I CAME home two years ago to take my Mom’s ashes back to her final resting place, in Cagayan de Oro. It was an emotional journey, but I felt it was necessary for her to come home. She migrated to the United States to be with me in 2003, but her home has always been in Kauswagan, with the rest of her clan.
When my relatives were driving me around the city to make the necessary arrangements for my Mom’s funeral, I noticed that there were a number of indigenous individuals roaming around, especially close to RER subdivision, near the bridge. I asked my sister about them, and she explained that these are Badjaos who live under the Marcos bridge and they often beg for money or food in our neighborhood. I really felt bad for them, on so many levels.
I was told that these Badjaos are sea gypsies. They travel from one city to another. But, there is a deeper and wider problem to this scenario than just nomadic migration, not only of the Badjao community, but our indigenous brother and sisters. A SunStar article on December 21, 2016 by A. Viguella narrated that indigenous families are alarmingly displaced because of economic and security concerns. Unlike mine and my Mom’s, the idea of home for these indigenous people may completely bring horrible memories, of destruction, distrust, and suffering. Because of their sufferings, they have to vacate their safe spaces and live in the city to survive. With limited skills to interact in a modern environment and no relocation support from the government, all they have are each other and some survival skills learned from their once-safe habitat.
Over the years, these indigenous people tilled our lands and raised offsprings to make sure their lineage lives on. They came before us and they co-existed with us peacefully, as we built cities and deforested their habitat for our mansions. The Philippine Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 offered some hope for a better life for our indigenous brothers and sisters with the establishment of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). However, legal squabbles challenging the constitutionality of both, plagued their implementation. In the recent years, killings of indigenous people, especially in Mindanao triggered mass displacement.
Looking at recent SunStar articles and social media discussions, it seems there are some activities on this issue. A facebook post on February 10, 2016 declared that 53 Badjao families who were temporarily living in Puntod were supposedly relocated to a permanent location in Bayabas. However, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of Northern Mindanao opposed this planned relocation because of safety concerns, based on a SunStar report on July 12, 2017 by P.J. Orias. Unfortunately, there are no current updates available on the internet. I am really interested to hear from the city about plans to protect and improve the lives of the Badjaos living in Cagayan de Oro.
The United Nations declared that every member country should recognize the right of indigenous peoples to be educated in their own languages and culture; access health services especially to reproductive health care to reduce maternal and infant death rates; and eliminate structural forms of violence and discrimination. Indigenous peoples from around the world make significant cultural, intellectual and economic contributions.
In the Asia Pacific region, indigenous people share essential knowledge and skills in conservation and the sustainable use of land, forests and natural resources. I am really hoping that our city can pull together and make the lives of our Badjao brothers and sisters better. Our security and economic growth rely on how we take care of each other. After all, we share the same history and we anticipate the same future. As the famous Iranian-American human rights activist Mahnaz Afkham once said, “We have the ability to achieve, if we master the necessary goodwill, a common global society blessed with a shared culture of peace that is nourished by the ethnic, national and local diversities that enrich our lives.”