The Aeta leader said that he supports the country’s national athletes because they are his countrymen. He said what he condemns is how easily the government dismissed their rights and the corruption and anomalies behind the SEA Games.
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.”
For all that it will destroy, Kaliwa dam will only produce 600 million liters of water daily. Yet, there are many alternative sources of water such as the 1.5 billion liters of water daily if government will rehabilitate the Wawa dam. By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA – The government has not yet finished consulting with…
“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.