THE Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR), during his privilege speech on Tuesday, September 12, urged the Department of Justice (DOJ), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Philippine National Police to speed up the investigation of the 15 unsolved murder cases involving Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in Davao City.
IPMR Rodolfo M. Mande expressed concern over the 15 unsolved murder cases that have transpired in the city. Among the 15 murder cases were that of an Obu-Manuvu leader, the late Deputy Mayor Omelis Duyan, and more recently the death of the two police officers who were shot and hacked to death allegedly by IPs.
Mande emphasized that the alleged armed groups and the dangerous members of the Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) in Marilog District were using the IPs to carry high-caliber rifles or firearms and dangerous tools to target leaders who are protecting the Ancestral Domains of the natives.
“In accordance with the priority agenda of Peace and Order of the City Government of Davao, I am urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) through the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), (the) Philippine National Police, and other concerned offices and agencies to conduct further investigation on these 15 [unsolved] murder cases of Indigenous People (IPs) in Davao City,” Mande said.
He even requested for the alleged armed groups to surrender and prohibit the use and bringing of bolo, daggers, or “bangkaw”, knives or “ilab”, firearms, or any deadly accessories to continuously uphold the peace and order in the ICCs within the ancestral domains of the city to deter criminal activities.
“We have been long clamoring for justice which should rightly be served. Our plea for help for the immediate resolution of the unresolved murders remains to be uncertain,” Mande pleaded.
In an ambush interview, Mande told SunStar Davao, that among the reasons for the murder cases were that both parties conflicted in terms of leadership and land. He noted that the tribes of Matigsalug and Obu Manuvu are not on good terms, especially concerning the ancestral domains in Marilog.
He added that they conducted mediation as per the customary law but since these cases involved murder they opted to raise their concern to the security sector to investigate because usually tribal conflicts only involve the use of bolo and knives but the latest murders used high-caliber guns. Thus, he urges the authorities to prioritize this case. RGP