7 MIN READ

By JOANNA K. CARIÑO

Nabara nga kablaaw kadagiti amin a delegado iti panagselebrar tayo ditoy Guinaang ti mayka-tallo a pulo nga Aldaw Kordilyera!

We celebrate the 30th Cordillera Day with the theme Resist imperialist plunder of our lands and resources! Assert our right to self-determination! Aside from this gathering here, CD also being commemorated in Bangued, Abra and Lagawe, Ifugao to protest in outrage the Ligiw massacre and EJK of William Bugatti. CD is also being celebrated in Toronto, Canada and in Hongkong in solidarity with the Cordillera indigenous people’s mass movement.

Dagitoy napasamak nga panagpapatay ti military kadagiti ag-aama nga Ligiw idiay Abra ken ni William Bugatti idiay Ifugao ket mangpakpakita nga ti nailian demokratiko nga tignay masa ditoy Kordilyera ket sumangsango manen iti naranggas nga panag-atake manipud iti agar-ari a rehimen. Dagitoy extra-judicial killings a makuna ket pamuspusan nga pammutbuteng ken terorismo ti estado laban kadagiti aktibista ken tignayan ti umili ta kayat da nga ipasardeng ti panaglawlawag tayo kadagiti isyu ti umili ken panagsupyat kadagiti makadadael a proyekto. Kastoy met laeng ti panggep da idi pinatay da ni Macliing Dulag idi 1980, ti panagpatay ti CPLA kenda Ngayaan, Gardo kdpy idi 1986 up, kenda Marcos Bangit, Alice Claver, Pepe Manegdeg, Albert Terredaňo idi 2005-06, ti panagkidnap da kenni James Balao idi 2009 nga mabirbiruk pay aginggana itatta. Nakaladladingit nga talaga dagitoy nga paspasamak, ngem Cordi Day is a time to remember our martyrs and heroes, and in remembering them to turn grief and fear into revolutionary fervor and to honor them by following in their footsteps and continuing in the struggle for justice, freedom and democracy.

Agpasalamat tayo amin iti host community nga ti Guinaang, Pasil ken iti host organization nga iti Indigenous Farmers Association of Guinaang, Pasil Inc. (IFAGPI). Malagip ko nga nakadanun akon ditoy Guinaang idi 1985. Immayak immatendar ti bodong conference nga inyangay ti Cordillera Bodong Association, wenno CBA. Ti malagip ko ket mabukbukel idin ti nalawlawa nga panagkaykaysa dagiti binodngan tapno masalakniban ti nagtaudan a daga ken karbengan dagiti nainsigudan nga umili. I remember the great eloquence of the elders as they spoke and chanted about the need to build a wider unity among the binodngan to be able to build a strong front against common enemies. I remember that the CBA had launched its campaign against tribal wars and called upon the binodngan to instead build a wider unity among the tribes to assert indigenous peoples rights and self determination. Malagip ko pay nga adda iti impabuya dagiti kabataan nga napintas nga kultural gapu ti bodong, nga kasapulan nga padur-asen dagiti progresibo nga aspeto na, ngem ibatin wenno baliwan dagiti negatibo.

Nakitak nga nangato nga tukad ti nadanun ken nalawa ti ornus ti umili batay ti panag-organisa ti Cordillera Bodong Association (CBA) idi. Ngem, naburak daytoy nga ornus idi nabuangay ti CPLA idi 1986. Pinatay da ni Ngayaan nga isu’t chairman idi ti CBA ket inggana ittata ket haan pay nabirukan ti bangkay na. Nanggulo da kadagiti komunidad babaen ti pammutbuteng ken panang-allilaw. Timmakder da kas counter-insurgency force nagrugi idi gobyerno ni Cory Aquino inggana ittata. Inpagna da ti terorismo laban kadagiti haan nga armado nga lider masa, aktibista ken organisador ti Cordillera People’s Alliance. It is ironic that while Cory Aquino was known to the rest of the world as an icon of democracy, this was a most difficult time for the CPA. Early on in Cory’s reign was the first period of systematic extra-judicial killings against the CPA, perpetrated by the CPLA with state support. The victims, their families and the mass movement are still crying for justice.

Itatta, addada dagiti dadakkel nga ganganaet nga multi-national corporations nga kayat mang-agaw ken gundawayan dagiti rikurso kadagiti kabanbantayan that we steward and hold in trust for future generations. Nu matuloy ti plano ti Freeport Macmoran Makilala nga mangpaitakder iti dakkel nga pagminasan, ekspektaren tayo ti adu nga negatibo nga mapasamak kas iti madadael ti pita ken aglawlaw, ma-pollute ti danum, madadael ti taltalon gapu iti siltation, health hazards due to chemicals, kdpy. Adda met ti Chevron nga agpangpanggep nga mangipatakder ti geothermal plants haan laeng ditoy Kalinga nu diket iti dadduma pay nga probinsya ditoy Kordilyera.

Ti Chevron ken Freeport Macmoran ket dua kadagiti kadakelan nga monopolyo kapitalista iti intero nga lubong. Ti interes da ditoy Kordilyera ket agkamal iti limpak-limpak nga tubo nu mapalubusan da nga ag-opereyt. Addada ditoy itatta dagiti bisita nga nainsigudan nga umili aggapu nadumaduma nga nasyon nga sangsanguen da met ti panakidangadang laban iti dadakkel a korporasyon kas Chevron ken Freeport Macmoran idiay ayan da. Ta serserreken dagiti dadakkel nga korporasyon ti last frontier wenno dagiti nagtaudan nga daga ti nainsigudan nga umili ti sangalubungan. Ket ti kasukat nan tu ket ti panakadadael ti nagtaudan nga daga, aglawlaw ken rikurso, ken uray iti nainsigudan a kultura. Ti panakalukat ti kakastoy a makadadael a proyekto ket nangnangruna para ti tubo dagiti dadakkel nga kapitalista nga korporasyon, haan pay nga para iti pudno nga panagdur-as dagiti nainsigudan nga umili. Dagitoy nga proyekto ket nakabalangkas iti linakuan ken komersyo ti makunkuna nga neo-liberal globalization. Ti neo-liberal globalization ket isu ti panaglukat ti amin nga rekurso ti maysa nga nasyon nga gundawayan dagiti dadakkel nga korporasyon, dayta ti makuna nga plunder. Datayo nga nainsigudan nga umili ket sabali ti pangkita tayo iti pita ken rekurso. Haan aya kinuna ni Macliing Dulag panngep iti nagtaudan nga daga: how can you privately own the land which will outlive you? We are the stewards of the land, and the resources should be used for the self-determined sustainable development of the indigenous peoples where these resources are to be found, not for the private profit of big business.

Isunga talaga nga pinadas dagitoy dadakkel nga kompanya karaman dagiti kakumplot da iti lokal nga gobyerno, military, karaman ti NCIP, nga lapeddan ti panaka-isayangkat ti Cordillera Day ditoy Guinaang. Ngem haan da nga nalapeddan ta tinakderan yo nga umili ti Guinaang ken ti host organization nga IFAGPI nga sangailien ti niribribu nga delegado nga umay makipagkaykaysa kenyayo ken mabukel ti nalawlawa nga panagkaykaysa dagiti nainsigudan nga umili ti Kordilyera ken ti dadduma pay nga Pilipino ken kadagiti naduma-duma nga nainsigudan nga umili iti intero nga lubong.

Masapul a tungtongen tayo panggep ti NCIP. The Philippine government prides itself that it has put in place an Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) and set up the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). In fact, in 1986, it was the CPA that successfully lobbied for the inclusion of the provisions on Ancestral Land and Regional Autonomy in the new Philippine Constitution. And it is to the credit of our founding chairperson, Atty. Billy Claver, among other advocates, that the law finally got passed in 1997.

What has the NCIP accomplished after 17 years? It has been a government agency wrought with deceit and corruption. Many NCIP commissioners have gotten rich due to the commissions and bribes from big corporations in order for them to facilitate the entry of corporate interests into indigenous peoples lands and territories, and in land speculation of ancestral lands. The NCIP has subverted the FPIC, or the process of free, prior and informed consent whereby indigenous communities have the final say on any project in their territories. The NCIP has divided indigenous communities by their cooptation of some tribal leaders, setting-up new organizations once there is opposition to destructive projects, and in some instances even recognizing fake tribes and leaders. The record of the NCIP is so controversial that in one gathering of indigenous peoples, they were referred to as the National Consomisyon of Indigenous Peoples. The people of Guinaang have filed charges against NCIP in this province for their manipulation of the FPIC.

Cordillera Day is all about honoring our martyrs and heroes, those who have gone ahead, and of continuing in their footsteps and celebrating the gains of the Cordillera mass movement through the years. The Cordillera indigenous people’s mass movement was born out of struggles in defense of land, life and resources against national oppression, development aggression, the militarization of our lands and territories, and imperialist plunder. Our celebration of Cordillera Day is on April 24, to commemorate the martyrdom of Macliing Dulag and the successful people’s resistance against the construction of the mega Chico dams.

Our celebration of Cordillera Day on April 24 is opposed to the Cordillera Day of government on July 15, which is (duh, what?) Cory Aquino’s signing of E.O. 220 which created the Cordillera Administrative Region (a long-standing demand of the mass movement) and allowed the CPLA and traditional politicians to lord it over the new region. The reactionaries have tried to re-write history, and have set their own Cordillera Day, to no avail. The people’s commemoration of Cordillera Day has prevailed, has been institutionalized by the mass movement, and has been held all over the Cordillera, particularly in the areas where there are ongoing local struggles.

Our Cordillera Day is all about consolidating our gains, renewing our commitment and finding strength in one another as we build solidarity among the different tribes and between us and the wider Philippine and global society. Our Cordillera Day is also a cultural event as we showcase our indigenous cultures in their dynamic forms as we respond to present-day issues and problems.

As we commemorate this 30th Cordillera Day in Guinaang, Pasil, let us look back to celebrate some of the gains of the Cordillera indigenous people’s mass movement through the years.

Ngem, uray pay adda dagiti nagun-od tayo manipud ito tallo-pulo nga taon iti panakidangadang, haan pay nga nabaliwan iti esensyal a kagagalad iti gimong nga Pilipino. Patuloy ti development aggression ken militarisasyon. Patuloy ti panagtaud ti imperyalismo, pyudalismo ken burukrata kapitalismo. Dagitoy sumaruno nga aldaw, umay agbisita ni Barack Obama nga presidente ti US, ket ipakita ni Pnoy ti kina aso-aso na iti interes ti imperyalismo ken kinaawan soberanya ti Pilipinas. Patuloy ti pasismo ken terorismo ti estado.

Isunga agtultuloy iti laban para it panangitakder iti maysa a gimong a nawaya manipud ti kontrol dagiti ganganaet, ken pudno a demokratiko ken addaan hustisya para iti amin, kanayon na iti panagbigbig iti bukod nga pangngeddeng dagiti nainsigudan nga umili. Isunga masapul nga agpatibker tayo, sisasagana para ti saksripisyo, ta ammo tayo nga ti laban tayo ket na-inhustisyaan, ken uray pay naunday iti laban, matanaw tayo ti balligi. A just struggle will ultimately triumph in the end.

Be resolute, fear no sacrifice, and surmount every difficulty to win victory!

Makibaka, huwag matakot! # nordis.net