The extractive industry of endless accumulation and accelerated irrational exploitation of nature brings a new form of appropriation of land and territories in the hands of large multinational corporations, in the process robbing communities and peasants of their means of subsistence.

The imposition of mega projects such as mining, oil and gas, has left contaminated water, acid drainage, emissions of greenhouse gases, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and of mangroves, swamps and rivers, and the total destruction of ecosystems. The impacts on human health in affected communities are irreversible.

Death comes not just from their toxic operations but also through repression and violence accompanying extractives resulting in the killings of women and men who have lost their lives in the resistance to stop this destruction brought by mining, oil and gas with the hope of better ways of life for mankind.

Large corporations and governments complicit to the interests of the extractive industry, continue to impose mega projects, social and environmental destruction, with deception, illegal actions, enforcement, repression and criminalization of social movements. Nevertheless, everyday resistance movements strengthen, grow and multiply around the world.

Now is the time to honor hundreds of sisters and brothers of Asia, Africa and America who have given their lives in the struggle for a fairer world, who have been murdered for defending life, the territories and offer pathways of hope. Today we remember the casualties in the fight against the new forms of accumulation and dispossession in the world such as the following heroes:

Ken Saro Wiwa, Nigeria.

Juan Lopez of Guatemala
Raul Castro Bocel, Guatemala
Boror Hilmer, Guatemala
Juan Lopez, Guatemala
Rhilmer Boror, Guatemala
Adolgo Ich Chaman, Guatemala

Acabal Lorenzo, Guatemala

Mariano Abarca, Mexico
Betty Honey, Mexico

Doctor Gerry Ortega, Philippines
Datu Roy Gallego, Philippines

Father Fausto Tentorio, Philippines

Gustavo Marcelo Rivera, El Salvador
Ramiro Rivera Gomez, El Salvador
Dora Alicia Sorto, El Salvador
Juan Francisco Duran Ayala, El Salvador

Today, November 10, International Day of Commemoration of the Heroes, Heroines and Martyrs of the Resistance against the Mining, Oil and Gas, we take a moment to denounce the actions of transnational corporations and demand justice for victims.

We urge governments:
1. Stop repression against defenders of life and the territories. Adhere to international human rights instruments.
2. Stop criminalization of social movements. End laws criminalizing the just demands of the social movement.
3. No more killings of those who defend natural commons. Justice for the crimes committed against them.
4. End collusion between governments and extractive industries.

November 10 2011

Friends of the Earth International – Resistance to Mining, Oil & Gas Program

FOEI-RMOG

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Quezon City

“Nianhi mi aron iduol sa mga hingtungdan nga ahensya sa gobyerno ilabina sa opisina ni Presidente Aquino ang among komon nga agenda isip Katawhang Lumad”  said leader Datu Roldan Babelon, a Menuvo Pulangeyun from Central Mindanao. (We are here to present to the conncerned government agencies especially to the Office of President Aquino our common agenda as Indigenous Peoples.)

They will spend the whole last week of October – in line with the commemoration of the Indigenous Peoples Month – visiting different government agencies, including congress, senate and the office of the president to present their 10 point IP agenda crafted during the State of the Indigenous Peoples Address (SIPA) conference of indigenous peoples leaders in Koronadal City last July in response to President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Their first stop was a meeting with House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Erin Tanada where they asked his support for the passage of an Anti-Racial Discrimination Law; the review of the implementation of the Indigenous Peoples rights Act (IPRA) specially in the areas of Free, Prior Informed Consent (FPIC), the issue of mandatory representation of indigenous peoples in Local Government Uunit councils, and the performance of the IPRA created National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP);  the legal recognition of IP ownership over all natural resources within their ancestral domains; and ensuring budget in line agencies for indigenous peoples concerns.

On Wednesday they will also have a meeting with Congressman Baguilat who is himself an IP and chairs the National Cultural Communities Committee of the House of Representatives. They will also meet with Senator Loren Legarda who chairs the counterpart senate committee for cultural communities on the same day.

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They will hold separate dialogues with Chairperson Rosales of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and Chairperson Pawid of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to present and demand action to cases of discrimination, militarization, recruitment of IP children by rebel groups, FPIC violations leading to development aggression, displacement, killings, violations of indigenous culture and self governance.

The highlight of their lobby actions will be an audience with President Aquino in Malacanang Palace on Friday where they will demand that his administration will work to end the historical injustices against the indigenous peoples that continue to manifest today in the form discrimination in basic services and development opportunities for IPs specially women and children; the endless cycle of violence in ancestral domains brought about by development aggression, militarization and human rights violations; and the disrespect and attacks on indigenous peoples culture, land and resources, self governance and right to self determination.

They will make an immediate demand that President Aquino rescind this approval for the creation of mining militias which would only lead to more violence and killings in ancestral domains like the assassination of Fr. Fausto Tentorio who is a known IP supporter and anti mining advocate.

IP woman Wilma Tero, one of the participants and a Subanen from Midasalip, Zamboanga del Sur hopes to personally convey her community’s call for a moratarium on mining activities to the President.

“Nagahandum ko nga hatagan sa Presidente ug kasulbaran ang problema sa akong mga kaigsoonang Teduray diin ang ilang yutang kabilin gisakop sa kompanya sa logging nga gipanag-iyahan sa mga Consunji” said participant Timuay Rizaldo Anggay, a Teduray from Ampatuan, Maguindao. (I am expecting that the President will provide solution to the problem of my Teduray brothers and sisters which ancestral domain was encroached by a logging company owned by the Consujis.)

The lobby tour will be capped by a remembrance ceremony for all martyred IP leaders and IP rights defenders at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani on Satuday where they will be joined in by memb ers of IP organizations, support groups, and human rights advocates.###

–
Erwin B. Quinones
Community Paralegal
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center
Kasama sa Kalikasan
Friends of the Earth Philippines
(LRC/KsK-FoE Phils)

This month, the Indigenous Peoples month, 2 people were brutally murdered – an IP leader and a committed IP rights advocate. In October 14, Datu Roy Gallego, a chieftain of the Manobo tribe in Surigao del Sur, was shot dead in an ambush.  Datu Gallego was a broadcaster, and a known anti-mining tribal leader.

In October 17, Fr. Fausto Tentorio or Fr. Pops, an Italian priest who worked for the Filipino Indigenous peoples, was shot 10 times, with special bullets meant to explode inside the body to make death a certainty. Fr. Pops’, with his advocacy for the rights and welfare of the Lumads, was also known for this strong stance against mining.

The police and Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan who are looking into the death of Fr. Pops have been quoted as saying that they are looking “at the possibility that members of a local paramilitary group or of a private army employed by mining companies were behind the killing.” (PDI, 10/21/11,p.17)

Indeed, mining is slowly but surely being made synonymous to violence.  If before, the discussion on mining is about the death of biodiversity, rivers and seas, these days, mining is inextricably being linked to death of people who oppose it.  The most active and most vocal against mining are the indigenous peoples, as it is their communities who are being mined out, ravaged for profit. And it is their communities who are divided, displaced, further impoverished by the loss of their livelihood, and made hungrier by the loss of their sources of food.

Today, two strong voices – of a Lumad and for the Lumad – have been silenced forever.

Yet, the President wanted more protection for the mining companies.

This month, National IP month, few days before the murders, approval from President Aquino came of the military proposal to allow mining corporations to form and fund militias for their protection.

There are two ways we can look at this pronouncement by the President. One way is that, clearly, he is misinformed of what is happening on the ground. President Aquino may not have been informed of the long list of human rights violations suffered by the upland and other rural poor communities under the hands of militias – those who protect big businesses like logging and mining; as well as politicians who also benefit from these businesses.

The other way to look at it is that the President has made a clear stand – for mining and against those who oppose it.

Unfortunately, however one wants to look at it, the effect is the same – the indigenous peoples, like Datu Gallego, are penalized, militarized, threatened, and yes, even killed for defending their rights to their territories, to their lives. And those who support their cause, like Fr. Pops, share the same tragic fate. On the other hand, mining companies, which pose grave threats to the environment, the livelihoods of the peoples, the integrity of the communities, and to the lives of those who defend these, are given protection by the Aquino government.

This should not be allowed to happen. Not anymore.

In celebration of the National Indigenous Peoples Month, and in mourning of the death of Datu Gallego and Fr. Pops, we urgently call on President Aquino –

To end state impunity under his administration;

To bring justice to the deaths of Fr. Pops and Datu Gallego;

To withdraw his approval of forming and funding militia for the protection of mining companies;

To make mining companies accountable to the human rights violations they commit; and

To seriously and urgently look into and address the issues being raised against current mining operations and the entire government’s mining policy framework which does not respond to national development needs; which trades food and sustainable livelihoods to profits for corporations; does not give priority to community development, human rights and environmental protection.  One critical step to address this is to enact an alternative minerals management bill.

We strongly urge the President to listen and hear the call of the indigenous peoples and us, advocates.

Mr. President, it’s time now to listen not to the people who funded your presidential campaign, but to those who actually voted for you.

For the women and men of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC),
Judy A. Pasimio
Executive Director
judy.pasimio@lrcksk.org
www.lrcksk.org
09175268341

The CEAP calls for justice for Fr. Tentorio and for the people whom he served.

The murder at this point cannot incontrovertibly be laid at the feet of large-scale mining activities in Mindanao. Fr. Tentorio’s anti-mining advocacy however is a possible, if not probable, cause for his murder. Since 2003, he has lived with the threat of death because of his service to the Indigenous Peoples of Cotabato and his advocacy of a safe environment.

Fr. Tentorio understood the disastrous effects mining activities would have on his people despite the consent some were giving these under the influence of the mines. As a man of God, therefore, giving voice to the voiceless, he opposed these, taking no heed of the danger this brought him. Perhaps he should have taken heed. Now he is dead.

We hope he shall not have died in vain. We take the occasion of his death to resurrect in us all the passion he had to protect his people and all the Filipino people from the adverse effects of mining, whether large- or small-scale.

It was in this context that the CBCP lamented in its 1998 “Statement of Concern on the Mining Act of 1995” that the implementation of this law – severely skewed in the interest of foreign mining investors “would certainly destroy both environment and people and will lead to national unrest.”

Their warning unheeded, the CBCP in 2006 called on all religious leaders:

• “To support, unify and strengthen the struggle of the local Churches and their constituency against all mining projects, and raise the anti-mining campaign at the national level;
• “To support the call of various sectors, especially the Indigenous Peoples, to stop the 24 Priority Mining Projects of the government, and the closure of large-scale mining projects, for example… the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in South Cotabato… among others;
• “To support the conduct of studies on the evil effects of mining in dioceses;
• “To support all economic activities that are life-enhancing and poverty alleviating.”

Nevertheless the large-scale mining activities persist, even as a more enlightened Minerals Management Act, which would better protect Filipino interests in mining activities, is pending, but not priority legislation in Congress. Lamentably so.

Where the activities of large scale mining continue to inexorably seek to exploit our natural resources, but where the lives, livelihood, and cultures of the Filipino people, but especially of the Indigenous People and the poor are genuinely threatened by these activities, where the consultations with the affected persons are more formal than real, conducted in a medium that is virtually foreign and incomprehensible to the people, where short-term benefits are made to seem more important than long term impacts, where the benefit of the foreigner and the profit of a few are confused with the national interest, where hypocrisy, prevarication and manipulation are part and parcel of democratic processes, people will be driven to violence. Fr. Tentorio was a victim of this violence.

It was certainly not unknown to him, as it was known to his Bishop, Romulo de la Cruz of Kidapawan, that:

• The SMI-Tampakan mines would leave an open pit at least five-hundred hectares large and 800 meters deep – with no statement from the company that it would not be larger, and no statement from the company how it would restore the environment after creating such a gaping hole.
• That these mines would cause the displacement of 4000 people, including 3000 IPs.
• That these mines would deprive the people of their fresh water rights. The mines would catch fresh water into a 500 ha. dam and substantially lessen flow of water to the downstream communities proximate to the mine.
• That these mines, built on an earthquake fault, would further put people at risk, since their large catchment of toxic tailings would not be invulnerable to damage, especially in case of earthquake.
• That the monetary guarantees for rehabilitation in case of accident or damage are grossly inadequate.
• That the Philippine military service is sometimes used more for the protection of mining investments with their foreign owners rather than of vulnerable local communities.

The CEAP condemns the murder of Fr. Tentorio. But it also reiterates the long-term local demand that government de-militarize the affected communities and stop the militarization of Indigenous Peoples. It calls attention to the explosive situation in Mindanao where the interests of mining, both large-scale and small-scale, continue to militate against the interests of local communities and of the environment.

With the CBCP, the CEAP asks that the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in South Cotabato be stopped.

The CEAP asks that legislation such as HB 3763 or “The Minerals Management Bill,” that better protects the welfare of the Filipino people and the Filipino environment, be passed. It also asks that the Aquino administration re-visit its pro-mining policies, and seek ways of national development that are more sustainable and protective of our peoples and our environment.

The CEAP, also as a result of the last CEAP National Convention, urges that Catholic schools intensify their activities aimed at peace education, incorporating elements of reconciliation with God, human society, and the environment. In this context, it urges all CEAP schools to support awareness of the negative impacts of mining and to advocate legislation that favors the Filipino people and truly protects the Philippine environment.

Let Fr. Pops not have died in vain!

Indigenous Women Ask

President Noynoy Aquino recently approved the military proposal to allow mining companies to form and fund militias or Special Civilian Active Auxiliary units.

In just 9 days after the Surigao mining attack, the Aquino administration has immediately acted on the demand of the mining industry for protection.

We now ask – protection against whom?

In our meeting with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) officials, one said that the militias are necessary to protect the mining companies from attacks and threats to foreign investments.

This sends chills to our bones.  This sounds like a blanket call to intensify attacks against us – protectors of the environment and defenders of our indigenous communities, who have often been referred to as anti-development, and threats to investments.

As indigenous women, we have been struggling for so long against mining in our territories – as mining destroys our watersheds in Mindoro and in Negros Occidental; mining poisons our rivers in Agusan del Sur; causes divisiveness among our Subanen people, destroys our sources of food in Zambales, in Nueva Vizcaya and desecrates our sacred lands in Misamis Oriental. Mining violently forces our communities to leave our lands.

As defenders of our rights, we organize campaigns, we sign petitions, we write complaints, we seek for dialogues, we file cases, we take to the streets, and some of us, have launched hunger strike for more than a week. We monitor, document, report and expose violations committed by the mining companies in our areas.

As a result, our leaders have been killed. We experience harassment and threats. We have been labeled as NPA-supporters, or rebels ourselves. Prices are put on our heads.  All these, because we oppose mining; because we exercise our right to say no to mining; and we assert our right to our land.

Through all this, we get no protection from the government. We have no assurance that we can continue to assert our rights free from harassment, threats and violence.  With this approval of P’Noy to form and fund militias for the protection of mining companies, we fear for the escalation of violence against us, in our communities. We fear for our security, for our lives.

Militias, which have been organized and funded by different politicos and companies, have a long track record of human rights violations against women and men from indigenous communities who defend our territories from encroachment and destruction.  And these violations have enjoyed immunity, all in the name of defending investments and so-called national interest.

Who then do we turn to, to protect us? If P’Noy who we expected to enforce changes in our system and governance, has resulted to the same militaristic response against our legitimate concerns and issues against mining, then we are losing hope in this government.

And so, we turn to ourselves, and draw inspiration and strength from each other – we, indigenous women from mining-affected and other development project-affected communities.  And we hope that this solidarity will protect us from those who consider us threats to their investments, and obstacles to their opportunity to earn for themselves.

Because now we realize, we only have ourselves to rely on.

As we now know who the real boss is of PNoy.

SPECIAL COMMITTEE of the KORONADAL IP WOMEN GATHERING

Signed by

Bae Anahaw Ruth C. Tila-on (Manobo/ Agusan del Sur)

Conchita Bigong (Alangan-Mangyan  / Oriental Mindoro)

Nena “Bae Rose” D. Undag (Higaonon / Misamis Oriental)

Nilda M. Mangilay (Subanen / Zamboanga del Norte)

Judith P. Maranes (Ibaloi / Baguio City)

Shirley D. Sombuador (Ati-Bukidnon / Bacolod, Negros Occidental)

Marilyn V. Masaganda (Aeta / Capas, Tarlac)

Maria Tialang (Blaan / South Cotabato)

Lily Quindo (Blaan / South Cotabato)

The Koronadal IP Women Gathering held in Marbel, South Cotabato last July 22-24, 2011 was participated in by 56 women from different indigenous communities. The women developed and came up with an Indigenous Women Declaration which contains their plight and situation, as well as their demands from the government.

Contact through – judy a. pasimio /Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center

Judy.pasimio@lrcksk.org / 9281372

Indigenous peoples in ancestral domains targeted by corporations for large scale extraction of their mineral wealth have never been plagued with continuous perpetration and threats of violations and violence in the history of their tribes’ existence as they are going through right now with the government’s implementation of the Mining Act of 1995. Their lives and territories have always been under attack due to conflicts caused by mining.

President Aquino’s approval of mining militias violates indigenous peoples right to self determination inside their ancestral domains. Genuine peace and development in ancestral domains demand that the state respect the right to self determination of indigenous peoples which includes their right to decide their own path to development and their free, prior and informed consent to any policies and actions that would intrude in their lives and territories. The entry of mining corporations into ancestral domains have been marked with violations of indigenous peoples rights and this will be terribly aggravated with the presidential approval of the creation of mining militias in indigenous peoples territories.

We are demanding from President Aquino to make a break in the cycle of violence that has marked government policies and actions in the past. Do not use the rebel attacks against mining operations in Claver as an excuse to again escalate conflict and violence in ancestral domains and rural communities.

In 2008, ex-president Arroyo created the Investments Defense Force after NPA rebels attacked a gold processing plant in Compostela Valley. In just a couple of months, heightened military deployment and operations in minderal rich areas in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental had resulted in the displacement of hundreds of Mansaka, Mandaya and peasant settler families as well as allegations of harassment, physical assault and torture of individuals.

Regular security forces of mining corporations have already racked up a growing number of violent attacks on community members and protesters against mining operations. In 2007 the chief security of Sibuyan Nickel Properties Development Corporation (SNPDC) shot to death Sibuyan councilor Armin Marin during a protest outside the mine. Just this March the company guard of TVI Resources Development (TVIRD) also shot to death Rudy Segovia in a road blockade that was set up in protest of TVIRD operations.

Members of the CAFGU, SCAAs, and other militias have a long history of human rights violations in the Philippines including torture and killings, approving mining militias would be tantamount to formalizing mining related human rights violations. As it is, even without P-Noy’s approval of mining militias, there already is a long list of indigenous peoples leaders, environmentalists and human rights defenders who have been killed in the course of their struggle against mining. Eliezer Billianes who led campaigns against the Swiss Xstrata Tampakan Gold Copper Project was killed in a public market in 2009. Ricardo Banad who had opposed the Mindoro Nickel Project of Norwegian Intex Resources was killed in his house in 2010. Just this January, Dr. Jerry Ortega who had opposed mining in Palawan was shot dead hired killers.

Again we urge President Aquino to put an end to all this violence, prioritize the protection of indigenous peoples and rural communities and work to give justice to mining related human rights violations.

It is also time for government to end facilitating and protecting corporate plunder of the environment at all costs in exchange for a pittance in government revenues. A new Minerals Management Law must be enacted to replace the conflict causing Mining Act of 1995.

Statement from the men and women of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center – Kasama sa Kalikasan / Friends of the Earth – Philippines (LRCK-KsK/FoE-Philippines)

Embodying lofty ideals and aspirations, the UN DRIP is a declaration signed by more than 143 countries without any opposition, recognizing the historical marginalization of indigenous peoples, and well as affirming and promoting their rights.

No solidarity, sympathy

Home to more than 14 million indigenous peoples, the Philippines’ act of signing the declaration signaled both hope and anticipation. Four years on, however, the question remains: how has the Philippines fared in being faithful to its commitments under the UN DRIP?

During the State of the Indigenous Peoples’ Address held July this year, leaders from 25 different indigenous communities asked, “Papaano kami makakaahon mula [sa kahirapan] kung wala kaming makitang pakikiisa o pakikiramay mula sa pamahalaan? (How can we rise from poverty when we cannot see any solidarity or sympathy from the government?)”

Strong doubts

Judy Pasimio, Executive Director of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, says “indigenous peoples in resource-conflict areas face a seemingly insurmountable challenge against the aggressive policy of the government to promote mining.

The Philippine Mining Act of 1995, its implementing rules and regulations, as well as Executive Order 270-A embody the government’s policy towards mining. Pasimio adds, “These policies, coupled with the realities on the ground, provoke strong doubts as to whether the government is serious with its declarations.” She points to the situation in Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya, where the Commission on Human Rights issued a resolution earlier this year condemning violations of human rights by a mining company. “Mining is an industry which is notorious for its outright violations of the IP rights.”

Free, prior, informed consent

Pasimio laments the constant disregard by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, particularly the Mines and Geoscience Bureau, for the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of indigenous peoples in relation to the exploitation of the resources found within their ancestral lands. “Right now, mining companies are enabled by the government to view the FPIC as a mere bureaucratic requirement, when in fact, it is the cornerstone of the UN DRIP.”

‘Antagonistic’

The UN DRIP, under Article 32, requires states to consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories, particularly the exploitation of mineral resources. “Without FPIC, the relationship between the state and indigenous peoples becomes meaningless, if not antagonistic,” Pasimio adds.

This sentiment is echoed by Bayani Sumaoang of the Aeta community of Mag-Ansi, Tarlac. “Patuloy na nagiging problema ng mga katutubo ang mga sangkatutak na ‘development projects’ lalo na dahil hindi ito dumadaan sa tamang proseso ng free, prior and informed consent (Indigenous peoples’ problems continue with numerous ‘development projects’ that do not go through the correct process of obtaining free, prior and informed consent).”

‘Do as you say’

Leaders of indigenous communities challenge the commitments of the government under the UN DRIP to promote the rights of indigenous peoples. “Bakit nagtutunggali ang mga declarasyon ng gobyerno, at ang mga ginagawa nito? (Why do the government’s declarations conflict with its actions?)” asks Ka Salvador ‘Badong’ Dimain, community leader of the Aeta community in Maporac, Zambales. “Napakasimple lang, kung ano ang sinabi mo, yung din dapat ang gagawin mo (It’s very simple, what you say is what you should do),” Ka Badong adds.

Threat to ancestral domains

He decries the audacious destruction of their ancestral lands by huge mining corporations, saying “Ilang daang taon naming inalagaan ng
aking mga ninuno ang mga kagubatan at ang mga ilog, lubos naming ikinalulungkot ang pagwasak nito ng basta na lang (For centuries, our
ancestors took care of the forests and the rivers, we are deeply saddened by its rapid destruction).”

Under Article 29 of the UN DRIP, indigenous peoples are recognized as having the right to the conservation and protection of the environment
and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and resources.

The latest figures from the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center reveal that of the total area covered by the government’s proposed 23
priority sites for mining, one-third will be in ancestral domains of indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples.

Please send your comments and queries to Judy Pasimio at judy.pasimio@lrcksk.org

Paghahabi ng ating mga adhikain, panaginip; pagsasama-sama ng ating kolektibong lakas tungo sa pagkakaisa, tungo sa tunay na pagbabago.

NATIONAL IP WOMEN GATHERING

July 23-24, 2011 / Marbel, South Cotabato

Kami, limampu’t anim (56) na kababaihang katutubo na nagmula sa dalawampu’t apat  (24) na tribo sa bansa ay nagtipon para sa isang National IP Women Gathering nitong ika-23 at 24 ng Hulyo, sa Christ the King Retreat Center, Koronadal, South Cotabato, upang pagtibayin ang aming mga paninindigan at pangarap.

Pinalakas ng pagtitipong ito ang aming mga boses bilang kababaihang katutubo, sa pamamagitan na rin ng sama-samang pakikinig sa yaman ng kaalaman at karanasan ng bawat isa.  Subalit batid namin na bagaman bilang babae ay may karunungan kaming maiaambag, hindi ito kadalasang nabibigyang halaga sa komunidad.  Nagkakaisa kami na ang pagtitipong ito ay unang hakbang upang makilala ang kakayanan ng kababaihan na maging bahagi ng pagdedesisyon sa komunidad.

Hinabi ng pagtitipong ito ang aming mga karanasan, kagyat na alalahanin at mga isyu.  Bagaman mula kami sa iba’t ibang tribo na may kinakaharap na kanya-kanyang suliranin, tinatahi ng aming pagiging babae ang ilang karanasan ng diskriminasyon na nangyayari sa loob ng pamilya, komunidad at bayan.

Pinagtibay sa pagtitipong ito ang karapatan naming mga katutubong kababaihan – ang karapatang magsalita at mapakinggan; ang karapatan sa ating mga lupaing ninuno at pangangalaga sa kalikasan; ang karapatang mabuhay na malaya sa anumang uri ng diskriminasyon, gutom, kahirapan, at karahasan.

Binuhay ng pagtitipong ito ang lakas ng loob ng bawat isang kababaihang katutubo.  Nagsilbing inspirasyon ang aming mga kwento upang lalo pa kaming magsalita, maging mapanuri sa nangyayari sa aming komunidad, at maging mapagbantay sa mga namumuno sa ating bayan. Niyakap namin sa pagtitipong ito ang bawat isa, kasabay ng pagyakap sa pangarap ng tunay na pagbabago at pagsisimula nito sa aming mga sarili.

Ano nga ba ang aming mga pangarap?

Pangarap namin ang isang lipunang malaya sa kahirapan, kagutuman, kamangmangan, pagkakasakit; matutupad ito kung ang aming salalayan ng buhay – ang aming lupa at katubigan – ay malaya din mula sa mining, logging, at iba pang mapanirang porma ng kaunlaran.

Pangarap din naming maging bahagi ng mga kapulungang nagdedesisyon sa mga programa sa komunidad, mula sa loob ng ating tribo hanggang sa istruktura sa LGUs.  Bagaman may puwang para sa representasyon ng kababaihan sa loob ng LGUs, napakadalang na mula sa tribo ang mga women representatives na ito.  Kung kaya’t nananatiling bulag ang mga polisiya at programa sa interes ng mga tribong kababaihan, gaya ng hindi pagiging akma ng mga programang pangkalusugan, edukasyon, at ibang serbisyo.

Pangarap namin na makatamasa ng pagkalinga mula sa pamahalaan sa pamamagitan ng pagpapaabot sa amin ng mga batayang serbisyo lalo pa’t sa pangkalusugan, edukasyon, abot-kayang kuryente at malinis na tubig; at pagpapababa ng presyo ng mga bilihin. Kaming mga katutubong kababaihan ay maituturing na pinakamahirap sa mga mahihirap. Kaya naman malaki ang inaasahan namin sa pamahalaang ito na nagsasabing maninilbihan para sa mahirap.

Papasa ba si PNoy bilang kakampi namin sa pag-abot ng aming pangarap?

BAGSAK sa maraming dahilan ang unang taon ng Administrasyon ni PNoy. Unang dahilan ang kawalan ng matuwid at malinaw na programa para sa  katutubo, lalo pa sa katutubong kababaihan.  Sa halip na kaunlaran sa kanayunan ang aming makita, patuloy na militarisasyon sa teritoryo ng mga katutubo ang aming nararamdaman.  Hindi ito maihihiwalay sa mga dambuhalang kumpanya na hinihikayat ng Administrasyong PNoy para magmina, mamutol ng kahoy, palitan ng gamit ang lupaing natatamnan ng pagkain, sirain ang bundok dahil sa mga dam, at iba pang mapanirang proyekto.

Dahil nananatili na interes ng malalaking kumpanya ang nasusunod, hindi nakapagtataka na walang naganap na rebyu sa proseso ng FPIC. Talamak na ang mga kaso kung saan ang FPIC ay ginagamit laban sa amin, sa halip na maging instrumento na syang kikilala sa aming karapatan sa aming lupa at teritoryo, at sa aming karapatang pumayag o hindi sa pagpasok ng mga proyekto sa aming mga komunidad.

Bagsak din si PNoy dahil sa gitna ng kawalan ng kontrol sa ating mga kabundukan at pinagkukunan ng pagkain at tubig, patuloy namang tumataas na presyo ng mga bilihin.  Hindi ito nasasabayan ng programang pangkabuhayan at paglikha ng trabahong nagbibigay sana ng dignidad ng kababaihang katutubo.

Ang programang ipinagmamalaki ni PNoy ay ang 4Ps o ang pantawid programa para sa pamilyang Pilipino (CCT at conditional cash transfer).  Pero maging ang implementasyon nito ay bagsak para sa maraming katutubong kababaihan na hindi man lang naaabot ng 4Ps at CCT – conditional cash transfer.  Sa mga kakaunting naaabot naman ng 4Ps, hindi naman maitanggi na may dagdag pasanin din itong naidulot para sa kababaihan.

Sa kabuuan, hindi pa lubos na nararamdaman ng kababaihang katutubo ang mga ipinapangako ng Magna Carta of Women (MCW, RA9710)!

PASANG-AWA sa kabilang banda ang Administrasyong PNoy sa usapin ng pagsasa-ayos ng pamunuan ng NCIP lalo na antas sa nasyunal.  Pero kailangang isagawa rin ito sa lokal na mga opisina sa rehiyon at probinsya, kung saan mas direktang nararamdaman naming katutubo ang mga problema nang katiwalian, pagwalang bahala, at maraming pagkakataon, panlilinlang.

Mahala ang mga konsultasyong ginagawa ng pamahalaan ukol sa usaping pangkapayapaan o peace talks, kung saan kailangang igiit ang paggalang sa mga lupaing ninuno at mga traditional boundaries, gaya ng usapang GRP-MILF.  Pero paano ito mangyayari kung hindi naman awtomatikong isinasama ang katutubong kababaihan sa mga konsultasyon para sa kapayapaan?

Pasang-awa ang aksyon ni PNoy sa korupsyon, dahil hindi sapat na ibunyag lamang kung sino-sino sila. Mas nararapat ding pananagutin at ipakulong ang mga may-sala. Hindi rin sasapat na korupsyon lang ng nakaraang administrasyon ang pagtuunan ng pansin. Kailangan ring singilin, imbestigahan at panagutin ang mga may kinalaman sa pagpatay at pagdukot sa mga katutubong lider noong panahon ni Arroyo.

Ganunpaman, PASADO pa rin si PNoy sa pagpapaupo ng mga progresibong tao sa mga ahensyang gaya ng NCIP, CHR, NAPC, at pagtatalaga ng maka-IP na peace talks negotiators.  Ang mga taong ito ay aming inaasahan na makakatulong sa aming pagtutulak sa interes sa amin, bilang katutubong kababaihan at sa aming komunidad.

HINAHAMON namin si PNoy na maging tunay na kakampi nating mga katutubong Pilipino; seryoso niya sanang pagsikapan na alamin at intindihin ang aming tunay na kalagayan at kahilingan; tugunan ang mga kagyat naming isyu bilang mga babaeng katutubo, bilang mga nanay at anak sa loob ng pamilya, bilang kasapi ng tribu at komunidad, bilang Pilipinong mamamayan.

Sa gitna ng talamak na kahirapan at kakulangan ng serbisyong edukasyon sa kanayunan, ang mga kababaihang katutubo ay mas nakakaranas ng kakulangan sa kabuhayan at kakayanang proteksyunan ang mga sariling karapatan. Pangunahin sa mga suliraning ito ang patuloy na diskriminasyon bilang katutubo, hindi pagkilala sa tradisyunal na pangangalaga sa kalusugan ng kababaihan, problematikong pagpapatupad ng programang 4Ps, pagkasira ng kalikasan, at banta sa buhay naming mga lider kababaihan.

DISKRIMINASYON. Sa pangaraw-araw naming buhay, aming nararanasan ang diskriminasyon sa iba-ibang paraan. Naririyan ang karanasan ng kakaibang trato sa mga pangkaraniwan sanang transaksyon gaya ng pagsakay sa publikong transportasyon, pagrenta ng bahay, pagpasok sa eskwelahan, at paghahanap ng trabaho.  Naririyan din ang paggamit ng pangalan ng aming tribo bilang ekspresyon ng mababang deskripsyon sa kapwa.  Ang ganitong diskriminasyon ay ilan lamang sa kaagad na mapapansin, pero mas higit ang mababang trato, at kadalasan pa nga’y bulag na turing, sa aming mga katutubo kapag programang pangkaunlaran na ang pinag-uusapan.  Kung walang respeto sa aming pagkatao, lalong walang respeto sa aming kultura at mga katutubong kaalaman, gawi at sistema.

Ang diskriminasyon laban sa amin ay pinalalakas at pinagtitibay pa ng ilang mga patakaran ng pamahalaan, tulad halimbawa ng paghingi sa amin ng mga rekisitong dokumento na hindi naman naming kinalakhan, tulad ng birth certificate, bago kami maabutan ng mga programang pangmahirap.  May mga pagkakataong ding hinihingan kami ng mga karagdagang rekisito kapag kailangan naming pumunta sa ospital, tulad ng Certificate of Confirmation mula sa NCIP, gayong pwede naman sanang sumapat ang pag-certify sa amin ng DSWD bilang indigent.

HINDI PAGKILALA SA TRADISYUNAL NA PANGANGALAGA SA KALUSUGAN NG KABABAIHAN, lalo na sa panganganak. Mangunguyamo para sa Higaonon; panday tyan para sa Subanen; paltera para sa Blaan; mamaananak para sa Aaeta; mananabang para sa Bukinon; partera para sa Manobo; at mangilot para Cordillera – sila ang mga tagapagpaanak o komadrona ng mga katutubong kababaihan.  Sila ang pangunahing tagapangalaga ng mga nanay sa tribo; hindi sila naniningil ng bayad bagkus kung kinakailangan ay sila pa nga ang naghahatid ng mga kailangang gamot, pagkain at gamit ng mga bagong panganak na kababaihan.

Subalit sila rin naman ang mga katutubong komadrona na hindi kinikilala at walang suportang nakukuha mula sa pamahalaan. Bagkus, ang mga sanggol na naipanganak sa tulong ng mga katutubong komadrona ay nakakaranas pa ng diskriminasyon, gaya halimbawa ng pangtanggi ng health centers na bigyan sila ng bakuna.  Hindi rin inaasikaso ang mga katutubong kababaihan na nakakaranas ng kumplikasyon sa panganganak, kung hindi rin lang sila nanganak sa health center.

Sa ganitong kalagayan, naoobliga ang mga katutubong babaeng buntis na manganak sa health centers; subalit malaking suliranin ito dahil sa layo ng mga health centers sa aming lugar. Kadalasan, kailangan naming maglakad, o bumaba ng bundok ng ilang oras, at kinakailangang magbyahe ng malayo mula sa komunidad at magbayad ng P1,500 hanggang P2,000, bukod pa sa gastusin sa pagkain at gamot.  Sa panahon naman ng emergency, hirap din ang katutubong kababaihan sa transportasyon dahil maging ang mga ambulansyang mahihiram sa LGUs ay kailangan pang pagasolinahan.

PROBLEMATIKONG PROGRAMA NG 4Ps. Bagaman bida ang programa ng 4Ps/CCT para sa Adminsitrasyong PNoy, problematiko naman ito para sa maraming kababaihang katutubo.  Maganda sana ang intensyon, pero kung nakakaabot sa tunay na benepisaryo; kapansin-pansin kasi na sa aming mga komunidad ay hindi napasama ang mas maraming mahihirap na pamilyang katutubo.

Samantala, sa mga nakasama naman sa 4Ps/CCT, naging dagdag problema at dagdag trabaho para sa kababaihan ang pagkuha ng pera at ang pagtupad sa mga kondisyon nito.  Hindi biro ang pagpunta sa bangko para kunin ang naturingang tulong na P1,400 kada buwan (kapag may 3 anak); nangangailangang kumontrata ng sasakyan at minsan pa nga ay umaabot ng P400 na pamasahe at pagkain.  Sa layo ng mga komunidad sa sentro kung saan kinukuha ang pera, may mga kababaihang nagkakasakit sa byahe at ang ilan pa nga ay nakakaranas ng aksidente dulot ng mapanganib na daan (lalo na kung masama ang panahon) at maging biktima ng krimen (nauso na rin daw ang panghohold-up sa panahong napapabalitang may release ng CCT).  Mas mabigat na problema ito sa mga nanay na walang mapag-iwanan ng maliliit nilang mga anak; may napabalita pa na namatayan ng sanggol habang nakapila ang gutom na nanay sa pagkuha ng CCT.

Hindi rin nagiging sustenable ang programa. May mga pagkakataon na mas pangangailangang pagkain ang bilhin; kaya naman kapag hindi tama ang liquidation ng pera, natatanggal na ang mga nanay sa listahan, at tigil na ang pagtanggap ng suporta.

PAGKASIRA NG KALIKASAN. Ito ang dulot ng mga dambuhalang proyekto ng mga korporasyon tulad ng pagmimina ng mga kompanyang Oceania Gold Phils., PHILSAGA, SMI-XTRATA, TVI, at iba pa.  Samantala, pagkasira din ng kabundukan ang dulot ng patuloy na logging na kinakanlong ng mga local na politiko, mga forestry programs tulad ng IFMA (Integrated Forest Management Agreement) na hindi tumutupad sa mga regulasyon ngunit patuloy pa rin, ganundin ang mga mega dams tulad ng Pulangi DAM V ng NAPOCOR at FIBECO, Green Energy Corp.

Katumbas ng pagkasira ng kalikasan ay pagkasira ng pinagkukunan ng pagkain at kabuhayan; dahil dito ay mas nagiging mas bulnerable kaming mga kababaihan sa iba pang uri ng karahasan. Ang aming kasanayan at kagalingan ay nakatali sa lupa, sa pagkawala nito, napwpwersa kaming kababaihan na maghanap ng ibang pagkukunan ng pagkain at panustos sa pamilya.  Ilan na bang kababaihang katutubo ang sumubok magtrabaho sa syudad at mamasukan; ang nakakalungkot, marami rin ang nagiging biktima ng trafficking at prostitusyon.

BANTA o DEATH THREATS sa mga nakikipaglabang katutubong lider kababaihan . Sa gitna ng kahirapan, diskriminasyon at di-pantay na kaunlaran, matibay pa rin ang paninindigan ng mga lider kababaihan, kasama ang mga kalalakihan, sa pakikipaglaban para sa karapatan ng tribo. Subalit kadalasan na ito rin ang dahilan para makaranas ng direktang banta sa kanilang buhay at sa seguridad ng kanilang mga pamilya. Bilang mga tagapagtanggol ng karapatang pantao (human rights defenders), ilan sa aming mga lider kababaihang ang nakaranas na ng harassment gaya ng mapagbantang phone messages at mga direktang pananakit gaya ng pagbubugbog ng mga armadong tao habang hinaharangan ng katutubong babae ang pagpasok sa kanilang lupain; pagbundol ng sasakyan, mula sa mga pinaghihinalaang grupong malalapit sa mga dambuhalang kumpanya.

NANANAWAGAN KAMI NG KAGYAT AT MAKATARUNGANG TUGON SA MGA ISYU NA AMING IPINAHAYAG. Sa pangkalahatan, nangangarap kami ng isang KINAKABUKASAN na may sustenableng kaunlaran, kung saan ang mga programa ay direktang nakakarating sa mamamayang naghihirap, lalo na sa mga kababaihang katutubo.

NANANAWAGAN din kami ng isang kinabukasang may kabuhayan at trabahong may dignidad ang bawat isa, kung saan hindi patong-patong ang pasanin naming mga kababaihan.  Ganundin, isang kinabukasang may akses sa edukasyon at personal na pag-unlad ang bawat isa, babae man o lalaki, anuman ang kanyang edad, tribo, paniniwala, at katayuan sa buhay.  Higit sa lahat, isang kinabukasang walang puwang ang anumang uri ng karahasan; nananawagan kami ng kapayapaan sa loob ng aming mga pamilya, sa bawat tribo at komunidad, at sa ating bayan.

Sa isyu ng DISKRIMINASYON:

• Iwaksi ang di magandang pagtrato na nakakasakit sa pagkatao ng mga katutubo.
• Kilalanin at igalang ang dignidad ng mga katutubong Pilipino.
• Magkaron ng pagkakapantay-pantay na pagtrato sa lahat ng Pilipino – ano man ang tribo, paniniwala, babae man o lalaki.

Sa isyu ng PANGANGALAGA SA KABABAIHANG KATUTUBO:

• Kilalanin at suportahan ang mga tradisyunal na pamamaraan ng pagpapaanak.
• Bigyang halaga ang papel na ginagampanan ng mga katutubong babaeng tagapa-anak – kumadrona; mangunguyamo (higaonon); panday tyan (subanen) paltera (blaan) mamaanak (aeta), mananabang (bukinon), partera (manobo), mangilot (cordillera).
• Siguruhing abot-kamay at abot-kaya ang mga serbisyong pre-natal at post-natal care para sa mga katutubong buntis.

Sa isyu ng PAGSUGPO SA KAHIRAPAN, 4Ps , CCT:

• Magkaroon ng komprehensibong pagrerebyu ng 4Ps at siguraduhin ang partisipasyon ng mga katutubong kababaihan sa proseso ng rebyu.
• Magkaroon ng masusing dokumentasyon ng mga karanasan at isyu patungkol dito.

Sa isyu ng PAGKASIRA NG KALIKASAN:

• Protektahan ang kabundukan, kagubatan, katubigan at mga sagradong lugar na pangunahing pinagkukunan ng pagkain at kabuhayan
• Itigil ang pagpasok ng malawakang komersyal na paggamit ng kalikasan
• Itigil ang pagmimina ng mga dambuhalang korporasyon at iba pang porma ng pagmimina na nakakasira.
• Bawiin ang mga mining permits na nasa loob ng aming katutubong lupain, lalo pa’t ang mga may nakuhang FPIC (Free, Prior Informed Consent) sa mapanlinlang na paraan.
• Ipahinto ang operasyon ng Pulangi Dam V.
• Itigil ang malawakang pagpuputol ng kahoy, lalo na sa mga protected areas, watershed, at sagradong lugar.

Sa isyu ng BANTA SA BUHAY NG MGA LIDER KABABAIHANG KATUTUBO:

• Kilalanin ang karapatan ng mga kababaihang katutubo bilang WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS.
• Magkaroon ng maagap at masusing dokumentasyon ng mga pagbabanta at iba pang mga harassment laban sa mga kababaihang katutubo na nagdedepensa ng kanilang mga karapatan at teritoryo.
• Bigyan ng proteksyon ang mga may direktang banta sa kanilang seguridad at buhay, at pati na rin sa kanilang pamilya.

SAMANTALA, kami ay magpupursigi sa pagpapalakas ng aming sarili, habang nagpapalakas rin ng iba pang mga kasamahang kababaihan;

Kami ay patuloy na mag-aaral upang lalong mapalalim ang aming pang-unawa sa relasyon ng mga pambansang usapin at ng aming pang-araw araw na karanasan;

Kami ay magpapanday ng aming kasanayan upang mas maging aktibo at produktibong miyembro at lider ng organisasyon, at sa kabuuang kilusan para sa katutubo.

Kami ay magiging mas mapagbantay sa mga paglabag sa aming mga karapatan bilang katutubo, bilang babae.

Ang kabuuang kilusan ng katutubo para sa sariling pagpapasya ay mas higit na lalakas at titibay kung kasabay nito ang pagsulong ng karapatan at kagalingan ng kababaihang katutubo.

ISULONG ANG KARAPATAN NG KABABAIHANG KATUTUBO!

PALAKASIN ANG KILUSANG KATUTUBO!

KILANLIN ANG KARAPATAN PARA SA SARILING PAGPAPASYA.

July 24, 2011Marbel, South Cotabato

TERESA, Sambal, 40 years old (Cabangan, Zambales)

Nakakainsulto na nagpapalakpakan sila dun sa kongreso para sa CCT/PPPP, samantalang kami na pinakamahirap sa mahihirap, ni hindi naabutan nito. (Conditional Cash Transfer/Pangtawid Programa para sa Pamilya Pilipino)

Wala man lang pagbanggit kahit isa sa mga indigenous peoples; wala man lang pagbanggit sa mga karahasan na nararanasan ng mga katutubo, lalo pa’t katutubong kababaihan.

Walang pagbanggit sa pagprotekta sa kalikasan.

Walang pagbanggit sa MINING, samantalang ito ang isa sa mga sumisira sa aming kalikasan, sa aming kabuhayan.

Jennifer, Manobo, 30 years old (Cantilan, Surigao del Sur) – Binoto ko sya, umasa ako. Pero di ko naramdaman ang pagbabago. Nasan ang pagbabago? Araw araw pa rin naming nararamdaman ang diskriminasyon bilang babaeng katutubo; ni hindi kami makapag-rent ng apartment sa syudad pagka nalamang kami ay Manobo. Hirap kaming makapasok sa mga paaralan.

Sobrang nakakalugkot, dahil umasa ako sa kanya, at sa kanyang pangakong pagbabago.  Pero maski pala sa SONA nya, may diskriminasyon. Ni hindi man lang nya kami nabanggit, wala talaga sa isip nya ang kahit anong patungkol sa amin tulad ng usaping lupa.

LETICIA, Aeta, 50 years old (Botolan, Zambales) – Ni hindi man lang nya kami nabanggit, kaming katutubo. ANG PILIPINAS AY

SA AKIN, SA ATIN. ALAM BA NYA ITO? Pinagmamalaki nya ang isang daan na pinagawa nya sa Laguna. Pilipinas na ba ang Laguna? Dapat lawakan naman  nya ang pagtingin nya.

Kaming mga Aeta, nang pumutok ang Mt. Pinatubo, kami ay napilitang lumikas sa ibang lugar. Ayaw ko nang mangyari ito sa iba pang lugar, napakahirap. Kaya sana, piliin ni Pnoy ang mga proyekto nya, na dapat ay di nakakasir a sa kalikasan, at nakakaapekto sa mga katutubo.  Magkaisa tayong hadlangan ang pagpahintulot ng mga mapanirang proyekto.

Alma, 25 years old, Mamanwa, Cortes, Surigao del Sur

(In Bisaya) Hindi man ako nakapag-aral, at kahit tagalog man ang salita nya, naintindihan ko na wala kami sa SONA nya. Ang narinig ko ay ang mga malalapit sa kusina, at sa bulsa nya ang malapit sa puso nya at sila  lang ang kaniyang natutulungan.  Sa lahat ng mahihirap, ang mga tribo ang pinaka mahirap. At sa lahat ng mga tribo, ang mga Mamanwa ang pinaka mahirap. Kami sana ang masama sa mga programa ni Pnoy. Pero maski sa 4P’s o CCT, dagdag na pahirap sa amin, dahil sa hirap ng pagkuha, mabagal, at di regular.

Sa lugar namin, madami ang gustong pumasok na mga mining companies. Pero kahit mahirap kami, hindi kami papayag na papasok ang mga companya sa amin, dahil masira ang aming bundok, masira ang aming koprahan, at ito lamang ang aming pinagkukunan ng kabuhayan.

At sana, marinig at makita kami ni Pnoy, kaming mga tribong Mamanwa, na naghihirap, at kami’y kanyang matulungan.

Nanay REMEDIOS, 77 years old, Buki-non/Negros Oriental – Huwag tayong umiyak! Nasa atin ang lakas! Tayo ang gumawa ng pagbabago. Pag-isipan natin kung pano natin isusulong ang pagbabago!

Conchita, 44 years old, Alangan- Mangyan/Naujan, Mindoro Oriental – tumigil na daw ang paggamit ng wangwang sa lahat ng ahensya. Pero tayong mga katutubong kababaihan, kailangan natin ng malaking WANG-WANG! Para marinig nya tayo at malaman nya ang tunay na kalagayan nating mga kababaihan!

(from the State of the Indigenous Peoples’ Address July 23-28, 2011 / Marbel, South Cotabato)

Quotes compiled and photos by:
Judy a. pasimio / LRC-KsK
judy.pasimio@lrcksk.org

Koronadal City

The high expectations by the people including Indigenous women stems from the fact that PNoy rose to power with  high popularity and support hoping that he could deliver positive steps towards fundamental changes from the nine years of hated and corrupt GMA administration.

The anti corruption efforts of PNoy and appointing to cabinet positions leaders from civil society groups didn’t help maintain his high ratings as latest surveys show. In October 2010 his popularity acceptance was 79%. It drastically went down to 64% in November and much lower this March at 51% (a sharp drop of 13% points).

In a National Gathering of Indigenous Peoples Women held at Christ the King Retreat Center in Koronadal City on 23-24 July 2011, women community leaders reflected and shared their thoughts of their specific conditions under the PNoy administration and agreed that the one year regime failed them of their expectations.

“In his speech in 2010, PNOY said ‘Ngayon, pwede na tayong mangarap.’ (We can now dream.) As women who are in the forefront of struggles, we have always kept our dreams. The more critical question is – do we have an ally in PNOY in moving closer to the fulfilment of our dreams?” asked Judy A. Pasimio of Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-Ksk/Friends of the Earth-Phils.), organizer of the gathering in behalf of the indigenous women.

Same fundamental issues

“Bagsak kay wala nya napugngan ang padayon nga pagtaas sa presyo sa mga palaliton, gasolina, bugas kag iban pa namon nga mga inadlaw-adlaw nga panginahanglan,” said T’boli women Amihan Ambag in her local dialect.   (He failed to stop the continuing increase of prices of goods, oil, rice and our other daily needs).

“Hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin kinikilala ang aming mga karapatan sa aming mga lupang ninuno at wala pa ring tulong mula sa pamahalaan upang mapaunlad ang aming mga lupain,” reported one workshop group during the gathering, adding that PNoy failed to stop the encroachment of large scale mining, logging, hydro dam projects and other extractive industries in their ancestral lands.  (Until now, our right to our ancestral domains is not yet recognized and there is no help yet from the government so that we can develop our lands).

PNoy also failed to stop militarization in the country sides which resulted in various cases of human rights violations, according the group.

Keynote speaker Beverly Longid of Katribu Partylist explained “food on the table and other basic needs are among the main concerns of most indigenous women, and PNoy failed to address these basic problems one year after his assumption to power”.

“Even PNoy’s 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program), supposedly to address extreme poverty, perpetuate discrimination of indigenous women aside from becoming another source of corruption among officials,” said Longid adding that until now, PNoy hasn’t issued a clear cut policy on Indigenous People’s concerns, much more on women.

Windows of hope

Judith Maranes of the Ibaloi-Kalunguya tribe from Baguio City expressed hope that the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) will deliver this time with the appointment of a progressive Chairperson.  Bridgettte Hamada, or Manang Briggs among her peers in the indigenous communities, is an Ifugao who has been part of the struggle for the protection of IP rights.

The women leaders lauded the current leadership of the Commission on Human Rights, in the person of Ms. Etta Rosales, who is expected to act on issues raised by indigenous communities, especially of women who are discriminated and threatened both as an indigenous people and as woman.

It is also envisioned that the peace talks and discussions will open a venue where indigenous women groups can participate and be involved.

“We hope that the peace talks will not just solve these political problems but also address the very issue of the lack of basic social services provided in far-flung areas. We reaffirmed in the sessions that basic needs such as food, education and health needs are not delivered in the poorest of the poor communities,” said.

With the theme “IP women weaving desires together, forging collective strength towards solidarity and genuine changes”, the two-day discussion-workshop’s expected outcome will be formulated into an IP women agenda, to be given to relevant agencies both at the national and local level.###