BUTUAN CITY – Hundreds of Indigenous Peoples (IP) from different groups and organizations throughout the Caraga Region gathered here for a protest march to commemorate the September 1, 2015 killings of the three Lumad leaders two years after their deaths in the town of Lianga in Surigao del Norte.
"Today as we celebrate the 2nd year death anniversary of Lumad leaders Dionel Campos and Datu Jovello Sinzo and Emerito Samarca, the Executive Director of Alcadev, who were brutally murdered by the paramilitary group Magahat because of their stand against militarization and environmental destruction. We call our brethren, our fellow IP’s to resist political persecution against our Lumad leaders and communities. We also call for justice for the murder committed in our community, justice for all those who have been killed, justice for those rights had been violated,” said Josephine Pagalan, Spokesperson of KASALO-Caraga, an organization fighting for the rights of the IP’s.
Pagalan urge IPs to be steadfast in the defense of their rights and ancestral lands so that the deaths of those who died fighting would not be in vain.
“We are now more united, more than ever in resisting all resource extracting activities such as logging, plantations, construction of dams, energy projects and most specially, foreign large-scale mining. Even if the president has left his promise during his campaign, but we will push on with our stand,” said Pagalan.
Imelda Belandres, chairwoman of Mapasu, a Manobo IP organization, said the deaths of those who fought should never be forgotten.
“Our leader was gunned down in front of our community, in front the eyes of our children. Together with Campos, Datu Sinzo and Samarca were also killed. Let’s remember them and make sure that that they stood for should never be taken for granted and forgotten,” said Belandres.
Belandres expressed her disappointment with how the President has handled the call for justice of the IPs.
Belandres said they thought President Rodrigo Duterte would hear their voice and hear their problems and help them find a solution. Instead, Belandres said, Duterte has threatened to bomb their schools.
Jeson Tomian, representing Sidlak a Manobo IP organization from Tandag City, Surigao del Sur stated his dismay over the injustice most IP’s has to deal with in Caraga Region.
“We stand strong in support for the call for justice not only for those who were killed in September 1, 2015 but to all the Lumads that had its right violated. We stand united with all of these organizations and all other sector to strengthen our struggle. We will not be anyone fear, we have been living in fear for a long time, its now time to stand and rise above our fears. We kept on hoping for our leaders to help us but we got throughout all these years, what they did was to make us fight one another, killed our leaders, they thought that we will succumb and give up. But what they don’t know is that for every leader they killed, we will rise up for them and continue the fight,” said Tomian.
Datu Mantapaos of Linundigan, a Higaonon IP organization from Esperanza, Agusan del Sur stated that, “We already had enough of the oppression and injustice throughout all these years, we had enough of how they have stepped on our human rights. We call on for real justice be served, we demand for justice.”
Several other leaders from other IP organizations raised their concerns and call for justice to those who have been killed and demands for the respect of their rights as IP’s and that to their rights to their ancestral lands.
Data from Kasalo reveal that since 2009 until 2017, about 15 IP leaders and environmental activists had been killed.
The latest victim in the killings in Caraga Region against environmental rights and IP leaders was on January 20, 2017 in the mining town of Claver in Surigao del Norte against Nico Delamente a Mamanwa IP, who was calling to review of the mining agreement between the mining firm operating in the area and their community.