THE supreme leader of the Ata tribe in Davao City, Kunulan Jose "Joe" Amban, has passed away at the age of 58.
Juanita Amban, the Ata leader’s wife, said in a radio interview at the Super Radyo Davao dxGM, that her husband died of a heart disease. She added that her husband has been undergoing dialysis for seven years.
Juanita revealed that even though Kunulan Jose was sick, he continued to work hard and was active in helping the community.
Amban is the head of the Indigenous Political Structure (IPS) of the Ata tribe, which includes the 65,000-hectare ancestral domain that consists of nine tribal barangays in Paquibato District, five Calinan barangays, four Marilog barangays and four barangays in Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte.
Among the things that he has done is the movement for the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title of their land inheritance.
He was also one of the leaders in creating the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development Protection Plan (ADSDP) and sorted out the complications and problems of the tribe.
“Perti gyud niya og paningkamot sa ancestral domain, siya man gyud ang naghimo sa plano, siya gihapon ang nag-head ADSDP (He did his best for the ancestral domain. It was him who created the plan and headed the ADSDP),” she said.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples-Davao Region (NCIP-Davao) expressed grief for the passing of Amban.
Atty. Geroncio Aguio, regional director of NCIP-Davao, expressed that Amban’s contribution was great not only to the Ata tribe but also to the entire Indigenous People’s community.
“Kami sa NCIP-11 nagpa-abot sa amoang kasubo sa pagpanaw sa usa ka leader sa Ata nga tribe diri sa Paquibato, sa pamilya, ug sa tanan nga mga tribu nga sakop sa atoang leader nga si Jose Amban nga mipanaw na (Here in the NCIP-11 we send our deepest condolences to the passing of one of the leaders of the Ata tribe in Paquibato, to the family, and all the people of the tribe that is under leader Jose Amban who died),” he said.
As of writing, steps are being planned for the replacement of Amban in his leadership positions. RGP