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Mangyan are the target of intensified state violence due to counterinsurgency program dubbed as Oplan Kapanatagan. Last June, strafing and bombing operations in Victoria and Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, forced over 600 Mangyan to evacuate to the lowlands.
Local folks simultaneously do panag-aapoy (light a fire) on the graves of their departed relatives which gives a sight of bonfire across the cemetery. They believe that the fires give warmth and light to their departed loved ones. According to some community members, panag-aapoy is also a way of connecting to the souls of their ancestors.
"We will die fighting against the dam project. We will not leave our communities."
“If we don’t fight now, when we grow up, we won’t have anything to fight for because it’s already too late.”
Indigenous peoples organizations from Southern Tagalog and Mindanao as well as the Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) global secretariat joined the national action organized by Katribu and SANDUGO on Aug. 9.
Indigenous peoples continue to face an “uphill battle for the recognition and respect of their rights to self-determination and to their ancestral domain, in which their identities are anchored.”
"Visual progressive art is important in protest actions like these. It expresses more clearly our calls.”
“I represent, not only the lumads and the indigenous peoples, but all the humble citizens of the country.”
In today's celebration, Lumad school children took turns in hugging the former lawmaker, thanking him for being an inspiration to their struggle for their rights and for their ancestral domains.
“…if traditional politicians will be here to stay, then this will be no different from the past attempts to build an autonomous region.”
The peace park is an expression and integration of Karen people’s right to self-determination, natural resource management, environmental protection, and good governance.
Karen peoples have re-envisioned their indigenous territories through the establishment of Salween Peace Park as “a space of peace, self-determination, environmental integrity, and cultural survival.”
Datu Kaylo clarified that Salugpongan has been recognized by the NCIP Region XI as Tribal Council of elders in 2003, and it is entitled to all rights, benefits, and privileges granted under Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples’Rights Act (IPRA).
In light of the recent events, Bulatlat compiled some of its stories on Pantaron Mountain Range to provide context why the government has been deploying battalions of soldiers in Mindanao and why Lumad schools are under attack.
“Joel Unad is a fake tribal leader who claims thousands of hectares through faulty Certificate of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADT),” PASAKA said.
Since October 2017, Radyo Lumad has been on air eight hours a day, five times a week.
Katribu hopes to encourage more journalists to write about indigenous peoples’ struggles and aspirations.
“The whole country is kept ignorant of our plight."
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