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Reclaiming a right

August being national minority month brings to sharp focus the issue of the indigenous people’s quest for self-determination. In the Cordillera, the reality of national oppression of the indigenous people has been long standing and the defense for land, life and resources has been pursued for decades now.

Historically regarded as the unsubjugated relative to the rest of the Filipinos colonized by foreign conquerors, the Igorots of the Cordillera have been minoritized and marginalized. While the rest of the Filipino people were assimilated by a common culture and governed by various influences, the indigenous people retained a distinct culture and socio-political systems which are presently in various stages of retention and disintegration. The national government, through all the administrations has largely ignored the Cordillera people in terms of providing basic social services like health and education. The once self-sustaining economy, has now given way to the influx of cash and commodities. But the land, the ancestral domain is abundant with vast resources both above and under ground. This has been the reason for plunder and development aggression on one hand, and government neglect and militarization on the other.

With the onset of imperialist globalization, third world countries like the Philippines are being ravaged of their resources by transnational greed and profit. The proverbial pot of gold, so mercilessly sought by corporate hunters, geographically lies hidden beneath ancestral lands inhabited by indigenous people. And what better, expedient way to access these than compelling governments to issue laws and decrees legitimizing plunder of resources with military back-up to ensure exploration and eventual exploitation. The Mining Act’s effectivity, no thanks to the Supreme Court has just meted a death sentence to the national patrimony. Besides corporate mining being wholesale theft of a people’s wealth, it likewise spells massive and irreversible destruction of the environment. It dehumanizes and exploits even human resources in the case of the Lepanto mine workers in Benguet. Never mind that indigenous communities are in vehement opposition to the loss of land and livelihood, forget about consultation and consent. Protests by the local populace are literally bulldozed and dumped. Legitimate opposition is narrowly dismissed by the government as insurgency.

Here in the Cordillera, while fierce opposition to wholesale plunder in the form of corporate mining is being waged by the people, the rest of the country is unaware of how Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered her armed forces to engage in aerial and ground bombardment and almost daily military operations to silence protest. Few and far between are news in mainstream media of organized indigenous communities’ opposition to mining applications in Abra, Mountain Province or Kalinga. There are no stories behind “skirmishes” between AFP troops and the home-grown NPA red fighters in areas where “development” is actually the people’s aggressor. The government is well aware of the level of struggle the people have brought their message to. To protect their right to life and land, the indigenous people tirelessly organize themselves, while some have opted to take up arms against a government that has turned into their tormentor and security force of foreign plunderers.

The local inhabitants are pushing for development at their own pace, are contesting control over their own resources that will benefit them, are demanding stewardship of the environment that will sustain them and the generations to come. It is only just and right that the patrimony be reserved for them and the rest of the Filipino people.

This month is a time to ponder on the plight of a people who want to reclaim their right.

The rest of the year is to find meaning in their plight and be involved in their fight. #

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