“Sino ba ang nambobomba sa mga komunidad? Sino ba ang pumapatay sa mga kasama naming estudyante, sa mga teachers namin? Sino bang nangmamasaker sa komunidad? Ang mga militar. Ang estado mismo, sila ang terorista. Hindi ang mga organisasyon, ang NPA, hindi kami na lumalaban para depensahan ang lupang ninuno. Ang gobyerno mismo ang terorista dahil sila ang lumalabag sa karapatang pantao namin,” said Katkat Dalon, a Lumad Manobo student and spokesperson of SABOKAHAN (Unity of Lumad Women).
[Who are bombing our communities? Who are killing our fellow students and teachers? Who are massacring the community? The military. The state itself, they are the terrorists. Not the organizations, not the New People’s Army (NPA), not us who are fighting to defend our ancestral lands. The government itself is the terrorist because they are the ones violating our human rights]
Various groups trooped to the Commission on Human Rights to hold an indignation rally following the conviction ruling of Tagum Regional Trial Court Branch 2 against 18 Salugpongan teachers and delegates of the National Solidarity Mission led by former Bayan Muna Party-list Representative Satur Ocampo and ACT Teachers Party-List Representative France Castro for kidnapping and child trafficking.
The conviction stemmed from the said solidarity mission to help rescue the Lumad Manobo children and teachers in the Salugpongan Ta’Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center Inc. (STTICLC) campus in Sitio Dulyan amid relentless attacks by the paramilitary Alamara in cooperation with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in their community in the hinterlands of Talaingod.
What happened in Talaingod last November 28, 2018?
It was late evening when teachers cried help to Rep. Castro and Ocampo, saying that they were being harassed by Alamara paramilitary group.
In their joint statement, they noted that the decision ignored the testimonies regarding the continued harassment of the Lumad schools by military and paramilitary forces and the danger that the students faced. It added that even the prosecution’s own witnesses testified that it was out of fear that the teachers decided to leave the community to a safer area. Both Rep. Castro and Ka Satur’s presence were only in the highway where we met the teachers and the children.
“Dahil kami rin ni Ka Satur ay magiging guests doon, inoffer namin ang tulong para sa emergency situation. Alam ko naman dahil government official ako ay walang mangyayari sa akin. Nagrescue kami ng mga bata, hindi namin akalain na kakasuhan kami,” Rep. Castro shared.
[Since Ka Satur and I will also be guests there, we offered our help for the emergency situation. I know that as a government official, nothing would happen to me. We rescued the children, and we didn’t expect that we would be charged]
At that time, two Salugpongan schools remain to operate amid relentless paramilitary and military harassment. Until it was only left with one in Sitio Dulyan.
Ocampo noted that the schools became sanctuary of Lumad Manobo children and teachers as these were established as a formal learning institution aiming to provide basic education to the Manobo. It was also accredited by the Department of Education in 2007.
However, during the Duterte administration, more than 216 Lumad schools were ordered to shutdown following allegations that the schools have been infiltrated by the New People’s Army and teaches students to rebel against the government.
In 2017, Duterte made pronouncements that he will bomb the Lumad schools and that the indigenous peoples should evacuate their communities.
The Lumad Manobos have since refuted such claims. Dalon further noted that more than 10,000 Lumad Manobo have been deprived of basic education following the closure of Salugpongan schools.
“Marami sa mga kaklase ko ang napilitan sa maagang pagpapamilya, naging uso sa amin ang pumunta sa lungsod para magkasambahay,” Dalon lamented.
[Many of my classmates were forced into starting families early; it became common for us to go to the city to become housemaids]
Dalon also lambasted the red-tagging, bombings and illegal occupation or camping of the AFP in their communities.
“Kapag naging estudyante ka ng Lumad schools, automatic ay NPA ka agad. Kaya hanggang sa kasalukuyan, hinuhunting pa rin kami ng mga militar, sinasabihan kami sa aming komunidad na kailangang magpunta sa detatsment para linisin ang mga pangalan namin kasi mga NPA raw kami. Sa totoo ay hindi naman talaga dahil wala naman kaming hawak na baril, tinetrain kami sa mga Lumad schools para maging makamasa, makabayan, at syentipikong estudyante na maglilingkod sa mga komunidad,” Dalon added.
[If you become a student at Lumad schools, you are automatically labeled as NPA. That’s why, even now, the military is still hunting us, telling us in our community that we need to go to the detachment to clear our names because they say we are NPA. But in reality, we are not because we don’t carry any weapons. We are trained in Lumad schools to be mass-oriented, nationalistic, and scientific students who will serve the communities]
“The persons who are actually responsible for the forcible closure of the schools as well as the threats and harassment have never been investigated […] This is a clear miscarriage of justice, and we will strongly question this decision in all venues possible,” said Rep. Castro and Ka Satur in their joint statement.
The continuing struggle for ancestral lands
According to Dalon, the heightened paramilitary and military presence in the communities in Talaingod was because of the establishment of mining companies and logging concessions in the Pantaron mountain range, one of the largest remaining old growth forests in the Philippines.
“Hanggang sa kasalukuyan mula Duterte regime hanggang kay Marcos ay militarized ang aming komunidad lalo na Talaingod,” Dalon said.
[Up until now, from the Duterte regime to Marcos, our community, especially in Talaingod, remains militarized]
There are three mining companies that operate in Talaingod including the One Compostela Valley Minerals, Inc, Phil. Meng Di Mining & Development Corporation, Metalores Consolidated, Inc.
The latter is said to be with the largest coverage that occupies over 15,000 hectares of forests and mountains in Talaingod.
According to Dalon, Lumad groups and farmers have long been resisting firmly against these mining operations and its accompanying deforestation because of the serious damage these lead to their communities, the environment, and the people of Mindanao.
“Napagtagumpayan na ng mga Talaingod Manobo, nina Bai Bibiyaon, ang pakikipaglaban sa militarisasyon. At magpapatuloy rin ang aming pakikipaglaban para depensahan ang aming lupang ninuno, para sa karapatang pantao namin,” said Dalon.
[The Talaingod Manobo, led by Bai Bibiyaon, have already succeeded in their fight against militarization. And we will continue our struggle to defend our ancestral lands and our human rights]
Dalon also noted that there is an undeniable presence of the NPA in their area, especially that these are in hinterlands.
“Alam namin na may umiiral na NPA at may mga sundalo. Pareho naming pinapatuloy ang mga NPA at militar kapag pumupunta sila sa komunidad namin dahil kultura na naming mga Lumad, ng mga katutubo, na tumulong. Basta’t aalis din sila. Pero ang mga mlitar, nagkakampo sila sa mga komunidad namin,” said Dalon.
[We know that the NPA exists and that there are soldiers. We welcome both the NPA and the military when they come to our community because it is our Lumad, our indigenous culture, to help. As long as they leave afterwards. But the military sets up camp in our communities]
However, their communities bear the brunt of such military counter-insurgency offensives that trigger massive evacuations.
“Maraming insidente na ang mga kasama naming estudyante sa Talaingod ay iniistrafing sila ng mga militar. Sa Surigao del Sur, sa ALCADEV, may mga minor na tinamaan dahil nagpapaputok ang mga lasing na militar. Kapag may militar sa mga komunidad, hindi ligtas ang mga bata, ang mga kababaihan, hindi ligtas ang buong komunidad,” Dalon lamented.
[There have been many incidents where our fellow students in Talaingod were strafed by the military. In Surigao del Sur, at ALCADEV, minors were hit because drunk soldiers were firing. When there are military personnel in the communities, the children are not safe, the women are not safe, the entire community is not safe]
Condemn the unjust verdict
Various rights groups and defenders said that the case against Rep. Castro and Ocampo is politically motivated, having to be carefully orchestrated by the current Marcos Jr. administration against the Makabayan coalition which has recently announced plans to vie for senate seats in the upcoming elections.
“Challenge sa akin itong hatol na conviction ng korte at hindi ito magpapahina ng loob sa akin para magpatuloy doon sa kagustuhan ng ating mga teachers, ng mamamayan na tumakbo ako sa Senado. Itong kaso na ito ang magpapalakas ng loob sa akin para ipagpatuloy pa ang paglaban sa kanilang karapatan, sa makabuluhang kahingian ng mamamayan,” said Castro.
[This conviction from the court is a challenge for me, and it will not weaken my resolve to pursue the desires of our teachers and the people for me to run for the Senate. This case will strengthen my courage to continue fighting for their rights and the meaningful demands of the people]
Castro also reiterated the Supreme Court’s major ruling with regard to red-tagging.
“Dapat ito ay irespeto, panghawakan at protektahan ang karapatan ng mga nakikipaglaban, sa mga nagsasalita,” said Castro.
[This should be respected, upheld, and the rights of those who are fighting, those who are speaking out]
“Hindi pa naman tapos ang laban namin sa kaso at inaasahan namin na madidismiss ito,” she added.
[We haven’t finished our fight in the case and we expect it to be dismissed]
According to Castro, their legal counsels are still deliberating on the case. Whether they file a motion for reconsideration to the local court in Tagum or appeal on the decision to the Court of Appeals.
“We remain steadfast in our support for the indigenous schools and communities who continue to bear the brunt of the fascist attacks by the Marcos regime. We persist in our call that those who ordered and orchestrated the attacks against the Lumad schools, specifically former President Rodrigo Duterte and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and endangered the lives of indigenous children must be brought to justice,” it said in their joint statement.
