Thursday, July 16, 2015
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Belgian Tine van Rompuy signs petition to end military attacks on schools
Petition initiated by Save Our Schools Network have already gathered 700+ signatures from various human rights, children's rights, and indigenous people's rights advocates all over the world including Belgian nurse and political leader Tine Van Rompuy. It calls for DepEd to look into and end military attacks on lumad (IP) schools.
A Wikipedia entry describes Tine Van Rompuy as follows:
Christine Francine Wilhelmina "Tine" Van Rompuy (born 28 August 1955, in Leuven) is a Belgian nurse, politician and syndicalist, member of the Workers Party of Belgium, a small leftist party in Belgium. Van Rompuy is the sister of Herman Van Rompuy, EU's first full-time president of the European Council, and the Flemish politician Eric Van Rompuy. She earned her diploma as a psychiatric nurse in 1977. From 1977 to 1995 she worked as a psychiatric nurse in the head Psycho-Social Center of the Brothers of Charity in Leuven. Since 2004 she is head nurse at the Central Patient Transport Service at the University Hospital of Leuven.
In 2009, Van Rompuy helped to design an election campaign poster showing her brother, Prime minister Herman Van Rompuy, dressed as a circus clown. This attracted some attention, and according to some media reports, they have not spoken since. However, Van Rompuy said on her personal weblog that she is "happy that [her] brother will be president of Europe", and that she would give him a "little box" with a message that "the 2 % who are the richest, pay a tax of 2% on their wealth".
Sign the Petition here.
Lumads dismayed by military presence at dialogue
Lumads dismayed by military presence at dialogue
By Kriztja Marae G. LabradorJuly 15, 2015
Sunstar Davao
WHAT was supposedly a mediation to resolve issues confronting lumads from Talaingod, Kapalong, and Bukidnon areas with members of concerned government agencies turned out to be a confrontation, as it resulted in verbal exchange between tribal leaders and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The dialogue, held at UCCP Haran Evacuation Center, was organized by North Cotabato Representative Nancy Catamco and participated in by Partylist Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela, Karlos Zarate of Bayan Muna, and officials from the National Commission on Indigenous People's (NCIP), Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Commission on Human Rights.
The evacuation center has been housing around 700 lumads from the areas since May, as they refused to go home due to continuous military presence in the area.
During the dialogue, Catamco told lumad evacuees that the main purpose of the initiative was to send them back home. But she failed to inform lumads ahead of time that officers from the AFP were to join the dialogue.
"Hindi ito dialogue, confrontation na. May trauma sila tapos binigla ninyo," Zarate told Catamco at the sidelines of the dialogue.
"That is not how to conduct a dialogue, kung dialogue unta dili nimo paawayun ang mga tao (you do not make people quarrel) and I also pity the leaders who became helpless who were not able to assert so it became a monologue not a dialogue," Ilagan said in a separate interview, adding there should be a consent from the lumads before bringing the military to join the said dialogue.
But members of the AFP represented by Army's 1003rd Brigade commander Colonel Harold Cabreros and deputy commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command Brigadier General Alexander Balutan said during the dialogue that this call of the lumads is not possible as of the moment, as the military's role in the area is to protect the equipment of the projects being constructed in the said area.
At the middle of the supposed mediation, Ilagan, and Zarate suggested to conduct another dialogue in a separate area in order to avoid further commotion.
"The reason we suggested we go elsewhere to conduct a dialogue for us to come up with something productive naa tay maresolve dili lang tong heightened emotions, agitated imung audience naturally government agencies were made to feel defensive na what have you been doing na naa lang man pud," Ilagan said.
As of press time Wednesday, lumad leaders, together with militant group members Ilagan and Zarate, walked out during their second dialogue together with Catamco and AFP officers held at Apo View Hotel.
Lumads say paramilitary men remain as threat
By Christine Joice CudisJuly 15, 2015
Sunstar Davao
"Ma'am kung gusto namo muuli, makauli mi karon dayon, ang among problema dili mi luwas didto sa amoang lugar kay naay military (We can go home anytime we want Ma'am. Our problem is we are not safe in our own community because of the presence of the military there)," said a lumad when asked by Representative Nancy Catamco why they still choose to stay even after offered the permit to operate (PTO).
Brigadier General Alexander Balutan, deputy commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command, said they cannot pull out the military force in the area since they are supposed to guard the construction of roads.
He said it is for the lumads to experience the services of the government.
The Department of Public Works and Highways is spending an estimate of P14 billion on the roads, buildings, and infrastructures on areas near the lumad communities in Kapalong, Talaingod, and Bukidnon.
The military is guarding the construction of these projects to protect the equipment and to ensure that the projects will be completed.
"Binabantayan namin yung project from the NPA. Kasi ang nangyayari ay extortion," Brigadier General Balutan said.
He said the NPA is afraid that if the government will provide the people better goods, they (people) will eventually side with them.
This earned a mouthful from Gabriela Partylist Representative Luzviminda Ilagan.
"Who's development are we talking about? Para kanino yang kalsada, para kanino yang malalaking project? May papasok nga kasi na mga malalaking kompanya, kailangan ba ng lumad ng malapad na sementado na kalsada, farm to market road will be okay pero hindi yun ang ginagawa eh," she said.
Ilagan said the lumads' problem is easy to understand. "Simple lang naman ang request ng lumad sector, which is to pull out the Alamara, stop organizing the Alamara," she said.
Alamara is a paramilitary group composed of indigenous peoples themselves organized by the military to harass their fellow lumads.
Ilagan clarified that it is not the job of the military to guard backhoes and other equipment for construction but to secure the safety of the people from external threats.
"Isa na kami ka bulan ug kapin pero dili gyud kami makauli kay hadlok kami"
Lumad group decries killings, seeks gov’t help
By Pamela Jay F. Orias
July 15, 2015
Sunstar Cagayan de Oro
A GROUP from Higaonon tribe in Cabanglasan town in Bukidnon stormed the offices of National Commission on Indigenous (NCIP) and Commission on Human Rights (CHR) demanding an inquiry into the killing of tribe members allegedly by a paramilitary group based in the area.
Kalumbay, a lumad organization, documented seven deaths in Cabanglasan, three in San Fernando, and 11 other cases this year in the province of Bukidnon.
"This is really a pressing concern and there is a need to immediately address the problem since these are deaths and their rights have been stepped on ug dapat immediate gyud kay lisud kaayo mubalik na pud sila didto sa ilaha unya mao lang gihapon ang sitwasyon," said Gary Ben Villocino of Kalumbay.
The group left Cabanglasan and sought refuge at the provincial capitol in Malaybalay in June.
"Pero isa na kami ka bulan ug kapin pero dili gyud kami makauli kay hadlok kami, ug wala pa gihapoy hustisya sa among lugar," said Diden Landasan, a Higaonon.
She said they were compelled to come to the city, hoping that government agencies could put a stop to the killings. “Naningkamot gyud mi na makaanhi taliwala sa kagutom ug sa kalisod para lang mapahibalo namo ang among sitwasyon," she said.
Romulo dela Mance and Butsoy Salusad, the leaders of the paramilitary group who allegedly committed the killings in Cabanglasan, were issued a warrant of arrest in June after being charged with murder and attempted murder.
The two are still at large and continue to harass people in Cabanglasan, Kalumbay said.
Landasan said the dela Mance are coercing the tribesmen into join the paramilitary.
"We would like the NCIP to release a public statement condemning the killings and also, we want your office to conduct investigation to finally impose sanctions to this paramilitary regarding the matter," the statement further reads.
NCIP's regional director was not available, but the group was able to express their demands
.
According to Kalumbay, the CHR has verbally committed to help in the investigation.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Fear of military abuse force tribal folks out of their school
Red tag keeps Manobo kids fearful of school
Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 12, 2015
DAVAO CITY — An indigenous people’s (IP) group in Davao del Norte is staying away from its school for fear of soldiers that leaders of the group said had turned the school and homes into barracks, an accusation that the military flatly denied.
The Department of Education (DepEd) had given the school, which became controversial after the military accused it of being run by communist guerrillas, a permit to operate as an educational institution.
But the tribal folk who are supposed to be serviced by the school refuse to send their children back to their classes.
“They’re (soldiers) staying in our houses and schools, that’s why, we fled,” said Datu Doloman Dawsay, a Manobo leader and an official of the group Salugpongan Ta íTanu Igkanugon, which operates an IP’s school in Sitio Nalubas in Barangay Palma Gil in the town of Talaingod.
“The permit is not enough to protect our children against military attacks, we still urge (DepEd Davao Director Alberto) Escobarte to look into these schools under attack,” said Dawsay.
Salugpongan was among the groups that set up camp outside the DepEd regional office here last month, following threats by the government to close down several IP schools for lack of permits to operate.
After the release of some of the permits, protesters dismantled their camps but still refused to go home for fear of soldiers occupying civilian facilities in their communities. The military denied this.
Dawsay said the tribal folk would continue to take refuge in a church compound here until the government orders the soldiers to leave the tribal communities.
Dawsay said members of the Manobo tribe from Sitio Nalubas in Barangay Palma Gil and Sitio Tibucag in Barangay Dagohoy in Talaingod fled their homes and sought refuge in Davao City since the second week of May, allegedly because of harassment from the military, who have accused those operating the school of being members or supporters of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).
Capt. Alberto Caber, spokesperson of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, however, denied reports that soldiers are encamped in houses and civilian facilities in Talaingod.
“That’s not true,” Caber said.
Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao
Saturday, July 11, 2015
PH government worsens lumad situation by criminalizing lumad rights advocacy
Cases against activists lodged after IP’s mass evacuation
By JOHN RIZLE L. SALIGUMBAJuly 11, 2015
Davao Today
DAVAO CITY – Leaders of lumad (indigenous people) evacuees from Davao del Norte province appeal to authorities that they be allowed to protest for their rights after support groups assisting them were charged with violations of Republic Act (RA) 267 or Kidnapping, Serious Illegal Detention and Anti-trafficking in persons Act.
Datu (tribal leader) Kaylo Bontulan, representative of Salugpungan Ta Ta’Tanu Igkanugon (Unite to Save the Ancestral Land) said, “we have learned a lot in our 20 years of struggle to not know what we are doing.”
“What do they think of us lumads, that we are incapable of finding ways to liberate ourselves from our predicaments?” said Bontulan.
He said “it is our right to protest what we think is bad for us. It is our right leave our homes because we are in constant danger of military men who accuse us of being rebels.”
Bontulan, who appeared agitated while answering questions in a press conference on Thursday, raised his voice as he said, “those who accuse must know first the context of our bakwit (mass evacuation).”
He said “bakwit is our highest political statement to put forward our concerns.”
During the press conference, Sheena Duazo of militant group Bayan Southern Mindanao said a complaint was filed against her and other individuals who supported Salugpungan’s evacuees.
Duazo showed Davao Today of their notes on the details of the case.
She said the complaint against them is under docket number XI-02-INV-15-E-1848 filed before the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Included in the complaint are Rev. Jurie Jaime, Sheena Duazo, Hanimay Suazo, Ryan Lariba, Tony Salubre, Jimong Marciano, Mary Ann Sapar, Jaja Necosia, Pedro Arnaldo, Kerlan Fanagel, Sr. Stella Matutina, Sr. Restita Miles, Isidro Andao, Kharlo Manano, Riuz Valle and many John Does.
The charge against Duazo and the other individuals are violation of Republic Act (RA) 267 or Kidnapping, Serious Illegal Detention and RA 9208 or the Anti-trafficking in persons Act of 2003 as amended by RA 10364 or the Expanded Anti-trafficking of Persons Act of 2012.
Duazo said the complainant is the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and that the address indicated is the Haran House of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), where the Lumads sought refuge.
Bontulan denied the allegations and said “we were not forced to go here, nor are we being held against our will by these people who we consider as our support groups.”
“Twenty years ago, it was Haran who took us when we left our homes because our leader chose to fight against a logging company. We are not new to this,” he said.
The lumads occupy the vacant lot of the Haran compound. From the compound’s main gate, the leaders put-up another gate leading to the more or less 5-meter wide and 20-meter long unpaved strip of land.
The lumads live in raised platform bamboo beds covered with trapal (durable tarpaulins usually used in agriculture), arranged in such a way that a walk path is created at the center.
Trees and thick vegetation on the left side and the end of the array of houses make them feel like they are “home”, said Salugpungan spokesperson Datu Doloman Dawsay.
Lumads collectively take care of free-range chickens that roam about with their loyal hunting dogs.
During their evacuation in 1994, UCCP leaders and Salugpungan made a pact of friendship, the product was a historical marker erected at the base of a mango trunk inside the Haran compound.
A conference room was later erected beside the now productive mango tree. The UCCP leadership named the conference room “Salugpungan Hall.”
Bontulan said tribal leader have come-up with a set of “rules” inside the Haran compound “to protect the children from getting outside and get hit by passing cars and from individuals who want to take advantage of our situation.”
“If you think of it, the support groups, these individuals even cook our food for us. How can it be that we are aggrieved,” said Bontulan.
Bishop Hamuel Tequis, bishop of UCCP Southeastern Mindanao Jurisdiction, however said “we feel that we have not given them our best.”
“They left their comfortable homes, and we the church, should have given them at least what is similar to a real house but they still live in tent makeshifts. We pray we can give more,” he said.(davaotoday.com)
Friday, July 10, 2015
PH Catholic bishops urged to follow Pope in supporting IP rights
PH Catholic bishops urged to follow Pope in supporting IP rights
By Inday Espina-VaronaJuly 10, 2015
ABS-CBNnews.com
MANILA - Religious and secular groups working for the protection of Philippine indigenous peoples are urging the country’s bishops to take up Pope Francis’ challenge to safeguard the vulnerable against "unfettered" development.
"The Catholic Church and its leaders in the Philippines should follow Pope Francis call to support the struggles of indigenous peoples and all victims of development that only further enrich wealthy clans and corporations and clans," Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of the environmental group Kalikasan told ABS-CBNnews.com.
Nardy Sabino, secretary-general of the Promotion of Church People's rights, echoed Bautista's call and praised the Pope's display of "humility in accepting lapses in the Catholic Church's treatment of indigenous peoples. "
"It is also a call to the faithful to journey with indigenous peoples and defend the sanctity of life," he added.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines is holding its plenary assembly this weekend.
For the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), the Pope’s message gives hope that the Vatican could prod the country’s church leaders to step up the campaign against human rights violations in areas eyed by big mining, logging and plantation firms.
The RMP is a national inter-diocesan and inter-congregational organization that works with threatened lumad, indigenous peoples in Mindanao. It said 23 indigenous leaders have been killed from October 2014 to June this year, in the Northern Mindanao region alone.
“That is almost three lives mercilessly put out every month,” said the group that was founded in 1960 by the Association of Major Women Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMWRSP). Twenty of the victims were Bukidnon province and three from neighboring Misamis Oriental.
Kalikasan’s Bautista said more than 30 of the 48 environmental activists killed under President Benigno Aquino III’s administration were indigenous leaders.
More environmentalists have been slain under the incumbent government than in the nine years of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, according to Kalikasan.
Both Kalikasan and the RMN linked most deaths to reprisals for IP opposition to mining operations.
Indigenous people activists stood out at Davao City’s Almendras Gym Thursday night, where farewell rites were held for slain New People’s Army (NPA) commander Leoncio Pitao, known as Parago.
Many of these small, isolated schools serve lumad communities and are managed by church groups like the RSM and its allies.
A delegation from the Save Our Schools alliance is currently doing a round of dialogues with government offices and legislators, hoping to stop threats against teachers and students of lumad learning centers.
It handed the Commission on Human Rights a list of the schools reportedly under threat from government soldiers and para-military groups.
“The unabated rise of number of schools being attacked has resulted to the violation of the right to education of not less than 5,000 lumad children all over Mindanao,” said Kharlo Manano, SOS Network lead convener and secretary-general of Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns. He also expressed hope that Church leaders would send a delegation to join a fact-finding mission to Talaingod and other lumad areas next week.
Bautista said Pope Francis’ apology “justifies and supports the struggle of our indigenous peoples to defend their lands against the resource plunder and ecological destruction by foreign and private corporations.”
He urged Philippine bishops to also help peasant and fisherfolk in opposing large scale mining, agricultural plantations, commercial logging and dirty coal power plants, linking these to land-grabbing and other human rights violations and intense environmental degradation in rural communities.
Sabino said the Pope would give new strength to the struggle of the lumad and other ethnic groups in the Philippines, including Muslims.
"The Pope shows the road to peace since it is well known that conflict in IP areas and other rural communities are usually rooted in the struggle to protect ancestral lands and to assert their right to self-determination," he said.
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