s Bahay – about the indignity of living in shacks (still a common feature of upland life) – fitted so well into the day’s proceedings. Then there was the message to the graduates from one among them, Law student Justin Ryan D. Morilla.  While most of his speech dealt with how difficult law school can be and how they survived through the love and affection of parents and mentors, towards the end he exhorted the Atenistas to be at the service of the weak and dispossessed, singling out the Lumad. He reminded the graduates that even as they leave the campus, they will always be Atenistas as they are supposed to carry with them what they have internalized through the years – to be truly Filipino, Christian and heroic as they serve the people!

The ritual’s end tied up with the beginning, again with the words of Fr. Tabora.  In what could have been an overkill – but made less didactic by a message that was short and straight to the point –  he nailed the challenges to the graduates so that there was no mistaking what the President’s desire was for the graduates as they leave the campus and face the world. His words: be passionate for justice as it leads you to social justice and ultimately to work for the common good (versus private good), embrace the multi-cultural and multi-religious context and engage in dialogue of those of other ethnicities and religions (and even those who are atheists and agnostics), be strong in faith as secularism asserts itself in today’s world, engage in enterprises that would help uplift the poor and close the gap between rich and poor, take care of our common home by engaging in ecological action and do what you can to strengthen the educational reforms that have begun. Being engaged in such made the graduates truly men and women for others!

At the end of the rites, I felt very much affirmed. My own relationship with my alma mater through the last fifty-three years (1963-2016) has been quite checkered; the early years and the last three years feeling very close (these days as I am a part time faculty member) and in the between ranging from not-so-close to far distant. There was a time, those of us felt unwelcome by our alma mater as it became a ghetto to the raging context outside the campus!  We do know of alumni who are on the other side of the fence; protecting the interest of the powers-that-be.  But at these graduation rites, I could take to heart my alma mater and felt very much at home in her embrace! [Redemptorist Brother Karl Gaspar is Academic Dean of the Redemptorists’ St. Alphonsus Theological and Mission Institute (SATMI) in Davao City and a professor of Anthropology at the Ateneo de Davao University. He is author of several books, including Desperately Seeking God’s Saving Action: Yolanda Survivors’ Hope Beyond Heartbreaking Lamentations, and two books on Davao’s history launched in December 2015 — Davao in the Pre-Conquest Era and the Age of Colonization and Si Menda ug ang Baganing gitahapan nga mao si Mangulayon. He writes two columns for MindaNews, one in English (A Sojourner’s Views) and the other in Binisaya (Panaw-Lantaw)]

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 17 May) – Umayamnon tribal leader Benjamin “Otto” Omao was shot dead past 8 a.m. today by three unidentified gunmen who posed as solicitors in his office at the Indigenous People’s Apostolate in Barangay Casisang here

Vice Mayor-elect Roland F. Deticio, who went to the area to check the situation and console with the victim’s family, said Omao sustained multiple wounds from a total of nine bullets fired from long fire arms.

Three colleagues of the assailants reportedly served as lookouts outside the building and in the highway.

Omao’s visitor at that time, a barangay-level IP mandatory representative, and Omao’s aide were also hit and were brought to a hospital for surgical operations.

Deticio said Omao is serving his second term as indigenous people’s mandatory representative to the Malaybalay city council. He chairs the council’s committee on ethnic and indigenous cultural communities’ development.

The vice mayor cited that Omao had been telling his colleagues about “work related” death threats for a while now. But Deticio said the lumad leader did not specify details of the threats.

Omao was known as an active tribal leader in their tribe. His work included being the emissary of Malaybalay City Mayor Ignacio W. Zubiri on matters and problems concerning indigenous peoples.

Datu Richard Macas, IP mandatory representative to the provincial board, said Omao’s death is a big loss to the cause of promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples in Bukidnon. Macas, however, noted that they will defer to the results of investigation of the killing before giving any further statement.

During the monthly meeting of IP mandatory representatives from Bukidnon’s 20 towns and two cities on May 13 at the NCIP provincial office, Omao raised the issue against non-government organizations who allegedly use the Lumad in their propaganda. Macas, who presided over the meetings, quoted Omao as saying some IPs in the communities fall prey into schemes luring them to a possible rice distribution, only to find out they will attend a rally.

Macas said some IP mandatory representatives reminded the body that there are also NGOs who helped to place lumads in position to be able to help monitor the performance of local governments.

He said they will file a resolution urging municipal and city mayors to coordinate with the mandatory representatives with regards to the presence and engagement of alleged bogus IP groups in their areas.

Omao took his oath of office as mandatory representative of the IPs to the city council on May 22, 2012 by virtue of Republic Act 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997.

Deticio, re-elected to a new term, said Omao was a “performer” in the city council strongly pushing for legislation for the welfare and protection of indigenous peoples. Among the advocacies he felt very strongly about was the establishment of an IP college in coordination with local universities.

Deticio said Omao was vocal about the creation of a college following the traditions of the Lumad to be located in the city’s Upper Pulangi district to uplift the situation of education in the area.

Citizens took to social media their wish for peace and condolences to the bereaved family, including calls for justice.

“What sad news! May you rest in peace, Datu! Justice should prevail,” user “J.O.” posted on the wall of the city council’s Facebook account this morning.

“The shooting of (Omao) is the most repulsive act committed by anybody here in the city recently…” the Facebook post added.

Staff of the Sangguniang Panlungsod offered prayers in the session hall this morning after the regular session was cancelled due to the shooting incident. (Walter I. Balane / MindaNews contributor)

The “Malacanang of the South,” located at the equipment yard of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Barangay Panacan, Davao City is undergoing a minor renovation in this photo taken Friday (27 May 2016). The building was built during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Reports say incoming President Rodrigo Duterte may soon use this as an extension office. MindaNews photo by Toto Lozano | Read story

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 09 July) — The New People’s Army’s 1st Pulang Bagani Battalion has owned up the killing of Lumad (Indigenous Peoples) leader Ruden Labawan of the Ata-tribe of Paquibato District in Davao City, and his companion, Romeo Tanio, last July 6 in Panabo City.

In a statement issued by the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Southern Mindanaoon Friday, NPA Southern-Mindanao Region spokesperson Rigoberto Sanchez said Labawan was guilty of blood debts and meted with death penalty for crimes against the people, the Lumads, and the peasant settlers in Davao City and North Cotabato based on the decision issued by its revolutionary court.

The statement, however, did not indicate if they had the same standing order against Tanio, who was with Labawan at the time of the incident.

The two were gunned down by unidentified gunmen riding on motorcycles after attending the convergence forum and consultation organized by the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) at RJ3 Restaurant in Brgy. Gredu, Panabo City at around 4 p.m. last Wednesday.

Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, director of the Police Regional Office, has ordered  the Davao del Norte police chief to create a Special Investigation Task Group to look into the killing and file appropriate charges against the assailants.

The NDF statement alleged that since 2001, “under the AFP-designed Task Force Gantangan, Labawan was conscripted as an intelligence operative for the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP), specializing in the implementation of National Internal and Security Plan for Indigenous People” that led to “numerous deaths, displacement, suffering and hardships of Lumad and peasant masses of Davao City and North Cotabato.”

It also claimed that Labawan “conspired with the AFP’s 69th IB in the 2015 Paquibato massacre that killed Datu Ruben Enlog and farmers Randy Carnasa and Oligario Quimbo” and that he was “an active organizer of the AFP’s Alamara.”

“Emboldened by the National Commission on Indigenous People, he was made administrative officer of Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim Nos. 016 and 093 and held CAD Title for 37,000 hectares of ancestral land in Paquibato. This vast land included agricultural areas that have long been tilled by the Lumads but are being peddled by Labawan to agri-corporations and large-scale mining interests,” he said.

Sanchez added that Labawan “deputized his minions to carry out widespread land-grabbing and cattle-rustling that victimized poor Lumads and settlers in Paquibato, Marilog, Malabog and other areas in Davao City.”

In a text message to MindaNews, Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson Maj. Ezra Balagtey said linking Labawan to the military is a “flimsy and trivial” excuse to justify the killing.

He added the military condemned the killing of the Lumad leader.

“Linking him to the military is a flimsy and trivial excuse to justify the coward act of killing and silencing a voice of the Ata-Manobo in fighting for their rights to their land,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, during the Mindanao Hariraya Eid’l Fitr 2016 at the SMX Convention Center here on Friday, asked the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to refrain from engaging in ambush and killing.

He also urged the revolutionary forces to stop kidnapping of soldiers, so that government adnt ehe CPP can resume the peace talks properly without resentment.

“Kasi ‘di naman maari na ang (It cannot be that the) military will just keep silent and all of their men are being kidnapped and killed and while we’re in the process of perfecting a — the wherewithals of how to proceed with the peace talks,” he said, adding that all people despite differences in religion and beliefs are “brothers and sisters by blood.”

“Anyway, we are talking. Binigyan na nga tayo ng very good example ni Brother Murad (Moro Islamic Liberation Front chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim) na inspite of the non-passage of the BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law) walang gumalaw (there are no skirmishes). And Nur is also just having a stand down somewhere in Jolo,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/19 July) – A progressive lawmaker lauded Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre for dismissing the charges of serious illegal detention and kidnapping against 15 human rights defenders who are supporting the Lumad bakwits at the Haran Evacuation Center here.

In a text Message on Tuesday, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said the accusations were baseless and intended to harass the human rights activists.

He said the scrapping of the “preposterous” charges vindicated not only the accused activists but also the Lumad who have been forced to leave their homes due to militarization.

“The military-instigated charges are now exposed as nothing but a desperate attempt to vilify the human rights defenders, like the Haran 15, and the legitimacy of their advocacies,” he said.

Some 300 Lumads have been seeking refuge at the Haran, an evacuation center run by the United Church of Christ of the Philippines, for over a year since they left their communities in Talaingod and Kapalong in Davao del Norte and White Culaman, Kitaotao in Bukidnon.

In a resolution issued on Monday, Prosecutor Loverhette Jeffrey P. Villordon said there is no deprivation of liberty committed by the respondents such as Rev. Jurie Jaime, Bayan Southern Mindanao Region (SMR)secretary general Sheena Duazo, Karapatan SMR secretary general Hanimay Suazo, Ryan Laniba, Tony Salubre, Jimboy Maciano;

Gabriela Davao secretary general Mary Ann Sapar, Jaja Encosio, Pedro Arnado, Pasaka SMR chairperson Kerlan Fanagel, Sr. Stella Matutina, Sr. Restita Miles, Isidro Andao, Kharlo Manano, and Save Our Schools Network spokesperson Rius Valle.

Datu Kalumpot Dalon, one of the six complainants, filed last July 8, 2016 a “Motion for Early Resolution of Respondents” with an attached affidavit of desistance with recantation.

In his motion, Dalon said that “in the interest of truth, justice and fairness, I do not know all the persons of the accused in this case. The filing of this case was not of my own free will since I do not know them. For the record, my companions and I were not kidnapped nor we were detained at the Haran Compound in Davao City.”

Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao said combined legal efforts and the continuous mass movement to stop the attacks on the people’s rights have become significant in the dismissal of charges.

Anti-SLAPP Bill

Zarate vowed he would push for an Anti-Strategic Law Suit Against Public Participation which seeks to “define SLAPP cases and provide measure for its dismissal.”

“These clearly trumped up charges must stop and those behind these should be penalized. We will therefore work for the passage into law of the anti-SLAPP Bill that we refiled recently. Trumped-up cases are undemocratic and anathema to our constitutionally guaranteed rights,” he said.

Under section 4 of the bill, SLAPP includes “any civil complaint, counter-claim, cross-claim, third (or fourth)-party complaint, or complain-in-intervention, criminal complaint or information, or administrative complaint filed against individuals, groups, labor unions, entity or associations, community residents.”

Section 6 states “the court shall have the duty to immediately make a determination whether the case is a SLAPP.” (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 July) – The resumption of peace talks between government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) will help address the conflict between some of the Lumad and the military, Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said.

In a press conference Friday in Haran Evacuation Center here, Taguiwalo said sending soldiers to secure the communities will not solve the insurgency as the Lumad are wary about their presence.

“President (Rodrigo) Duterte said during the debates that the insurgency has historical and systemic roots, which could not be solved militarily. I think the resumption of the process is an important step to address the issue of the Lumad,” she said.

She said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) must acknowledge that militarization has forced the Lumad to leave their homes and seek refuge in evacuation centers like Haran, which is run by the United Church of Christ of the Philippines.

Some 300 Lumad from Kapalong and Talaingod towns in Davao del Norte and Bukidnon have been staying in Haran for over a year. They had subsisted on support from other groups while makeshift classrooms had been put up for their children.

“Hopefully, the peace process, the resumption of the peace talks which the president has initiated will contribute to the kind of peace that our people need, not only for the Lumad in our communities but also for the Moro people, in Luzon and Visayas,” she added.

Taguiwalo said the Lumads are only asking for an end to military operations in their communities and to be recognized as owners of the ancestral land that must not be sold to companies like those engaged in mining.

“That’s what they are asking, so we want to give what they want. We have to act on it, but it should made clear to the military,” she said.

She said Duterte knows the concerns of the Lumads and reported to him “the kind of action we wish to do.”

“It’s not for me to talk to the military about this. It is up to the president to organize the kind of dialogue with respective authorities. How fast is he going to answer that? When is he going to do that? We shall wait and see,” she added. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)

MANILA (MindaNews/24 July) — On July 18, 3,000 Mindanao Lumad, farmers, Moro, workers and activists embarked on a Manilakbayan (caravan) to take part in President Rodrigo Duterte’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25.

This is the first time that a significant contingent from Mindanao will be taking part in the SONA event in Manila.

Today marks the sixth day of our Manilakbayan and we are currently in Manila.  With each day, hundreds more are expected to join our caravan.  Most have come from the countryside, victims of continuing militarization and human rights violations. They hope that the Duterte government will hear their cries and address their grievances.

With hope in our hearts, we are now travelling across the country to witness the President’s first SONA and appeal to him to hear our cry for change.

As people from Mindanao, we have lived through generations of being marginalized and oppressed, our lands plundered and our kin lost because of past governments that waged war against us.

We appeal to President Duterte to allow us near the Batasang Pambansa to express our common hope for justice and peace for Mindanao and for the whole Philippines.  We appeal that you may understand and grant us the opportunity to march in the streets of Manila, to raise our voices and agenda for peace — genuine agrarian reform, protection of our ancestral land and natural resources, pursuit of peace talks with the NDFP and the Moro liberation groups, and justice for all victims of oppression. We likewise call on the Philippine National Police to respect the rights of the citizens and to refrain from blocking rally participants, as was the case with previous SONA’s.

President Duterte, let your fellow Mindanawons march with you on your first SONA. Allow us to hold our rally near Batasan. Let this act be a symbol of our common desire to push genuine change and achieve a just peace for our people.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. PeaceTalk is open to anyone who wishes to share his/her thoughts on peace in the country, particularly in Mindanao. Bai Ali Indayla is spokesperson of Manilakbayan. Josephine Pagalan, a Manobo leader from the Caraga region will be the guest of Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate in the first State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte)

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/01 August) – A pregnant woman was killed while seven others were injured in a shooting incident during a Lumad wedding celebration in San Fernando, Bukidnon at around 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 30, the Bukidnon Police Provincial Office (PPO) said.

In its press release issued on August 1, the PPO said that initial investigation by the team dispatched to Sitio Tibugawan, Barangay Kawayan in San Fernando town showed that “victims were celebrating a Lumad wedding” at the village plaza “when suddenly a burst of gunfire from unknown caliber caught them by surprise.”

Killed was Makeneth Salubo Gayuran, whose age was placed at 22 but birthdate as indicated was October 13, 1999.

Gayuran, a resident of the sitio, “sustained one gunshot wound on the left posterior aspect of her body which resulted to her instantaneous death.”

Police identified the seven injured as Purassiduna and Gegebanonan, both residents of the same sitio; and Kambobangonan, 18; Mary Ann Tagabilog, of legal age; Mairene Dumala, 14; Mike Opao, all of Sitio Sil-angon; and Arotobalagbag of Sitio Sil-anan.

The PPO said the wounded sustained gunshot wounds in different parts of their bodies and were rushed to Bukidnon Provincial Hospital- San Fernando for medical treatment but were subsequently referred to Bukidnon Provincial Medical Center in Malaybalay City “for intensive care.”

It added that based on investigation and corroborating the accounts of IP mandatory representative Arnold Manhura of Barangay Kawayan, and some eyewitnesses, “the suspects responsible for the said shooting were the group of Aldie Salusad aka Butsoy” and the motive of the shooting was “believed to be magahat/pangayaw (revenge).”

Salusad is reportedly a member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) but in a telephone interview, Police Inspector Rham Camelotes, acting police chief of San Fernando town, said Salusad is a rebel returnee, a former member of the New People’s Army (NPA).

“Hindi confirmed na Cafgu” (It’s not confirmed if he is a Cafgu member), Camelotes said. But he said Salusad, who is based “sa gubat” (in the forest), has a pending warrant of arrest.

Salusad is wanted for the murder of Datu Jimmy Liguyon of San Fernando, Bukidnon on March 5, 2012.

At that time, he was identified as the leader of the New Indigenous Peoples Army Reform (NIPAR) while his father, Benjamin, was head of the Special Civilian Armed Auxilary (SCAA) of the 8th IB, Philippine Army. The elder Salusad, also a former NPA member, surrendered to the miltiary with 79 others in November 2011. (MindaNews)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/23 August) – Soldiers did not occupy a Lumad school in a village in New Bataan town, Compostela Valley over the weekend, the 10th Infantry Division said in a statement Tuesday.

Capt. Rhyan Batchar, 10ID Public Affairs Office chief said the accusation against the 67th Infantry Battalion was “unfounded, baseless, and malicious” as the concerned area is already outside its area of operations.

The 10ID was reacting to a Facebook post by the Save Our Schools Network on Sunday that “several soldiers from both 66th and 67th IB stayed and encamped within the community  which was just about 10 meters away from Salugpongan School in Purok 3, Barangay Panansalan, Compostela Town, Compostela Valley Province.”

“The students and teachers were anxious and fears further harassment from the soldiers since they’ve learned about the illegal arrest and detention of Salugpongan Teacher and Researcher Amelia Pond last August 19,” the post said.

But Batchar admitted there were personnel of the 66th IB who stayed in Purok 3, Panansalan.

He said Purok chair Artemio Magno allowed the soldiers to stay in the place but not in the houses and school.

He added the 66th IB provided some documents signed by Purok chair Rex Basta and Purok secretary Nerisa Gollodo of Sitio Bongloy, Brgy. Pagsabangan that troops were allowed to enter the sitio but denied that they occupied the Salugpongan School.

He said the 66IB stayed 100 meters away from the Salugpongan school.

“As we have always said, the 10ID welcomes reports against our troops and encourages those who were victimized to file their complaints in appropriate agencies as we do not tolerate any misbehavior by our soldiers,” he said.

He said issues against the military should “go beyond mere propaganda by filing charges against our misbehaving troops, so that we can purge our ranks of misfits.” (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)

SITIO HAN-AYAN, Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur (MindaNews/02 Sept.) — Over 2000 Lumad evacuees at the Provincial Sports Complex in Tandag City were scheduled to return home on Saturday (Sept. 3), a year after they were forced to flee due to the killings of three of their leaders by alleged members of a paramilitary group.

On Sept. 1 last year, witnesses said, Magahat-Bagani militiamen killed Manobo leaders Dionel Campos, Datu Juvello Sinzo and Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (Alcadev) head Emerito Samarca.

Alcadev, along with other Lumad schools in Mindanao, has been accused of coddling New People’s Army rebels.

The attack triggered the evacuation of some 3,000 residents from Han-ayan and 26 other villages in the towns of Lianga, San Agustin, San Miguel, Marihatag and Tago.

On Friday, 402nd Infantry Brigade commander Col. Isidro Purisima ordered his troops to dismantle their camp in Han-ayan and Km. 9 of Diatagon.

Over 700 members of the Friends of the Lumad in Caraga, including Bishop Modesto Villasanta of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and Fr. Fortunato Estillore of the Indigenous Peoples Apostolate of the Diocese of Tandag witnessed the pullout of the military.

Purisma told MindaNews in an interview that he ordered the pullout to heed the request of the Lumads and as part of the peace process being pursued by the Duterte administration.

Lianga Mayor Homer Pedroso and the entire municipal council of Lianga, in the presence of Diatagon Barangay Chair Liby Te, accepted the “turnover” of the Lumad villages from Purisima in Han-ayan.

A short program took place just outside the gate of the Han-ayan Primary School and the school compound of Alcadev.

Jose Campos, representing the residents of Km. 16 and Han-ayan and members of the Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang sa Sumusunod, reiterated their call for the soldiers to dismantle their camp and leave the communities within the day so that the rest of the evacuees could return home.

At around 2pm, about 30 elements of the 75th IB who encamped in Han-ayan left. Another group of 30 soldiers from the same unit left Km. 9 at around 3pm.

During the program, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary General Renato Reyes said the military pullout from the community would create a more positive atmosphere and confidence for the current peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

“This is the result of the peace process effort of President Rodrigo R. Duterte and we are really happy on this development,” he told reporters.

The rest of the evacuees, who are still at the Provincial Sports Complex, will return to their communities after all the soldiers have left. About 1800 men, women and children were set to return to their homes on Sept. 3.

The Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office gave packs of relief items containing six kilos of rice, canned goods, and household stuff such as mosquito nets and washbasins. (Roel Catoto/MindaNews)