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The tribal council of the South, the Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao or Kalumaran, has issued a unity statement saying that they support the Bangsamoro cause for self-determination and ancestral lands but doubt the real motives of the national government in “rushing” the Memorandum of Agreement for Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

BY NOEL SALES BARCELONA
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S WATCH
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 32, September 14-20, 2008

The tribal council of the South, the Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao or Kalumaran, has issued a unity statement saying that they support the Bangsamoro cause for self-determination and ancestral lands but doubt the real motives of the national government in “rushing” the Memorandum of Agreement for Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The signing of the MOA-AD, which was scheduled for Aug. 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was aborted due to a Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Supreme Court.

The agreement is supposedly part of the peace pact between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Sharing same history of oppression and struggles

In an emailed copy of the Unity Statement, which was approved during the Council Meeting of Kalumaran in Cagayan de Oro City last Sept. 7, the Lumad group said that they firmly support the Bangsamoro’s struggle for ancestral domain and their Right to Self-Determination, for they share the same history of oppression, both by colonizers and state forces.

“Longstanding peace pacts between Moro and Lumad tribes, such as the dyandi, tampuda, sandugo, sapa, sinumlite, and others, further formalized this relationship. Presently, the majority poor of the Lumad, Moro and settlers in Mindanao suffer from a common problem of landlessness. We suffer from the plunder of our lands by multinational corporations engaged in logging, mining, and agribusiness enterprises. We likewise suffer militarization in our communities like in Caraga, Davao Provinces, Socsksargen, Zamboanga, Bukidnon and other areas that result in massive evacuation and dislocation of communities,” read the statement.

MOA-AD positive, government’s motive: negative

The Unity Statement also mentioned that the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) is an expression of the Bangsamoro’s right to self-determination by defining the foundation, concept and principles that recognize the ancestral domain of the Bangsamoro.

“It also affirms and acknowledges the Lumad’s right to self-determination by recognizing Lumad territories under the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE). However, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the big landlords, big businesses and imperialist powers, have used the MOA-AD to further their interests,” Kalumaran said.

Kalumaran explained in the unity statement that Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and big landlords have exploited the issues surrounding the MOA-AD to mislead and divide the Filipino people.

“They have done so by calling on civilians to take up arms against the Moro people as a means of protecting their own vast tracks of land and businesses. Warlords such as Manny Piñol of North Cotabato, who plays a big role in defending multinational corporations in his province, have further incited violence and disunity. However, the marginalized Filipino people, especially the Lumads, are not swayed by this manipulation because it is clear whose interests such calls serve,” stressed the statement.

Kalumaran said that they denounce-in the highest possible terms-the Arroyo government’s abandonment of peace negotiations between the GRP-MILF and the GRP-NDF and its policy of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), which will only wreak havoc on our communities already bearing the burden of Arroyo’s militarist policies.

In addition, Kalumaran said that Mrs. Arroyo took advantage of the confusion on the MOA-AD to launch an “all-out war” against the Bangsamoro and Lumad communities.

“After abandoning peace negotiations, Arroyo stressed the call for surrender – even fake surrender of civilians- and the provision of firearms to civilians and vigilante groups like the Ilaga. Her government has also provoked division and conflict among the Lumads by using fake tribal leaders like Joel Unad, Ruben Labawan, Ramon Bayaan, Luis Lambac, Deo Mampatilan, Lito Gawilan and their organizations such as the Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Conference for Peace and Development (MIPCPD) which are supported by the military,” it added.

“By Arroyo’s design, the MOA-AD becomes a justification to push for Charter change, thereby extending her term,” the statement further read.