by Mila Singson
At present, Innabuyog and the Cordillera indigenous women are in a hot pot of anti-people government programs. Development aggression, plunder and militarisation threaten to remove the Cordillera indigenous people from their beloved land.
Development aggression in the form of large scale mining, large energy infrastructure projects, land conversion, forestry programs cover the Cordillera. The Philippine government actively advertise the country’s resources to foreign investors. The government displays the country’s resources open for plunder. It implements laws, policies and programs for development, such as mining, energy projects and plantations in ancestral lands that do not correspond to the needs and situations of the indigenous communities.
Operations of large-scale mining by local and transnational corporations are the biggest threat to the right to ancestral land and self-determination of indigenous peoples. The Mining Act of 1995 institutionalised and legalised mining plunder by allowing 100% foreign ownership of mineral lands. For over a decade, the Mining Act has justified the devastation of ancestral lands and the pillage of the country’s national patrimony. Compounding the violation of indigenous peoples’ rights to land is the use of military, paramilitary, police force, and other state-sanctioned armed groups to quell resistance to these projects.
The government actively peddled the country’s mineral resources in mining road shows around the world to attract foreign investment—heedless of the turmoil caused by mining in affected communities. Taken from government data, there exist at least 184 approved mining applications in areas occupied by indigenous peoples covering an estimated 595, 058.11 hectares of ancestral lands in 28 provinces.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino released Executive Order 79 in July 2012 that pertained to reforms in the mining sector. Though EO 79 is but a reaffirmation of the liberalised mining industry, what it accomplished is to buttress existing mining laws and policies. Rooted in the Regalian Doctrine and the Mining Act of 1995, the national government placed itself in charge of appropriating mineral lands for mining development, undermining indigenous peoples’ rights to ancestral territories.
The Private Public Partnership also prioritised the privatisation of the energy industry. The construction of energy projects such as hydroelectric dams, geothermal power plants, and coal plants dotted the country. There are at least 27 hydro-electric dams built, in construction and in the pipelines today that will inundate indigenous communities all over the country. One of the largest is the Pulangi Dam that straddles Bukidnon, Agusan, and North Cotabato that is aimed to provide 300 megawatts of electricity in Mindanao. Now on its fifth stage of construction, it will affect 23 villages including the vast tracts of Lumad and Moro ancestral territories.
Kalinga in the Cordillera in Northern Luzon is also affected by $300 million Chevron Corporation geothermal project. In 2010, the giant energy company announced its intention to dig up several exploratory wells in the ancestral lands of the Kalinga people in Lubuagan Pasil and Tinglayan, by 2011; the Philippine government announced its support on the operations, despite the indigenous peoples’ rejection of the destructive project.
Massive land-grabbing in the form of plantations, economic zones, and Eco-tourism projects are also rampant and widespread. In Northern Mindanao, for example, Higaonon peoples are being ejected in their farmlands to give way for a 20,000 hectare palm oil plantation owned by the A. Brown Company. In Aurora, in the eastern Luzon, the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Free Port Authority will take over 13,000 hectares of land, discounting the vast areas of fishing grounds and beaches. It will displace thousands of peasants and Dumagat people in its construction, and bear away their sources of livelihood.
These projects cause environmental destruction, physical and livelihood displacement and aggression that violate the rights of the indigenous people to their ancestral domain. It worsens the poverty and hunger situation of the indigenous people. These development aggressions are directly grabbing the ancestral land of indigenous people.
On the other hand, development aggression also threatens the indigenous peoples’ knowledge and practices. Along with development aggression comes Western values and cultures that slowly overtake the existing indigenous culture. Displacement of indigenous people from their ancestral land also threatens the preservation of culture.
The development projects in ancestral territories are attended by heavy militarisation that makes the communities more vulnerable to human rights abuses. It claims that the on-going internal conflict is demonising the local indigenous people, justifying the State’s relentless violence. In the recent years, the State openly promotes militarisation to have a “peaceful” operation for the foreign investors. Militarisation has accompanied the implementation of destructive mining, logging, and energy projects because of the people’s opposition to them. Army troops are regularly deployed in the territories of the Agtas, Aetas, Mangyans, Lumads, and Igorots. Military, paramilitary, police forces, and other state-sanctioned armed groups plague the indigenous communities.
The militarisation in the countryside has brought more harm than good. There is a constant harassment of mass leaders in the community. The counter-insurgency program of the president, the Oplan Bayanihan, is deceitful program. Oplan Bayanihan uses Civil-Military Operations in the community to cover up human rights violations. Since its implementation in 2010, there have been 37 indigenous people victims of extra-judicial killings, 5 of which are children. Last year, Juvy Capion and three of her children were killed in their house by men of the 27th Infantry Battalion. Their bodies were dragged outside for people to see and to coerce people into giving up Juvy’s husband, a Lumad tribal leader who is an ardent organiser against mining projects in their land.
Organisations, mass leaders and common people are victimised by vilification and trumped up charges. Student leaders find themselves with outrageous accusations ranging from catnapping to kidnapping. Women leaders and organisations are not spared. A women’s cooperative in Abra was foreclosed by the military due to accusations of support for the New People’s Army.
In February 2012, Isabel, not her real name, was raped by Capt. Danilo Lalin of the 86th Infantry Brigade. Isabel is raised in mining community where there is a going struggle against destructive mining. She was 16 at that time and about to march for her high school graduation. She came home dishevelled and confused. Her medico-legal stated that her lacerations and the amount of semen coming out from her suggest that she may have been raped by more than one person. Living in a poor condition, her family had high hopes for Isabel. Now, Isabel is suffering from amnesia due to severe stress from the incident.
In the past three months, the AFP subjected the indigenous people of Abra and Sagada to indiscriminate airstrikes. In the morning of June 1, the 503rd Brigade of the AFP conducted airstrikes in Malibcong, Abra. They were said to be chasing the rebel army from an encounter the day before. The two young girls who were out to gather food for their families were nearly hit by the indiscriminate bombing when one of the bombs dropped 10 meters away from them.
The military also poses a daily threat to the community. In most area of the indigenous in the Philippines, the military erected barracks and camps within the community. During operations, some military even stay within the residence of the community people. Children grow fear with the presence of the military. Afraid of being harmed or used as intelligence agents by the army, some of the children refuse to attend school.
What must be done?
Indigenous peoples of the world must unite; resist development aggression and imperialist globalization. We must defend our land, life and resources, and assert our right to self determination and liberation.
If we want to survive as indigenous peoples we have to resist development aggression, imperialist plunder and globalisation and defend our ancestral lands and territories, including our culture, indigenous institutions and traditional knowledge, which is the material base of our existence as a distinct people.
Our Specific Calls:
Repeal the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, revoke Executive Order 79 and support the passage of an alternative mining law in Congress that will provide for the rational management of minerals while upholding the rights of indigenous peoples;
Respect and uphold the issuances of mining moratorium by local government units, consistent with local government autonomy.
Declare a moratorium on large-scale mining nationwide and strictly regulate small scale mining;
Prohibit the involvement of state military and police forces in the implementation and operation of mining projects; stop using military elements as investment defence forces to protect the interest of large-scale extractive industries in the country; and dismantle existing paramilitary groups.
Stop militarisation of indigenous people’s communities and ensure justice and indemnification for the victims of human rights violations including indigenous women and children.
Stop the planned construction of mega dams within ancestral lands such as the Laiban Dam, Pulangi V, Jalaur Dam and Agus Dam.
Hold accountable all corporations that have caused destruction of the environment, rivers, forests and our livelihood. Ensure that these corporations rehabilitate what they have destroyed and compensate those who have lost their sources of livelihood.
Ensure support for vulnerable indigenous communities affected by natural disasters and calamities, which have been aggravated by large-scale and destructive mining and logging operations.
Ensure the effective consultation and participation of Indigenous Peoples in the peace talks between GPH-NDFP and GPH-MILF and create appropriate mechanism for Indigenous Peoples to be able to forward their concerns to the Government of the Philippines, National Democratic Front of the Philippines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front;
Quote from our Tribal Leader and Martyr
“What is the most precious thing to man? Life. If life is threatened, what ought a man to do? Resist! … If we fight, we die honourably. Because we are willing to fight now, our children may live and keep this land; and the land shall become even more precious when nourished by our sweat and blood.”
– Macliing Dulag
