Editorial: The Indigenous People’s month

3 MIN READ

www.nordis.net

Long before it was decreed by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the national Indigenous People’s Month, it was in October that Filipinos already commemorated mostly with the Church, Tribal Filipino Week and Tribal Filipino Sundays. That is because government and the corporate world refused to recognize the status of the first peoples as the aborigines, the native people from whom they took away (forcibly or by fraud) their common resources or ancestral domains/lands and systematically suppressed their native cultures that is now being revealed by scientific studies as more progressive than the neoliberal policies promoted the world over today.

The Cordillera and neighboring regions in this northern most Luzon are one area with the more preserved indigenous peoples cultures that continue to be cherished and valued by native clans, villages and tribes. Not only that, although increasingly waning, these peoples still continue to recognize, nurture and respect their ancestral domains, ancestral lands and spiritualism that is closely related to their home-land and ancestors’ home-land.

Baguio’s disrespected right to ancesral lands

It is IP month. In Baguio, Where there is more substantial documented claims of a people to their ancestral lands, where the legal basis of the Doctrine of Native Title was reiterated by the Supreme Court, and where “land grabbing” by government and polticians with impunity is already a “normal practice”. Where the native attire and customs (not necessarily Ibaloi) are displayed, widely commercialized and even used to divert the peoples attention from the issues of the day that directly affect their rights to ancestral land, the right to self determination, and even their right to Life.

Most strikingly, it is going to be the 2nd year this month that the right to representation of the Ips in the City Council is still hindered by tyranical actions and gerrymandering in the local government despite demands and petitions made by the people and their organizations for the recognition and respect of their chosen representation. This IP month any respectable IP in government must help correct this injustice.

Itogon

Itogon is approximated to be the well kept secret mines of the Ibalois defended for almost three centuries from the invading Spanish army and church.

Scientists, organized environment defenders, individual farmers and village miners, have for many decades voiced out warnings about the stability of Itogon especially when some large ground moving construction was to be introduced (Tabu Dam, ESL of Baguio, open pit mining, etc) and the continued corporate mining of Benguet Corp. Even if they were earning on the side from the existing corporate mines, Ibaloi elders foretold of the disaster that would befall from the abuse of the inheritance bestowed by the ancestor’s (ref: the Legend of the Benguet Gold Tree).

The immensity of what happened in Ucab (Ompong typhoon) was beyond this generations’ idea of disasters. One query from somebody near the landslide area was, (translated) “is this the end of the world already?” One policeman among the initial responders, when he recognized the body he pulled from the mud, exclaimed, “!!!@*! this was him who refused to evacuate! He said they will run when the slide comes down! Oh, !!*@!?. He was not able to…” and he (policeman) continued to grieve and dig some more.

Now the whole community while so deeply in grief, and in fear of how they could rebuild, are ordered to evacuate to government sites where they can stay for a short while until they find a more permanent site. Where? any in sight? Remember the Little Kibungan slide, to this day many of the victims have not yet been “relocated”, so that many of them returned to Little Kibungan and rebuilt their homes.

To our government officials who can honestly do something to keep the Itogon people safe please work with (empasized) them and strike a bargain with them to rehabilitate and preserve and rebuild life, not deprive (the ground, the vegetation, etc.) Shortsighted officials up there can not just blow SSM tunnels and leave the land and its people to suffer, put BCI accountable too, and for once make the NCIP study their mandate again and stand up to defend and work for those who urgently need their help. It is IP month.

Now. Most of those affected by Ompong are communities of Indigenous peoples. Butchering a pig and giving prayers of thanks to our ancestors is importat but it might just draw their ire if for our brethren hit by such a chilling disaster are not cared for. The help they need is a long term program of rehabilitation and rebuilding.

Mabuhay to the people’s movement for despite the torment they receive from government, they still find time, energy and resources to help and care to serve the devastated.# nordis.net