Tuesday, August 05, 2008 Lumads: ‘Respect us’ By Ryan Rosauro Correspondent
AS THE government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) gear towards an agreement defining the expanse of a homeland for the Moro people, leaders of indigenous peoples’ communities in Mindanao have reiterated their call not to include their ancestral territories in the mulled Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE).
Some 140 Lumad leaders from all over the island, who met in a three-day conference in Davao City last week, lamented that they were never given a voice in the negotiations between government and the MILF on the issue of ancestral domain "even if this deeply affects us."
Timuay Fernando Mudai, a Subanen leader in the Zamboanga Peninsula, said the Lumads deeply respects the Moro people's "rightful claim to ancestral domain" but stressed that "they should also respect ours."
He added that based on Subanen oral tradition, parts of the Zamboanga Peninsula -- which covers Zamboanga city and the provinces of Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay -- was never a part of either the Sulu or Maguindanao sultanate.
There were, however, clashes between the Subanens and the Maguindanao sultanate as the latter tried to conquer parts of their territory, Mudai related.
He further explained that the thriving Moro communities in Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay provinces are a result of trade and migration "and not because they are the original settlers in these areas."
The Lumad leaders are worried that if their communities were made part of the Bangsamoro homeland, they would still not be able to achieve political, cultural, and socio-economic self-determination.
"Our Moro brothers must understand that we have a culture distinct from the Bangsamoro identity," said Apu Marcial Daul, an Arumanun-Manobo leader.
Even Islamized Higaonons that inhabit the mountains in the border of Iligan City, Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon, and the Islamized Subanens in Zamboanga del Norte -- both of which are called Kolibugan -- identify themselves more with their ancestral tribal origin.
The Lumad leaders, therefore, demand that their ancestral domains be delineated and titled based on existing laws so that these would not fall within the defined BJE.
But Daul cautioned Lumads "not to see the MILF as enemy."
"Let us not distance ourselves from them, rather engage them in discussion. But let us oppose greater encroachments into our ancestral domain," Daul said.
The first time the Lumad leaders firmed up their position on the BJE was in July 2006 during the First Mindanao Indigenous Peoples’ Summit held in Lantapan, Bukidnon. Many participants attended the conference.
In his book The Long Road to Peace: Inside the GRP-MILF Peace Process, Salah Jubair/Mohagher Iqbal commented that the MILF was suspicious that government had a hand in molding the Lumad leaders' position as two of its panel members and a member of its technical committee were present during the summit.
But Jubair/Iqbal still recognizes that the indigenous peoples have a "valid claim to their ancestral domains and lands rooted in history and the evidence on the ground."
The draft agreement on ancestral domain between government and the MILF also recognizes the option by the Lumads to either identify themselves with the Bangsamoro or not.
New tool for Lumads
Barring no changes in the provisions on Bangsamoro ancestral domain, Ma. Carmen Lauzon-Gatmaytan said indigenous peoples’ communities that would be included in the BJE, are provided a new legal tool.
Last May, the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) passed its version of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (Ipra) to cover tribal groups within its jurisdiction.
Gatmaytan said it would be wise to study this new legal instrument so that it can be effectively used to advance the self-determination goals of indigenous peoples. (Ryan D. Rosauro)
