Indigenous Lumad Leaders from mindanao, in Their Fight for Food, Land, and Justice Take Aim at US Funding Philipino Militarization with Norma Capuyan Chairperson of Apo Sandawa Lumadnong Panaghiusa sa Cotabato (ASLPC), a provincial organization of indigenous peoples in Cotabato. Chairperson of BAI Mindanao indigenous womens network, a provincial organization of indigenous peoples in Cotabato. Norma participated in the recent protest by over 5,000 peasant and Lumad farmers who demanded the release of calamity funds and relief goods from the government. The protest escalated into a deadly dispersal by SWAT forces that killed three farmers and wounded another 117. Norma is on the frontline of the Hulaw (Drought) campaign advocating for relief and rehabilitation of peasants and Lumad communities that were severely affected by the El Nio drought and state repression. Norma also serves as the Vice Chairperson of the Kalumaran or Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao (Strength of the Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao), a Mindanao-wide alliance of indigenous peoples organizations with the main thrust of promoting the human rights and collective rights of indigenous peoples and defending their ancestral domain from big business interests. and Josephine Pagalan Spokesperson, KASALO (Unity of Indigenous Peoples Organizations in Caraga). Josephine became the spokesperson of the regional indigenous peoples alliance KASALO after the arrest of its previous spokesperson Genasque Enriquez. Josephine was witness to the killings of Manobo leaders Dionel Campos and Datu Juvello Sinzo that sparked public outrage and a Senate investigation into the increasing human rights violations against indigenous peoples. Campos and Sinzo were killed along with Emerito Samarca, Executive Director of Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV) Inc. by a government-backed paramilitary group, in the presence of troops from the 75th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army in the village of Han-ayan, Lianga, Surigao del Sur. Josephine is an executive committee member of the local indigenous community organization MAPASU (Persevering the Struggle for the Next Generation). MAPASU has firmly stood against the encroachment of mining companies in their ancestral lands which sits on coveted coal deposits in the Andap Valley Complex (encompassing 5 Municipalities of Surigao del Sur). MAPASU was instrumental in establishing the ALCADEV school"an alternative high school for indigenous youth in the province. Since the killings of Campos, Samarca, and Sinzo, the 22 MAPASU communities have been living in evacuation centers in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur. and Kerlan Fanagel Chairperson, PASAKA Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao Region. Before he was elected as chairperson, Kerlan served as Secretary General of PASAKA Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao from 2007 to 2015, growing the organization to its present roster of 338 member organizations in 8 provinces. PASAKA is the largest sub-regional alliance of indigenous peoples organizations in Mindanao. As Secretary General, he played a key role in the coordination and management of more than 700 Talaingod-Manobos that sought refuge at a United Church of Christ (UCCP) in Davao City after their communities were heavily militarized in March 2014. They were subject to clearing operations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines tasked to make way for gold mining operations in the area. These same communities were displaced again in 2015 along with other Manobo communities from Davao del Norte and Bukidnon provinces due to heavy military presence in their communities and forced recruitment into state-sponsored paramilitary groups. Kerlan is also a cultural worker-- writing songs and directing stage productions that tell the story of inter-tribal unity in defense of the ancestral domain from militarization and economic plunder.
On April 1, 2016, the Philippine National Police opened fire on an estimated 6,000 peasant and indigenous farmers who had barricaded a national highway in the southern Philippines. 3 were killed, more than 100 wounded, and at least 70 were detained. The farmers were demanding the distribution of food relief after more than 7-months of drought had caused widespread famine. Since 2010, at least 70 indigenous people from the southern island of Mindanao (collectively known as Lumad) have been killed for their out-spoken stand to defend their ancestral domains from economic and ecological plunder. The Philippines has the worlds second largest gold deposits, more than half of which are in Mindanao. Even indigenous community schools have come under attack through military occupation and vilification. Currently, there are nearly 3,000 indigenous individuals who have been displaced from their communities due to military occupation in an effort to clear the land for mining operations. Indigenous people of the Philippines are increasingly being vilified, harassed, and murdered for defending their ancestral land from foreign corporate interests. With the recent Philippine Presidential win of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Lumad leaders and ICHRP are calling on the presidentt, who is from Southern Mindanao, to take action to stop the extra-judicial killings of Lumads, ad the environmental, and anti-mining advocates in the region. Recently, indigenous Lumad leaders came to rally outside the Armed Forces Recruiting Station in Times Square to protest the continued U.S. militarization in the Philippines, especially in the southern island of Mindanao. The Lumad protesters highlighted and condemned the role that the United States has played in intensifying militarization,stater epression, and human rights violations against the indigenous communities of Mindanao. Made up of 18 ethnolinguist tribes, Lumad is the umbrella term for indigenous peoples in Mindanao who have suffered the brunt of military. Lumad leaders from all across Mindanao demand accountability from the administration the president and Mindanao-native Rodrigo Duterte to end the impunity of Armed Forces of the Philippines AFP and its paramilitary troops. The Lumad protested to make clear that the harsh conditions back home are not isolated incidents, but are actually facilitated by U.S. military and economic policies funded by U.S. taxpayers. The United States has played a big role in undermining the self-determination and economic power of the Philippines, imposing ever-worsening hardship and poverty on societys most marginalized sectors--particularly peasants and indigenous peoples. To ensure its hegemony and influence in developing countries like the Philippines, the U.S. works closely with national security forces like the AFP to safeguard trade routes and access to markets. In the past year, the United States increased its military aid to the Philippines from $50 million to $79 million, By funding the AFP, the U.S. is strengthening counterinsurgency initiatives like Oplan Bayanihan enabling the continuation of human rights violations against Lumad community leaders and activists.
produced by Mimi Rosenberg and Ken Nash
please notify us if you plan to broadcast this program - knash@igc.org
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