Despite ongoing threats and harassment for asserting their collective right to ancestral land, Molbog indigenous people and non-Indigenous residents of Sitio Marihangin, Bugsuk, Palawan, marked Eid al-Adha with solemn prayers for peace and justice. As part of their sacred and enduring tradition, they also lit candles at the burial grounds of their departed loved ones, honoring their memory.

For consecutive weeks, residents continue to guard their homes each night against the possible intrusion of armed guards into their community. They have set up makeshift shelters and maintain a round-the-clock watch, standing united in defense of their land.

More than forty guards reportedly entered their island in the wee hours of May 18. More than sixty days have passed since the previous deployment of 80 armed guards from JMV Security Services in their community.

Advocacy group Sambilog – Balik Bugsuk Movement said that there has been no concrete action from the government to intervene against the ongoing harassment in the Sitio Marihangin. “A mix of sleeplessness, exhaustion, and hunger is what people endure just to keep their homes from being entered by the blue guards. Both young and old are deeply burdened by the chaos brought about by the presence of armed men,” Sambilog said in Filipino statement yesterday, June 5.

Text by Dominic Gutoman
Photos by Sambilog – Balik Bugsuk Movement