KidlapMAGAZINE Special Issue, March 2016 EDITORIAL BOARD Sr. Ma. Famita N. Somogod, MSM Sr. Mary Jane C. Caspillo, MMS Agustina C. Juntilla Melissa A. Comiso Sr. Susan M. Dejolde, MSM

STAFF FOR THIS ISSUE Ailene Villarosa Amy Doydoy Beverlita Rendon Mary Louise G. Dumas Clarin C. Pasco Ronan Andrew G. Ulanday Evelyn L. Naguio

Photos by Winbel Mordino M. Visitacion, Gary Ben S. Villocino, and Erwin Mascarinas

Contributions, comments and inquiries About the COVER are welcome. Please send them to: A Matigsalug woman collects firewood. The Rural Missionaries of the Matigsalug communities in Quezon, Sub-Region (RMP-NMR), Inc Rm. 01, Kalinaw Lanao Center have been trying to maintain their traditional for Interfaith Resources lifestyle, subsistence farming their main 0016 Bougainvilla Puti, Villaverde means of living. They gather abaca fiber and 9200 City Philippines some do gold panning to earn cash which they use to buy basic necessities such as salt, T/F: +63 (63) 223 5179 instant coffee, and sometimes bread. Their E: [email protected] simple lifestyles, however, is threatened with large-scale mining. With a paramilitary group Soft copies of this issue can be downloaded from already gaining control over the small-scale www.rmp-nmr.org gold mining in the neighbouring municipality of San Fernando, resource conflicts are now Like us on Facebook: escalating in the Matigsalug communities. www.facebook.com/rmp.nmr Follow us at Twitter: @rmpnmr

This special issue is published with support ‘Kidlap’ is a Cebuano term for ‘sparks.’ from the European Union. The views expressed in this issue are the sole responsibility KIDLAP Magazine is the official, of RMP-NMR and do not necessarily semi-annual publication of the Rural represent the views of the donors. Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP-NMR), Inc.

THE RURAL MISSIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES OR RMP is a national organization, inter-diocesan and inter-congregational in character, of men and women religious, priests and lay people. We live and work with the rural poor. Founded by the Association of Major Women Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMWRSP) in 1969, RMP members commit themselves to support the Filipino peasantry’s quest for social justice, freedom, and genuine agrarian reform. As a Church of the Poor, the RMP aims to strengthen the awareness of the rural poor regarding the truth that all have the right to live fully as human beings, to self- determination, and to freedom from oppression and all forms of exploitation. RMP-NMR has been established to promote missionary work in Northern Mindanao sub-region. RMP- NMR is duly registered in the Security and Exchange Commission with registration number CN-200927387 as a non-stock, non-profit corporation on 22 June 2009, and with TIN Number 408-441-015-000. MESSAGE FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION

Congratulations to the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Sub-Sub-Region (RMP-NMR) for the publication of this special edition of Kidlap magazine. Kidlap contains relevant The EU considers human In line with this, the EU supports information on the state of human rights as a priority and supports the RMP-NMR’s initiative to assist rights in Mindanao which need initiatives aimed at ending all the vulnerable sectors of Mindanao public attention. The feature forms of discrimination against through the “Healing the Hurt Pro- articles and abstracts of various indigenous peoples and is working ject”. The project, which is financed commissioned researches in towards ensuring their rights by our European Instrument for De- this magazine promise to offer are respected, protected and mocracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), a systematic analyses of issues fulfilled. As stated by our High aims to empower the indigenous such as the impact of industrial Representative and Vice President communities living in north Mind- practices on the well-being Federica Mogherini: anao region in combatting discrimi- of indigenous communities in “The EU reaffirms its support nation and rights violations. Mindanao. They are also useful to the UN Declaration on the I hope that this publication will to anyone who are interested Rights of Indigenous Peoples contribute to the people’s increased in social research of regional (UNDRIP) and is determined to awareness about the of and sectoral issues pertaining work closely with indigenous Mindanao; and, perhaps more to indigenous peoples or the peoples, along with other partners importantly, lead to a sincere social Lumads. and stakeholders”. dialogue among all concerned.

FRANZ JESSEN Ambassador Head of Delegation

MAGAZINE | 3 Kidlap MESSAGE FROM THE PROJECT MANAGER

I WISH TO REITERATE ONE OF THE QUESTIONS POSED BY THE MISSIONARY SISTERS OF MARY in our statement on the recent killings in Lianga, Surigao del Sur: What is to become of our society if the state, which according to Catholic Social Teachin g should be an ‘instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights, and build common good,’ is the perpetrator of attacks against its constituents? The Rural Missionaries of to these resources, they become campaigns. This has also allowed the Philippines was first formed victims of brutal state repression. us to materialize ideas that we during the dark years of martial The human rights situation have long considered such as the law. People were killed for their in this country has improved backing of our campaigns with ideas. There was absolutely no little since the dictatorship. concrete data through research, respect for human rights --most What is probably worse is that and the provision of community importantly the right to life -- the government is blatantly financial opportunities that would during that period. The state was supporting the perpetrators. Hasn’t help them with their resources then the enemy of the people. it promoted the creation of special while they struggle for their rights. Fast forward to today, two auxiliary units to the military that Healing the Hurt, a collabora- EDSA revolutions, and a cacophony will serve as investment defense tion of various organizations, seeks of politicians elected through forces? Any resistance to the to address the intensifying issue of supposedly democratic processes entry of these business interests is marginalization and rights viola- later, we see the same bleak automatic target. And this is what tions of our communities in situation. The assertion of the has cultivated this impunity, the Mindanao. This special issue of Kidlap people of their right for a self- violence in the ancestral domains. wishes to elaborate our engagement determined development is held We are grateful for the timely so that readers might find inspiration at gunpoint. While this is true arrival of this project, Healing and perhaps join us in this endeavor. for many sectors -- the farmers, the Hurt. While we work widely We would like to thank workers, fisherfolk, and others in our advocacies, we are not the European Union through who are forced to conform to the financially big. What we bank on the European Instrument for elitist economic framework of the are our dedicated workers, and Democracy and Human Rights, for government -- the indigenous most importantly, committed supporting the idea of coming up communities most especially communities who are eager to with this special issue. Finally, we feel this. The resources that are capacitate themselves to better are most grateful to the Healing targeted by large companies are combat threats against them. the Hurt staff who put the pieces mostly in their ancestral lands. The project has allowed us better of the project, together with their And when they fight for their right mobility and faster pacing of our reflections, in their articles.

SR. MA. FAMITA N. SOMOGOD, MSM PROJECT MANAGER 4 | MAGAZINE Kidlap BY THE ‘HEALING THE HURT’ PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

THE PROJECT ‘HEALING THE HURT’ was conceived to address the issues faced by Lumad1 communities in Mindanao. The proponent organizations recognize that indigenous peoples’ rights have to be respected and upheld to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region.

In the rapid expansion of monocrop plantations, The over-all objective of the intervention is to aggressive interests in mining and other resource- contribute to the advancement of the rights and intensive business ventures, the still resource-rich continued development of the indigenous peoples ancestral lands of indigenous peoples are threatened. in Mindanao, starting with a focus on the Northern The pattern of violence over the years shows that Mindanao Region and some parts of the CARAGA. most of the victims of attacks associated with This contribution specifically seeks to protect and the entry of extractive industries come from the enhance the capacities of Lumad socio-political indigenous communities. structures, which include traditional and community- Unfortunately, these communities are the based organizations. Trainings, financial aid, and the least prioritized by the government and even non- organization of human support networks are among government institutions. The partner organizations the activities planned to achieve this objective got together to formulate a strategy to help address Specifically, the components of the project are the situation. based on the results it aims to realize:

1Collective term for Mindanao’s indigenous peoples

MAGAZINE | 5 Kidlap RESULT 1

Increased number of research studies on the historical development of discrimination against Lumads and their present-day legitimate struggles.

To arrive at this result, a research and media center exchange ideas, and build their capacities for further will be established. It will be, known as the Mindanao advocacy on Lumad issues. Interfaith Institute on Lumad Studies. The institute Under this component, a website will also be set will invite research fellows to focus on specific Lumad up to provide interested individuals or institutions easy concerns. Furthermore, for issues needing immediate access to the data that shall be generated from these attention, the institute will also invite media associates reports. On top of this will be the publication of books who can provide investigative reports. All the fellows meant to popularize the contents of the formal research and associates will be provided with venues to train, reports.

RESULT 2 Increased number of educational and informative channels, activities and materials with the end view of increasing awareness and promoting public support for the Lumad struggle.

The activities for this component target both the urban and rural communities, including the Lumad themselves. In many areas outside the urban centers, radio is still the main medium of mass communication. Because An interfaith exposure program in Lumad communities of this, the establishment of a community radio is the as well as biblio-theologico reflection sessions would principal activity in this component. Programming will be offered and would be open to different religions. be solely composed of Lumad stories, advocacy songs The aim of these activities would be to promote non- for the Lumad, and traditional Lumad songs and oral discrimination of the Lumad through cultural and narratives. religious understanding. To gather broad support from the urban areas, Educational materials on the Indigenous Peoples’ theatre productions on the Lumad struggle will be staged Rights will also be distributed to secondary and tertiary in at least five major universities in Northern Mindanao. schools as well as to churches.

6 | MAGAZINE Kidlap RESULT 3

Increased financial, material and other forms of support for the protection and security of Lumad victims of rights violations.

The third component is focused mainly so that they can continue after the end of the on providing concrete support to the Lumad project. communities who are actively struggling for their The help with the legal and extra-legal needs rights. It has two major parts -- one is support for the of the communities, a support network to be called economic needs, and the other is for the legal/extra- “Higala sa Lumad” (Friends of the Lumad) will be set legal needs of the communities in the run of their up. This will be composed of interfaith advocates campaigns. who will help provide protection for the Lumad To help with their financial situation, leaders and community members. The network will cooperatives will be set up in the intervention areas. also serve as an informal network that would monitor The design and function of these cooperatives will IP rights violations. This network, together with the be done by community members themselves, based initiatives from other components of the project, will on the resources and skills that they have. Although establish a central data bank for this monitoring and the project will initially fund them, the communities release urgent alerts on human rights cases. Shadow will man their functions and operations with the reports will also be submitted to international project staff only providing trainings and monitoring monitoring bodies.

RESULT 4

Enhanced capacities of indigenous communities to monitor, document and report rights violations; and enhanced human rights campaign management, organizational and financial capacities of indigenous leaders and structures of community development. To best monitor and report cases of human rights violations in communities, the residents themselves need to know their rights and are able to report when these are abused. This is ensured through the establishment of community-based human rights teams to be called “Katungod Lumad Monitors” (Lumad Human Rights Monitors). They will be equipped with necessary skills through documentations and paralegal trainings. The output of the documentations will aid in filing appropriate charges against perpetrators before judicial and quasi- judicial bodies. Under this component, a Lumad Academy for Human Rights will also be organized. The academy is an informal training program that will provide inputs on various human rights mechanisms and procedures, campaign management on land rights, organizational, and even financial management.

MAGAZINE | 7 Kidlap

RESULT 5

Improved cooperation among Lumad BY SR. FAMITA N. SOMOGOD, MSM communities where they can synergize indigenous resources; and enhance dialogue among stakeholders to surface specific land and human rights issues of indigenous communities. The intervention shall provide venues for discussions and dialogues among interfaith groups In December 2010, the council of and different sectors. The major gathering, which shall be held annually, will be called “Panumpa the Kalumbay Regional Lumad Katungod”1 a colloquium which hopes to foster Organization decided to organize solidarity among indigenous leaders. a Pigsapaan1 among its member communities. The previous year, Lumad leaders Mampaagi 1 ‘Pledge for Human Rights’ Belayong and Datu Mansubaybay were allegedly killed by the armed groups of Mario Napongahan and Datu Manlapangan Bato. Both of the had been openly against the entry of mining into their ancestral domains. Community representatives from all over Bukidnon, , Agusal del Sur and Agusan del Norte gathered to conduct a ritual vowing to protect their lands from companies that would destroy their lands, and an assertion of their right to self-determined development and governance. The compact was also an expression of their opposition to regular military operations in their communities. Four years later, the narrative has not changed. Instead, the situation has worsened. Without any case solved, impunity has emboldened paramilitary groups and state forces to commit several human rights violations. The start of this year saw several Banwaon families seeking refuge in the center of Balit in San Luis, Agusan del Sur after Necasio Precioso, Sr. was killed on December 22, 3014. Precioso was both a local government official -- the

8 | MAGAZINE Kidlap

THE STATE OF LUMAD HUMAN RIGHTS: UNCHANGING NARRATIVES, WORSENED SITUATION

barangay captain of Balit -- and a individuals evacuated to the capitol grounds and set up a traditional datu of the Banwaon. Central School of Lagonglong camp, revealing that families He was a leader of the Banwaon after parts of their community and individuals have slowly been organization Tagdumahan. were bombed by the military, leaving their communities in Members of Tagdumahan were which claimed that these were fear of an armed group headed distraught that even a locally meant for the New People’s Army by Romulo Dela Mance and his elected government official would (NPA). The residents reported brothers. Later on, this group was be targeted by what they suspect that the military cannons were discovered later on to be a part of to be members of a paramilitary angled to release bombs to the Alamara, a paramilitary group group protected by the military their community and not at the operating in Davao del Sur. stationed in their municipality. forested mountains where the According to the evacuees, the The second quarter saw alleged NPA camp was. group had been on a killing spree in again a series of evacuations -- June was a turning point their communities since December three of them by the Higaonon in Northern Mindanao for the of last year. In the span of half a community from Camansi, campaign against paramilitaries year, the group had killed seven. Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental, and militarization. Higaonon The most prominent of the killings who were demanding the residents of and had been that of Frenie Landasan, pullout of the military from their , Bukidnon gathered the chairperson of the Higaonon communities. On May 1, 252 together in front of the province’s Tribal Association of Dalacutan,

MAGAZINE | 9 Kidlap The choice is between the protection of the marginalized Lumad and the promotion of plunder

Cabanglasan. Landasan had been killed in Pangantucan, Bukidnon self-determined development. accused of supporting the New following an armed encounter The project team is People’s Army. For several years, the between the Armed Forces of anticipating a further escalation group had already been harassing the Philippines and the NPA. The of incidents. With the coming the residents, one of the Dela military at first insisted that the men nationwide elections, many Mance brothers holding a position they killed were members of the promises of politicians to investors in their local government unit. NPA. But then proved wrong by a are nearing their deadlines. The Because of the protest actions fact-finding mission conducted by increasing incidences of violence held by the evacuees, a warrant of several Lumad and human rights towards the Lumad are a symptom arrest had been released against advocates, they changed their tune of this growing urgency. But at Romulo Dela Mance, Mario Mesto, and said that the NPA killed the five. the same time, the indigenous alias Lolong Kumaingking, alias Despite various demands communities themselves are Mako Santas, and alias Enad Santos. for justice both in the local upping the ante of their struggle But despite this, none of the and international levels, the by conducting wider campaigns brothers nor their subordinates government is not taking serious and seeking the support of had been arrested. In fact, residents action on these matters. These different sectors. They want to say they see the group with the Lumad communities happen to be show that while attacks continue military when they conduct their in resource-rich areas, targets for against them, they have become operations. the entry of extractive industries. more resolute in their fight. With the evacuees still camped The government’s economic up in the Capitol Grounds in policies push for the entry of these Malaybalay, another major incident companies, irrespective of the 1 A ritual of pledge erupted. Five Manobo civilians were Lumad communities’ assertion for

10 | MAGAZINE Kidlap RE-SEARCHING WHERE ARE WE NOW?

BY MARY LOUISE G. DUMAS

BACK IN COLLEGE, we had a joke among us that the only answer an activist could give to a question is ibagsak1. Of course the joke was not meant to offend as we were among those shouting ibagsak with utmost feelings. It has been more than a decade since my first and informed consent in the region; rally. But to this day, when I pass by demonstrations, 4.) the heightening problem of paramilitarism and I still hear the very same chants. Imperyalismo-- militarization in ancestral lands, 5.) the effect on ibagsak! Burukrata kapitalismo -- ibagsak! Pyudalismo mental health of militarized and violent situations; -- ibagsak! And I’d think, haven’t these organizations 6.) what has become of the logged ancestral lands thought of something more creative to chant? in the headwaters of the region’s main river basin; The slogans are the same. But then perhaps, the 7.) state of large scale mining in the region; question should be, has nothing changed? Has 8.) state of monocrop plantations, and society remained the same so that these calls are still 9.) the socio-economic effects on indigenous appropriate, still valid? The only way to find out is to communities of power generation from re-search these issues. Data and concrete analyses of megadams. situations are needed to substantiate claims. After these major researches, smaller case studies Researches, for so long synonymous with will be conducted in all the communities identified in academics and done on a theoretical level, have the project as priority intervention areas. not always touched base with the social actors. This Slogans would always be a component of could have been for various reasons. It could be the popularization campaigns. But if these haven’t jargons. Or maybe the discussion is too theoretical. evolved for so many years, the critical audience Or sometimes, there is no involvement of the people starts to wonder. And with so many opinions thrown in the communities that they feel detached from the around, people need proof that that the demands are reports that are actually about them. legitimate and reasonable. At the same time, community movements are gaining momentum. And many of their success stories 1 “down with..” remain undocumented, not assessed, or remain an internal organizational knowledge. What the Mindanao Interfaith Institution on Lumad Studies would like to do is to marry both -- research and action. Action based on research is surer, more strategic. Research based on action is more grounded and pragmatic. To start, the first and a half years of the institution focus on nine major researches: 1.) the systematic marginalization of indigenous peoples; 2.) the laws that affect indigenous 1 A ritual of pledge communities; 3.) experiences on the free prior

MAGAZINE | 11 Kidlap funding or if their expenses would be THE covered by what their stories would earn. The aim is to allow the idealist in the media workers to rekindle -- what would they write about if their income were not at stake? FIFTH ESTATE Under the program, trainings and discussions are also organized AND THE to better capacitate the journalists. While it is assumed that the individuals who will be invited as associates already have an LUMAD advocacy for indigenous peoples, they are not necessarily experts in indigenous cultures and traditions. BY MARY LOUISE G. DUMAS Conversely, organizations and advocates of indigenous peoples’ rights also need to hone their THEORETICALLY, LOCAL JOURNALISTS WOULD relationship with the media. understand issues at their backyard better than “Sometimes, with regards to those organizations who ‘parachuters’ – those who are based in the country’s are bringing the media to the capital, or are from another country, who briefly communities, they are too fly into an area to cover some stories then go assuming that the journalists are back to their base. Theoretically, based on this already culturally aware, which understanding, local journalists are more sensitive is not always the case,” said Ms. Grace Cantal Albasin, the editor in dealing with delicate matters such as conflicts, in chief of SunStar Daily Cagayan deaths, and cultural traditions. de Oro during the round-table But the reality is simple in reporting about indigenous discussion organized for the media economics. News is what sells, what peoples. First, the information is workers. “Also, some organizations puts food on the table. Perhaps either lacking or wrong, which who invite to the area portray the many journalists started idealistic, in turn leads to a misinformed situation of the indigenous peoples bent on informing society of issues public. Second, the information too dramatically that it is no longer that matter -- issues that should romanticizes indigenous practices appealing to journalists.” matter. But in the long run, this too much, and this again ends with For this, the institute will be responsibility becomes secondary. a misinformed public. working with the other project “Media concern [on Indigenous MIILS, as an institution components to train indigenous Peoples] is low,” said Beverly Longid advocating for knowledge leaders and support organizations from the Asia Indigenous Peoples generation on the issues of on how best to communicate Network on Extractive Industries indigenous peoples -- especially on their situation and issues to the and Energy, the resource person for rights protection and promotion broader public. the sessions on Indigenous Peoples’ -- seeks to lessen this information The institute is firm on its Rights Reporting that the Mindanao hitch through a program for media stand that news -- even hard Interfaith Institute on Lumad associates. news -- is never objective. The Studies (MIILS) organized in July. The institute has adopted process of crafting a media output “They are used to press releases, a fellowship scheme with four involves too many layers of human chopped stories. Companies can batches of intakes. Five media intervention to be objective. Who afford classy restaurants but the IP workers are invited to become does the media person interview? communities cannot.” associates for each intake. These What, among all the information Ms. Longid underlined the state associates are given funding for gathered, gets included in the cut? of Philippine media, which largely mobility, giving them the freedom And most importantly, what story revolves in sensationalism. This to cover indigenous peoples’ issues -- and in many cases, whose story consequently leads to two trends without worrying where to get -- should be told?

12 | MAGAZINE Kidlap RESEARCH ABSTRACTS OF THE MIILS 1

Social Suffering and Hope among the Lumads in Mindanao [Structural Discrimination of the Lumads of Mindanao, Philippines] RESEARCHER ARNOLD P. ALAMON 2 Abstract Marked: a study on IN THE MULTIPLE NARRATIVES of the Filipino nation, the story investment defense forces, of Mindanao and its people is a frayed thread. More than a century after the nation’s birth from the bosom of colonial paramilitarism rule and governance mostly emanating from political centers and militarization of of the North, the inhabitants of the country’s Southernmost Island remain locked in a bitter struggle over land and selected indigenous rights. The indigenous peoples of Mindanao comprising of territories in Mindanao numerous ethnolinguistic groups who consider themselves falling under the collective identity of “lumad” or natives are the unfortunate victims of the regime of resource-extraction RESEARCHERS in the form of logging, mining, and large-scale agricultural MARY LOUISE DUMAS & enterprises by a growing migrant population from the North GRACE CANTAL ALBASIN and the Visayas backed by foreign economic interest in the past century. This has led to the lumads’ social, political, and Abstract economic displacement together with a significant Muslim population of the South. Mindanao has thus been the site of these national contradictions that tear upon the imagined IN EARLY 2015, several families of the fragile fabric of peaceful co-existence among its tri-partite Banwaon community in Agusan del Sur peoples. left their homes in fear and sought refuge This study aims to trace the history and evolution of in a makeshift evacuation area in Balit, San these narratives of structural discrimination among a number Luis, Agusan del Sur. They were members of lumad communities in Mindanao. It seeks to document of the indigenous people’s organization, the stories of social, political, and economic marginalization Tagdumahan, calling for the cessation of from the past to the present that are the bases for their the Magahat, a systematic killing of the continued structural discrimination. Through the gathering organization’s members. It was shortly of community histories and life-stories among the old and the after one of their leaders was killed by a young from select lumad communities, the study aspires to group of rebel returnees who had re- surface not just the stories of oppression but also highlight armed themselves and joined military the narratives of resistance and hope among the indigenous operations against the communist-led peoples of Mindanao. CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

MAGAZINE | 13 Kidlap PUTTING HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTATION INTO THE LUMAD’S HANDS

BY RONAN ANDREW G. ULANDAY

After the breakthrough training, five more batches were trained: two batches from Agusan del sur and Agusan del Norte and three batches from Bukidnon. The succeeding batches were trained in the most accessible venues for the Lumad who came from the hinterlands. The schedule for the remaining three batches was put on hold due to the heavy militarization of their areas. Nevertheless, some communities dared to defy and took the risk and attended the training. “Maayo kay naa ni nga pagbansay (It’s good that there “DAKO KAAYO NI NGA TABANG KANAMO (This is is this discussion),” said Bombay a huge help to us),” Bae Jocelyn of Brgy. Butong, Manlomanta, a Matigsalog of Santa Quezon, Bukidnon happily conveyed during the Felomina, Quezon, Bukidnon on the Katungod Lumad Monitors’ (KLM) Training. necessity of the training. Datu Dodong Antugon added, THE MONITORS “Karon kabalo na mi sa among Nine batches of KLMs have been targeted for training. The first batch mga katungod ug kinahanglan nga came from the Higaonon communities of Camansi, Tapol and Anahaw panalipdan (Now we know what of Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental. These communities were the victims our rights are and what we need to of human rights violations committed by the elements of the 58th protect).” Infantry Battalion on June 4, 2015. Their remarks have affirmed The presence of the military, and the subsequent harassment, the objectives of the training. The intimidation, and their being tagged as supporters of the New People’s main objective had been to equip Army (NPA) forced them to leave their communities. They temporarily the KLMs with knowledge on Basic camped in front of the capitol grounds of the province of Misamis Human Rights, Documentation Oriental. Their experiences were the highlight of the training making it and Paralegal Action. The Union rooted in the realities on the ground. of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao, a project partner, took charge in developing the training.

14 | MAGAZINE Kidlap PUTTING HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTATION INTO THE LUMAD’S HANDS

After the breakthrough training, Concretizing their zeal on EXPECTED IMPACT five more batches were trained: two the plight of the Lumads through “Dili na gyud mi madali-dali nga batches from Agusan del sur and the training, the trainers poured malapasan sa among katungod Agusan del Norte and three batches their best effort in realizing the (Human rights violations will not from Bukidnon. The succeeding objectives of the training, which be easily committed against us,” batches were trained in the most is to equip the Lumad with the said Bactom Cambusan, a mother accessible venues for the Lumad skills to gather and document of four from Bulunay, Mahan-aw, who came from the hinterlands. information related to indigenous Impasug-on, Bukidnon. The schedule for the remaining peoples’ rights violations in their three batches was put on hold communities and nearby areas. With knowledge gained from due to the heavy militarization The participants came from the training, the participants can of their areas. Nevertheless, some many communities from the now muster enough courage to communities dared to defy and provinces Misamis Oriental, assert their rights and identify and took the risk and attended the Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte document violations. training. and Bukidnon. The Lumads belong KLMs joined a fact-finding “Maayo kay naa ni nga to Higaonon, Manobo, Talaandig, mission co-sponsored by RMP-NMR pagbansay (It’s good that there Tigwahanon, Manobo-Pulangihon, and assisted in the documentation is this discussion),” said Bombay Matigsalog, Ata Manobo and of the Pangantucan Massacre1. Manlomanta, a Matigsalog of Santa Ummayamnon groups. Aside from Local organizations will Felomina, Quezon, Bukidnon on the defying militarization, they trekked provide guidance to the KLMs necessity of the training. mountains and crossed a number operations and this mechanism Datu Dodong Antugon added, of rivers just to attend the training. will ensure the protection of “Karon kabalo na mi sa among The KLMs were selected after indigenous peoples’ rights in areas mga katungod ug kinahanglan nga consultating with Datus and Baes where there is a Katungod Lumad panalipdan (Now we know what (Lumad community leaders) and Monitor. our rights are and what we need to facilitated by the Kalumbay Lumad protect).” Regional Organization, a project Their remarks have affirmed partner . the objectives of the training. The main objective had been to equip the KLMs with knowledge on Basic Human Rights, Documentation and Paralegal Action. The Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao, a project partner, took charge in developing the training. 11 Five Five LumadLumad werewere reportedlyreportedly shotshot byby elementselements ofof thethe 3rd3rd CompanyCompany ofof thethe 1st1st SpecialSpecial ForcesForces BatallionBatallion ofof thethe PhilippinePhilippine ArmyArmy underunder thethe 4th4th InfantryInfantry DivisionDivision inin Pangantucan,Pangantucan, BukidnonBukidnon MAGAZINE | 15 Kidlap RESEARCH ABSTRACTS FROM PAGE 13 3

New People’s Army (NPA). This situation was an echo of the killing of a leader in Bukidnon by a The Psycho-social Effects paramilitary group and the consequent evacuation of Militarization and Protracted of his community had occurred in Bukidnon in 2012. Over the years, the killing of leaders of indigenous Armed Conflict on Women organizations have been reported by human rights and Girls in Communities groups, the perpetrators always these paramilitaries of Indigenous Peoples on the who the victims seemed to know personally. This study looks at how these armed groups Balatukan (Misamis Oriental) came to be in selected areas in Mindanao. The and Kitanglad (Bukidnon) groups are specifically those that have been identified by the communities as active in military Mountain Ranges operations, directly or indirectly employed by the state. The study’s research questions are: 1.) When RESEARCHER LINA SAGARAL-REYES did these armed groups start operating in the communities? 2.) Who are their usual victims? 3.) Abstract What are their stated reasons for their actions? A historical approach will be employed in doing the research using the life story methodology, THE STUDY SEEKS to find out the short-term and focusing on the elders’ experience living in a conflict long-term effects/impact of human rights and area. The stories will then be compared, looking for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations on patterns and similarities of their experiences. Reports the individual and collective lives of women and on previous Human Rights Violations will be used as girls, specifically on their emotional well-being secondary data and will be processed quantitatively. and mental health. It will determine how the

16 | MAGAZINE Kidlap female lumad (indigenous peoples/IP) respond to repeated traumatic experiences of armed clashes 4 and subsequent evacuations in recent memory, as well as the violations of HR and IHL in these milieus. The study will include documenting the responses of individuals, families, communities and local Study on the impact of laws governments units to gender-based mental health and relevant national policies needs. It will also delve into cultural/indigenous on extractive industries rituals, ethno-interventions of trauma healing that encourage and build resistance, resilience and post- in selected areas of Mindanao trauma growth in these milieus. There is scarce research on the impact of armed conflict on the psycho-social functioning of women RESEARCHER in Mindanao (Dwyer and Guiam, 2013); much less ATTY. JARLEY SULAY-TRUGILLO among the marginalized lumad communities, which in the past 40 years have been caught in the crossfire between the military and the nationalist freedom Abstract fighters. In some instances, the lumad themselves have become frontline defenders of their homelands. The first phase of the project involves a two- tier survey/assessment questionnaire on trauma THE STUDY LOOKS at the different laws and policies symptoms/syndromes among primary information -- such as but not limited to the Mining Act, the sources and focus group discussions in situ. Indigenous Peoples Rights’ Act, the National The second phase are in-depth interviews with Integrated Protected Areas System, and others other key Informants/stakeholders (women leaders, pertinent to indigenous communities -- in general traditional healers/baylan, barangay health workers, and their interplay with each other. It reviews the municipal doctors, psychologists, social workers and loopholes that can be found in them, and the first responders, disaster risk and reduction team recommendations on how to consolidate / improve members, staff at the National Commission on IPs, the laws based on experiences from the ground. peace and order councils). A Free and Prior Informed While the majority of the research will be Consent (FPIC) process, a (p)review of related a review of the laws, field research will also be literature and analysis, processing of the gathered done to get the sentiments from the indigenous data will also be essential parts of the research. communities who are directly affected by the laws.

MAGAZINEMAGAZINE | 17 KidlapKidlap 5 Schizoid Praxis of the Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in Two Mindanao Ethnoscapes 6

RESEARCHER ANTONIO MONTALVAN III, PHD The effects of logging and the current situation of the Lumad Abstract communities in the headwaters WHAT ARE THE TENSIONS in the practice of the Free of the River Prior and Informed Consent? What is a cultural FPIC and what is the FPIC of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)? What has brought about the bifurcation? If the NCIP is “the primary RESEARCHER GRACE CANTAL ALBASIN government agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies, plans and Abstract programs to promote and protect the rights and well-being of Indigenous Cultural Communities/ Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs)” in the Philippines, IN THE 80S, the Higaonon communities in Agusan why the heterogeneity of the FPIC? Does the IPRA del Norte declared a tribal war against the Nasipit law itself accommodate cultural FPICs? If not, has Lumber Company and its sister company, the it unwittingly brought it to existence? Is there Anakan Lumber Company. This resulted to the now a paradox of two competing assertions of death of Higaonon leader Datu Mankalasi. His son principle and law, thus bringing about an aporia, an took up his battlecry together with several other irresolvable antinomy? Is the praxis of the cultural Higaonon datus in their resistance against the FPIC seen as a counter-modality to the NCIP FPIC and company. Despite their losses, they were victorious hence a form of resistance to government? Or is it when NALCO finally pulled out from their ancestral simply a simulacrum of the other? Is it motivated by domain. This was one of the very few victorious an anxiety that cultural folkways are inassimilable stories against logging, which was at its height in government praxis? Conversely, is the NCIP- in the 70s and 80s in Northern and North-Eastern sanctioned FPIC an illustration of what Renato Mindanao. This victory, however, is slowly eroding Rosaldo calls the imperialist nostalgia, a mourning of with the remaining logging concessions gradually the passing of what we ourselves have transformed eating up the staunchly defended forests of the or are transforming? indigenous peoples. The problem of denuded These are the questions of the study that shall mountains only resurfaced when natural disasters focus on two localities of indigenous communities: worsened and badly hit Northern Mindanao. Kalugmanan in , Bukidnon and a This study aims to present the current hinterland barangay in Opol, Misamis Oriental. The environmental situation of the areas that had study will collect data from resource persons by way been logged in the decades past. This is to look of interviews and focus group discussions during at possible scenarios of worsened environmental the course of fieldwork. conditions, and its effects on the traditions of indigenous communities. The area it seeks to cover is the headwaters of the Cagayan de Oro river which claimed more than a thousand lives when it flooded in 2011 due to a mere Tropical Storm. The study specifically aims to answer the questions: 1.) What is the current forest cover? What was its rate of deforestation in the past? 2.) What has become of the logged area -- environmentally, socially, politically? 3.) What had been the effects of the massive logging in the past on the culture and traditions of the indigenous peoples living in the areas where the concessions were operating? 1818 | | MAGAZINEMAGAZINE KidlapKidlap campaign on combating structural discrimination, 7 human rights violations and impunity. On Megadams Specifically, it aims to: 1.) explain the policy of mining liberalization in the Philippines 2.) describe RESEARCHER LSM activities in Lumad areas in Mindanao (with GLENIS TERESA C. BALANGUE focus on Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Agusan del Sur, and Agusan del Norte; 3.) articulate the rights Abstract of the IP according to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); 4.) show THERE IS INCREASING aggressive ‘development’ the impact of LSM on the promotion of UNDRIP ; in Mindanao, including the construction of 5.) explain the impact of LSM on Lumad access to mega-dams. The government is pushing for the land and resource 6.) analyze the impact of LSM implementation of energy projects, such as the on the environment, agriculture, forest-based Pulangi V Hydro-Electric Power Plant (HEP) in activities, fisheries, and artisanal mining of Lumad Bukidnon, which is expected to generate 300 communities; and 7.) analyze the impact of LSM on megawatts (MW) of power in Mindanao. socio-cultural practices. Areas targeted however are part of the ancestral Data shall be gathered through Desk Research, domain of the indigenous peoples (IP) of Mindanao, Key Informant Interviews, and Focus Group collectively called Lumad. The 3,300-hectare Discussions. Pulangi V HEP threatens the existence of Manobo communities including farmer settlers and fisherfolk 9 in the 22 barangays (villages) in seven municipalities of Bukidnon and Cotabato provinces, which the On Corporate Plantations energy project is seen to submerge under water. in Mindanao The construction of large dams, otherwise called megadams, whether for power or irrigation, RESEARCHER as in the cases of Pantabangan, Binga and San MA. JENNIFER HAYGOOD-GUSTE Roque dams, has led to physical displacement and economic dislocation of IPs. It has also subjected Abstract them to greater forms of structural discrimination. The over-all objective of the study is THE RESEARCH AIMS to answer the question: What determine how the construction of megadams, is the impact of the renewed proliferation of particularly Pulangi V HEP, contributes to structural corporate plantations in Mindanao (oil palm, rubber discrimination of IPs and violation of their human and agrofuels) on the rights of the Lumad? rights in order to provide for protection and Its general objective is to determine the enhanced capacities of IPs against structural violations that may be committed by corporate discrimination and rights violations. Data shall be plantations in Mindanao of the rights of the gathered through Desk Research, Key Informant indigenous peoples (IP) as stipulated in the UN Interviews, and Focus Group Discussions. Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Specifically, it aims to: 1.) describe the activities and processes in the establishment of 8 corporate plantations in Mindanao (with focus on Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Agusan del Sur, and On Large Scale Mining Agusan del Norte); 2.) document the violations of in Mindanao the UNDRIP principles in the process of establishing corporate plantations; 3.) document the impact of corporate plantations on existing socio-economic, RESEARCHER AUDREY DE JESUS political and cultural structures and practices of Abstract the Lumad communities; 4.) explain the impact of corporate plantations on Lumad access to land and THE RESEARCH AIMS to answer the problem: What resource, livelihood and decent incomes; and 5.) are the impacts of large-scale mining (LSM) on analyze the impact of corporate on the Lumad’s the rights of indigenous people (IP) in Mindanao, environment and other sources of livelihood. collectively called Lumad? The general objective Data shall be gathered through Desk Research, of the research is to analyze the impacts of LSM Key Informant Interviews, and Focus Group on the rights of the Lumad in order to support the Discussions. MAGAZINE | 19 Kidlap GET TO KNOW THE RESEARCH FELLOWS OF THE MINDANAO INTERFAITH INSTITUTE ON LUMAD STUDIES

ARNOLD P. ALAMON completed his graduate and GRACE C. ALBASIN is the editor in chief of Sun.Star undergraduate degrees in Sociology at the University Cagayan de Oro. She used to write for the Philippine of the Philippines -Diliman where he also taught for Daily Inquirer before she took her masters in Media several years. He is a member of CONTEND or the Studies at The New School in New York. She had also Congress of Teachers and Educators for Nationalism been a fellow of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance. and Democracy where he co-edited a number of the progressive organization’s publications on the MARY LOUISE G. DUMAS worked as a journalist after Philippine educational system, the history of the radical obtaining a degree in Development Communication student movement in UP, among others. He now from Xavier University in Northern Mindanao. She then teaches Sociology at the Mindanao State University engaged for some years with Lumad communities - Iligan Institute of Technology and maintains a twice- when she joined the Ethnic Groups Development weekly column for Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. Resource Center. She presently serves as the Executive Director of the Mindanao Interfaith Institute on Lumad GLENIS TERESA C. BALANGUE is Senior Researcher Studies. She holds an MA in Media, Peace and Conflict of IBON Foundation. She is IBON’s specialist in Studies from the University for Peace in Costa Rica. mining, health and power. She is the lead researcher and writer of several major researches: Implications MARIA JENNIFER HAYGOOD-GUSTE is Senior of Large-scale Mining on Food Security (2014) and Researcher at IBON Foundation. She has been with Privatization and the Right to Health (2014) with IBON since 1994. She currently specializes on Third World Health Aid, Climate and Food for the Philippine Agriculture and Agrarian Reform. She was Asia-Pacific Research Network (2012), Poverty and main researcher for IBON’s various books on Crisis in Eastern Visayas (2010), and A Study on the Globalization of Philippine Mining, WTO in Philippine Socioeconomic Impacts of the Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Agriculture, and Philippine Financial System, and led Mining Project on the Residents of Rapu-Rapu, Albay IBON’s field researches on various socio-political and Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon (2007). She also writes issues. Before working with IBON, Jennifer also did for IBON’s flagship publication IBON Facts and volunteer work for indigenous peoples in the Figures. She joined IBON in 2004 after finishing her Philippines through Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay B.A. Political Science degree at the University of the sa Katutubo (TABAK or Network of Advocates for IP Philippines Diliman. Rights), Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP or Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines), the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP); with farmers and fisherfolks in Southern Tagalog and helped produce the region’s major crop and fisheries studies; and, likewise did volunteer work at Wantok Environment Center which assists Ni Vanuatus in conserving their environment and culture in Vanuatu.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

20 | MAGAZINE Kidlap HIGALA SA MGA LUMAD REFLECTIONS OF A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER

BY CLARIN C. PASCO

“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 82:3-4. The message here is really very 99% of our population despite marginalizedgroups in the country. simple: help those in need. But the luxuries I see around me in the We hear and see stories and news who are these people in need? urban centers) by devoting my about the life-and-death struggles I have spent the first three intellect, energy and courage to of the Lumads against intrusion years of my high school life in a build a better society devoid of of extractive and destructive sectarian school. I often hear our corruption, inequality and social industries in their ancestral teachers say that we should help injustice. territories. They were dispossessed the needy to be a real follower It was also at that time that I of their land, despised for their of Jesus Christ. But to make the learned of the Rural Missionaries culture, abused, and murdered. story short, I stepped out from of the Philippines (RMP). Although They have been discriminated and that school, still without entirely then, their work was a bit vague subjected to violence and other knowing who - and perhaps more to me, my idea of them similar forms of human rights violations importantly, how - to help. to other congregations who do while they were defending their In my college years, I got a charity works (that is, give one or ancestral domains, right to a self- picture of who are those needing two kilos of rice to poor families or determined development and my helping hand. It was at that cooking lugaw every third Sunday cultural practices. time when I was introduced to a of the month for street children) Indigenous communities from student organization that taught while preaching the word of God. different regions of Mindanao me to be vigilant and be vocal Now, after so many years, I are calling for support in their against issues of corruption and finally got the chance to work in fight to defend their ancestral plunder, against human rights a project under RMP -- a project land from military encroachment violations, the tyranny and social for the Lumad communities in the and harassment. In the recent injustice causing poverty, hunger provinces around me. Here I finally months, throughout the region, and indecent living conditions understood the biblical passage Lumad families have traveled for of the people. The organization better -- not just understood in hours and even days to leave their taught me, little by little, how fact, but started to live it. ancestral territories to make a to open up to the poor (which, The Lumads are political statement and expose the astoundingly composes almost considered the most historically CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

MAGAZINE | 21 Kidlap KATUNGOD LUMAD ALERT DEMAND Five Manobos massacred JUSTICE in Pangantucan, Bukidnon

Five civilians from the Manobo community of Barangay Mendis, Pangantucan, NOW! Bukidnon, were reportedly massacred by members of the 3rd Company of the EXPRESS YOUR CONCERN Special Forces Batallion under Col. Nasser Lidasan after an armed encounter to the Philippine between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People’s Army (NPA) Government by writing to: on August 18, 2015.

According to a 15 year old boy who survived, the military came to their farm- H.E. BENIGNO S. AQUINO III house shortly after they heard gunfires. At that time, he, his 70-year old father, President of the his brother, nephew, and two neighbors were busy preparing a meal. They Republic of the Philippines were ordered to come out and form a line. When the military started shooting Malacanang Palace JP Laurel Sr. San Miguel, Manila them one by one, the boy ran back to the center of their village. Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968 Almost immediately, Colonel Lidasan claimed that they had killed five mem- E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected] bers of the NPA. However, after a fact-finding mission found out that those

killed were civilians, the military allegedly changed their statement and said HON. LEILA M. DE LIMA that the NPA killed the five. Secretary, Department of Justice DOJ Main Building Witnesses came up, claiming that on the morning of August 18, before the Padre Faura Street, Manila armed encounter happened, military men who pretended to be members of Tel: 523-8481 (loc. 211/214 ), the NPA came to them and asked to be guided to their camp in the mountains. 521-1908 Fax: 524-5936 The residents of Mendis claimed that it had been a long time that they have Email: [email protected] not seen NPAs in their village and that they did not know of any camp in the mountain. However, they were forced to guide, and fearing harm, they agreed. RET. LT. GEN. VOLTAIRE T. GAZMIN (Next to farming, their source of income is working as guides for mountain Secretary, Dept. of Nat’l Defense climbers. So they knew the paths around the mountain.) Room 301 DND Building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo, The military to this day has encamped in the center of Barangay Mendis, oc- E. de los Santos Avenue, cupying the barangay hall. The residents are said to be forbidden to go to Quezon City their farms without permission from the military. They are ordered to sign a Voice:+63(2) 911-6193 logbook whenever they need to go to their farms and they need to be back Fax:+63(2) 911-6213 in their community before dark. Many of the families have opted not to go to HON. JOSE LUIS MARTIN GASCON their farms as these were far and the time allotted to them was very short. Chairperson In addition to the economic limitation, this Manobo community was not able Commission On Human Rights SAAC Building, to hold their rituals in the mountain, where their sacred areas are. And the bod- Commonwealth Avenue ies were immediately taken by the military which did not allow the families to UP Complex, Diliman Quezon City bury them according to the tribe’s ritual. 928-5655, 926-6188 Telefax: 929-0102 According to International Humanitarian Law, civilians are to be protected and

should not be targeted in situations of armed conflict. Public structures and SEN. AQUILINO PIMENTEL III spaces meant for civilians should not be occupied by any of the armed groups, Chair, Justice and Human Rights and the community’s economic, social and cultural rights should remain re- Committee, Philippine Senate spected. However, these were not observed in the case of Pangantucan. Rm. 512 GSIS Bldg., Financial Center, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City We call out to all concerned individuals and organizations to join the families Trunk Lines: (632) 552-6601 of the victims in their demand for justice. We urge you to send a letter to the to 70 loc. 5548 Commission on Human Rights, the National Commission on Indigenous Peo- Direct Lines: (632) 822-9758 ples, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process to peti- Fax No.: (632) 822-9759 tion for an in-depth and honest inquiry on the massacre, and prosecute those Email: kokopimenteloffice@yahoo. responsible for the crime. com

22 | MAGAZINE Kidlap

REP. GUILLERMO ROMARATE JR. Chair, Human Rights Committee House of Representatives Quezon City Rm. RVM-426 Phone: (632) 931-5001; local 7051, 9518974

LEONOR T. ORALDE-QUINTAYO Chair, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples 2/F N. dela Merced Bldg. cor. West & Quezon Ave., Quezon City Tel: 373-9942 ‘HIGALA SA MGA LUMAD’ (Friends of the Lumad) HON. JOSE MA. ZUBIRI, JR. Network, is a support group composed of Governor Province of Bukidnon a broad range of interfaith personalities Provincial Capitol, Malaybalay City Tel.: (088) 221-2523; / representatives of organizations (088) 813-3845 synergizing relevant capacities and resources- legal services, medical and HON. MANOLITO G. GRACES psychosocial support, sanctuaries, research Mayor, Municipality of Pangantucan and advocacy support, etcetera - for Municipal Hall, Pangantucan, Bukidnon Lumad communities and Lumad victims

Copy furnish your letters to of violence and other forms of human [email protected] rights violations. ‘Higala’ also serves as an informal monitoring network for Lumad Contact us at: human rights.

HIGALA SA LUMAD NETWORK ‘Higala’ has been established with the Room 01, Kalinaw Lanao Center for Interfaith Resources support of the European Union. 0016 Bougainvilla Puti, Villaverde 9200 Iligan City, Philippines T/F: +63 (63) 223 5179 E: [email protected]

MAGAZINE | 23 Kidlap The first training I did was for a group from a Higaonon community in Misamis Oriental. When I entered the function room, they greeted me “Madagway masolom (good morning).” I responded “Maayong buntag pod (Good morning too – in Bisaya). Tawaga lang ko sa akong ngalan not mam (Just call me by my name, not maam).” TRAINING LUMAD COMMUNITIES TO COLLECTIVELY PREPARE VS. ATTACKS BY CLARIN C. PASCO

THE HIGAONON LADY smiled and practical and urgent security and speaker in the remaining seven train- said “Basta maka lipstick, mam na protection requirements of Lumad ings. And thanks to that Higaonon para sa akoa (Anyone wearing a victims of human rights violations, lady who greeted me that morning lipstick is ‘maam’ for me.” And every- including their families, if necessary. that was to be my test of fire, I have body, including me, was laughing. I The proceeds of the cooperative conquered my apprehensions. had expected butterflies in my stom- will be used to respond to the legal, During the entire duration of ach during my first presentation but medical, psychosocial and sanctuary the training, I saw in their eyes the the light and happy atmosphere needs of a leader or member of the happiness that at last a project like reassured me. community experiencing violence this will be implemented in their Last September 2014, a month or criminalization because of their community. Sometimes, I could see before I got my certificate of com- effort to defend their people from their difficulties in digesting the pletion for my Professional Educa- aggressive industrialization and technical and financial terms regard- tion, I got a call from a friend work- encroachment of their ancestral ing a cooperative since some par- ing in the Rural Missionaries in the domains. This sounds romantic and ticipants had very low literacy skills, Philippines. He offered me to work very ideal. but the eagerness to listen and learn on a project under the organization. Before the establishment of the were reflected in the their faces and I was hesitant at first since my hus- cooperative, I will have to give them made up for what they lacked. In the band and I have already mapped out first a training on cooperative devel- trainings, we discuss not only about my so-called career plan. However, opment to capacitate them in start- cooperative but we also their situa- after my friend discussed to me the ing up and managing their respec- tion in their communities. Everybody necessity of the project and its main tive cooperatives. Here lies the catch had a common story - they were objective, I eventually agreed. for me. For me, giving a training is exploited and had been - or known Our project on ‘Healing the not an easy task – much more to Lu- - victims of human rights violations. Hurt’ is about unleashing the power mad communities whose language This was an opportunity for them to of interfaith action to combat dis- I could not speak. I was afraid that pursue their struggles without wor- crimination, human rights violations I could not deliver the training ef- rying their funds. and impunity against the Lumads of fectively since public speaking never I knew that they had walked Mindanao. As a Project Officer, one seemed to be my cup of tea. For the miles for many hours, and some even of my responsibilities is to establish first 28 years of my life, I had avoided days, just to attend the training and the Community-Based Emergency public speaking wherever possible. it’s so fulfilling to hear from them Fund for Lumad in nine clustered So I looked for the best alterna- in the end that their hardships had communities. In other words, I am tive. The first two trainings last July been worth it. expected to set up cooperatives in was given by Wildon Barros of the The next trainings were then these communities. Mindanao Farmers Resource Center light and relaxed for me. I wore no The main purpose of the and I was only the facilitator. But it lipstick anymore but they still called cooperative is to provide for the was agreed that I will be the main me Maam.

24 | MAGAZINE Kidlap ‘HIGALA’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

human rights violations they have medical and psychosocial support, frightened, coerced or killed. been experiencing. Unfortunately, sanctuaries, research and advocacy Together with them, we most academics, journalists, and support, etcetera -- for Lumad envision a future where our filmmakers do not take the time communities and Lumad victims indigenous brothers and sisters to hear what these people have to of violence and other forms of are freed from discrimination, say. They summarize their stories human rights violations. ‘Higala’ where they can freely move in and often miss the point of what will also serve as an informal their ancestral land and enjoy its the Lumad are trying to say. indigenous peoples’ human rights fruits, where their right to a self- The RMP sub-regional office monitoring network-alerting determined development and in Northern Mindanao (or RMP- the public of any human rights practice of cultural traditions are NMR) decided to help in the efforts emergency --that can play a strong respected. to make indigenous voices be protective role for a Lumad leader We are now in what Filipino heard. On April 22, 2015, the core or community member, or even for call the “Ber” Months and the group of ‘Higala sa mga Lumad’ an entire community under attack. countdown to Christmas is already [Friends of the Lumads] or ‘Higala’ We believe that if the starting. The Season for charity is was established through the RMP- indigenous communitie - support already kicking in, so to speak. We NMR-led project, Healing the Hurt. by a network of advocates --would invite -- and perhaps challenge - ‘Higala’ is a support group not persevere in their struggle to the faith communities that have composed of a broad range own their rights, the Lumad of been declaring their love for God of interfaith personalities/ Mindanao will be subjected to a as the core of their lives to go to a representatives of organizations repeated cycle of oppression and Lumad community and reach out synergizing relevant capacities exploitation. They will remain to them personally, to be a Higala and resources -- like legal services, as they are -- easily intimidated, sa mga Lumad!

‘GET TO KNOW’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 ANTONIO J. MONTALVAN II, PHD is an Jennifer finished her undergraduate degree of anthropologist and ethnohistorian who has curated Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Development Studies at the different inter-cultural museums in Mindanao. Dr. University of the Philippines, Manila. Montalvan teaches at the History Department of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan and has a AUDREY DE JESUS has been a researcher at IBON monthly column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Foundation since 2012. She was a member of the He is a Ford Foundation scholar for the doctorate research teams for some of IBON’s major researches: in anthropology on Mindanao Studies with the Viability of Organic Farming in the Philippines (2014), Mindanao Anthropology Consortium. People’s Disaster Response to Super Typhoon Haiyan in Eastern Visayas (2014), Implications of Large-scale LINA SAGARAL-REYES is a freelance writer and an Mining on Food Security (2014), and Privatization award-winning poet. She took courses in Journalism and the Right to Health (2014). She graduated with and Creative Writing in Silliman University between 1978 a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Asian American Studies and 1983. She researched on the life stories of creative and a minor in Women Studies at the University of women in villages for the Writers Involved in Creative California, Los Angeles. Cultural Alternatives (WICCA). Among her awards are the Palanca 1st prize in 1987 for (Instead of a Will These) JARLEY SULAY-TRUGILLO is a lawyer, and the For All the Loved Ones, with Merlinda C. Bobis, and 3rd, current director of the Xavier University Center for 1990, for Istorya, with Ma. Luisa B. Aguilar-Carino and Legal Assistance. Prior to this, she worked as a legal Jose Neil Garcia. Her works include Honing Weapons, consultant of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Lunhaw Book, 1987 and Storya, Babaylan Women’s Center / Kasama sa Kalikasan and handled cases Publishing Collective, Institute of Women’s Studies, St. against mining. Atty. Sulay-Trugillo also teaches at Scholastica’s College, 1991. As a journalist, she used to Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan. She is a member write articles for periodicals such as the Philippine Daily of the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao. Inquirer and the Mindanao Gold Star Daily.

MAGAZINE | 25 Kidlap PROJECT PARTNERS

THE RURAL MISSIONARIES OF THE PHILIPPINES OR RMP Is a national organization, inter-diocesan and inter-congregational in character, of men and women religious, priests and lay people. We live and work with the rural poor. Founded by the Association of Major Women Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMWRSP) in 1969, RMP members commit themselves to support the Filipino peasantry’s quest for social justice, freedom, and genuine agrarian reform.

KALUMBAY-NORTHERN MINDANAO REGION (KALUMBAY-NMR) INC Is a regional alliance of 13 Lumad organizations in Northern and Northeastern Mindanao. It works for the defense of ancestral lands, rights and culture through organizing, education and advocacy campaigns.

IBON FOUNDATION is a non-stock non-profit development organization, serving the Filipino people through research and education since 1978. IBON seeks to promote an understanding of socioeconomics that serves the interests and aspirations of the Filipino people.

UNION OF PEOPLE’S LAWYERS IN MINDANAO (UPLM), INC Is a mass organization of lawyers as well as legal workers and law students in Mindanao committed to the promotion and defense of human rights, nationalism, democracy, peace, justice and truth.

COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH SERVICES-NORTHERN MINDANAO REGION (CBHS- NMR), INC is a network of health professionals and community health workers pushing the advancement of primary health care in Northern Mindanao communities long before the Alma Alta Declaration in 1977.

PROJECT ASSOCIATES

MADAGWAYBABAEYON INC is a coalition of indigenous women's organizations in Northern Mindanao, Philippines asserting our right to ancestral lands, self-determination and indigenous culture.

MORO-CHRISTIAN PEOPLES’ ALLIANCE-LANAO INC is an interfaith organization working for a peace-based on justice in the Moroland and in Mindanao.

SAMAHAN NG MGA LINGKOD NA ARTISTA SA MINDANAO (SALAMIN) INC is an aggrupation of grassroots cultural artists advocating for a mass culture and human rights.

KODAO PRODUCTIONS INC is an award-winning multimedia production outfit producing video documentaries on burning social issues in the Philippines such as environmental destruction, human rights, civil liberties, and many more. They also produce broadcasts for national radio networks and community radio stations throughout the country.

26 | MAGAZINE Kidlap and monitoring, mainly through support to relevant civil society organisations, human rights defenders and victims of repression and abuse. The EIDHR represents a key added-value to the EU policy toolbox, thanks to its flexibility, its ability to provide assistance independently of the consent of the governments and public authorities of the third countries concerned, as well as its mixing of advocacy and field operations. Its interventions are being implemented under the EIDHR Multi-annual Indicative Programme 2014-2017 and its consecutive annual and bi-annual actions plans, and fit within: About the European Instrument • the Human Rights Country for Democracy and Human Rights Strategies elaborated by EU Delegations, which give useful orientations for the implementation What is EIDHR? What does it cover? of the EIDHR assistance at country The European Instrument for The key objectives of the level; Democracy and Human Rights EIDHR are: • the various EU Guidelines on (EIDHR) is the concrete expression • supporting, developing and human rights; of the EU commitment to support consolidating democracy in • the “Tool-Box: a Rights-Based and promote democracy and third countries, by enhancing Approach, encompassing all human rights in third countries. participatory and representative Human Rights for EU development Following up on the 2007-2013 democracy, strengthening the cooperation” and its related EIDHR, it has been established in overall democratic cycle, in Conclusions adopted by the Council 2014 to contribute to achieving particular by reinforcing an active on 19 May 2014; the EU’s policies relating to human role for civil society within this • the coordination and consultation rights and democracy in non-EU cycle, and the rule of law, and mechanisms taking place with countries, including the objectives improving the reliability of electoral major stakeholders (OHCHR and outlined in the Strategic Framework processes, in particular by means of other UN family organisations, CSO on Human Rights and Democracy EU Electoral Observation Missions; active in the area of human rights adopted by the Council on 25 June and their networks). 2012 and its new Action Plan for • enhancing respect for and In the Philippines, more than 2015-2019. observance of human rights 30 projects have been implemented It is mainly channelled through and fundamental freedoms, as that reflect the wide range of issues civil society organisations whose proclaimed in the UN Universal confronting Philippine society projects are selected following Declaration of Human Rights and such as violations of political and calls for proposals (Delegations other international and regional economic rights of vulnerable or Headquarters). The EIDHR is human rights instruments, and groups, gender discrimination, complementary to the other EU strengthening their protection, violence against children and external assistance instruments. promotion, implementation electoral monitoring.

For more information, please visit the EIDHR website at http://www.eidhr.eu and the EU Delegation website at http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/philippines