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No to tribal war! — Bangit widow

TABUK, Kalinga (June 15) — Agustina Bangit, wife of slain Malbong tribal peacemaker Pangat Rafael Markus Bangit called on Kalina tribes not to resort to tribal war in the event of the political assassination of her husband on June 8 in Isabela.

Agustina called for concerted action in the pursuit for justice for Bangit, but not through tribal war. “Markus worked for tribal peace from the start. Let not his death spark conflict between tribes. Let us work for peace as he always did,” she said during the memorial service on June 15 in Sitio Tomiangan, Brgy. Dupag, here. A mother to three boys and a five year-old girl, Agustina expressed concern for the security of her family.

Bangit’s siblings also reiterated the call for peace among tribes.

In previous tributes to the slain peacemaker in Tomiangan, representatives of the Bodong Pongors’ Organization, now the Binodngan People’s Organization (BPO), a regional alliance of Cordillera tribes affiliated with the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), remarked on the significant role of Bangit in tribal war mediation in the region, that included the Betwagan-Bugnay tribal war; the Mabaca Malbong, and the Sallapadan-Belwang tribal conflicts.

“Despite his relative youth, he was very much respected even by elders of his tribe. This respect grew as Markus displayed increasing skills in the settlement of inter-tribal disputes and deepening knowledge of the bodong (peacepact) system. Eventually, Markus became a peace pact holder himself,” the CPA June 8 statement read.

In a statement, Kalinga’s Lejo Cawilan Command of the New People’s Army also called for unity among the Kalinga tribes in the quest for justice for Bangit whom it described a well-loved leader of the Cordillera peoples.

“Bangit’s death should not result in misunderstanding or conflict among Kalinga tribes. We all want justice for his death but we should not be entrapped by the enemy’s ploy to create friction between us,” the statement said in Iloco.

The LCC further stated that Bangit’s death, the 782nd nationwide under the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration, is part of a nationwide spate of killings under the government’s Oplan Bantay Laya aimed at crushing the armed resistance.

Bangit advocated against tribal war as a means to solve tribal conflict. His campaign to redefine the bodong influenced other tribes in Kalinga as well as other provinces in the Cordillera. # Abigail Taguba Bengwayan for NORDIS

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