DAYS after the fire that destroyed lumads' sanctuary in Davao City, support from different advocate groups was felt by the lumad community residing in United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) Haran Compound.
The Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) church's Supreme Council of Bishops (SCB) has condemned the incident, calling it a “display of the culture of impunity perpetrated by the state.”
Citing a report from Sun.Star Davao, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is looking into arson as the cause of the fire that razed dormitories and injured five individuals including a two-year-old child.
In a statement, the SCB deplored the act, which it said is aimed to harass, intimidate, and oppress the lumads in the area even as echoing the same call in condemning the military and paramilitary which they believe are the perpetrators.
Militant groups have been pointing their fingers at the military as suspects of the Haran burning.
But the military cautioned the progressive groups to stop the blaming game since investigations are still ongoing.
Also, the SCB likewise expressed solidarity with the UCCP as its partner in standing up and fighting for the lumad's rights.
"As bishops and shepherds of our people, we are deeply bothered of the situation who are forcibly uprooted from their homeland due to the intensified Oplan Bayanihan of the state in the name of development," the SCB said.
The IFI bishops reiterated their stand that lumad communities should be free from interests of large-scale mining companies, which drive them away to their ancestral lands.
It added that these exploitations are resulting in increased incidence of human rights violations, destruction of environment, and an unmitigated plunder of mineral resources.
The military, the SCB said, has become the “principal apparatus to advance development aggression and the genocide of the lumad people.”
To assure their safe and peaceful return to their communities, the SCB emphasized the lumads overdue pre-conditions.
The arrest of the suspects for the murder of lumad leaders Bello Sinzo, Dionel Campos, and Emerito Samarca, dismantling of the paramilitary, the accountability of the military's commanding officers, pulling out the military units from lumad communities, and stopping military operations are among the lumads' demands.
"We corporately uphold lumads' rights to live and self-determination, right to education, and the right to improve the quality of life to its fullest," the SCB said, as it urged all Christians and churches to make a stand and side with the lumads.