ON THE wall of the tourism center of a Mandaya tribe in an upland barangay in Caraga, Davao Oriental, there is a tarpaulin sign listing the 18 customary laws of their tribe.
Among the laws of the tribe are: respect for elders and women, restrictions on individual territories, as well as the supremacy of the decision of the elders, among many others.
This is the story of the Mandaya tribe in the vast ancestral land in Caraga, Davao Oriental.
Sometime June this year, messages asking for help were received by SunStar Davao through its Facebook page.
The messages contained that villagers of sitio Sangab in barangay Pichon, Caraga, Davao Orientalare being threatened by the New People's Army (NPA). They said that the NPA has given their leader Likid Cupertino Banugan until July 3, 2016 to surrender or else they will attack the village.
The village part of certificate of ancestral domain title-01 (CADT-01) of the Mandaya tribe led by Banugan or Likid Cuper as he is commonly known among tribesmen.
"Pagsulod nila, naabut sila sa sitio Caliongan. Dili ta mubakwit ha, patay-buhi ta diri kay sumala sa katiguwangan kini kabilin sa atoa, diri ta mamatay, diri ta magpakabuhi. pero dili ta magpakamatay, sukol ta, bahala mubanak ang dugo. Mao na'y ibilin nato sa future generasyon - ang dugo nga gipakamatyan nato, gibuhisan (When the NPA moved in reaching as near as sitio Caliongan, I said, we will not leave whether we live or die because our ancestors have said this land is our heritage. We will die here, we will live here, but we will not allow ourselves to be killed without fighting. We will, never mind if blood will be shed. That is what we will leave the next generation, the blood we spilled to protect our land)," Likid Cuper told reporters during the 18th Kalindugan Festival last October 29, 2016.
Likid means 'high datu' in the Mandaya tribal tradition.
ON June 13, 2016, around 200 NPA rebels, tried to enter the village from the mountains of New Bataan in Compostela Valley, and descended in Sangab, and knocked on several homes.
The rebels were apparently interceding for one family, the Bayon family, who was staking claim over an area occupied by a clan in CADT-01.
CADT-01 is made up of 13 of 18 sitios in barangay Pichon. The five other sitios are still dominantly Mandaya, but who have already imbibed the lowlanders' ways and did not want to be part of the ancestral domain.
Previously, it was under a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claims covering 5,000 hectares in 1997. The tribe applied for a CADT, which was approved last December 17, 2013 through the RA 8371 or Indigenous Peoples Rights Acts (IPRA Law) allowing the expansion on the area of coverage to more than 14,500 hectares.
The council of elders, led by Likid Cuper, decided on the dispute and ruled in favor of the Eligan clan against the Bayon family.
The decision of the council of elders on land disputes, he said, is again based on their tribal policy made up of four considerations: 1. Who was there first. 2. What is the claimant's landmark. 3. Historical account of land ownership. 4. A witness to attest when you occupied the area.
The leader of the Bayon family did not agree with this and accused Banugan of grabbing their land. Accordingly, those who did not agree with Banugan, allegedly told outsiders that the tribal chieftain was ruling over the CADT.
"Wala ko nagcontrol para sa akong personal. Dili ko landlord na tao. Ang akong pagcontrol diri subay sa balaod na ang kultura na di masira ang tribo. Naa sa balaod na tanang entrant iregulate kay basin kana ang makabungkag sa tribo sa knowledge and indigenous ways (My control of the land is not personal, I am not the landlord type. My control is based on the law that takes precautions against the destruction of the tribe. It's in the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act that entrants have to be regulated because these might break up the tribe and destroy our knowledge and indigenous ways)," he said.
Under Rulle III Part II Section 8 (Right to Resolve Conflicts According to Customary Laws) of the rules and regulations of the Ipra Law (National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Adminsitrative Order No. 1 series of 1998), it says, "All conflicts pertaining to property rights, claims and ownership, hereditary succession and settlement of land disputes within ancestral domains/lands shall be resolved in accordance with the customary laws, traditions and practices of the ICCs/IPs in the area where the conflict arises."
From that issue, he was also accused of corrupting the 50-centavo per kilo fee from abaca harvests that is again, he said, based on the Ipra law.
The fee, he said, was agreed on by the council of elders and have been used to administer the vast land under the claim.
Having been faced with this accusation, he asked the council to account for all collections since 13 years ago when they first got the CADC. The total collection was around P700,000 he said or just over P50,000 per year. Of this amount, P36,000 per year is used for the tribal guards and monitoring of the area. The rest is used for council meetings and other activities.
"Maulaw man mi sige magpakalimos sa province, sa munisipyo. Ang usa ka lider dili pwede magpakalimos, dili na pwede magpasuhol. Og suholan ka, dili na ka leader, suluguon ka (It's shameful to always beg for funding from the province, from the municipal government. A leader should never beg, he should not be paid for doing his job because if you are paid, then you are no longer a leader, you are a servant)," he said.
All other developments in the tribal village are from allocations by the local government and a small grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and counterpart by Likid Banugan from a falcata farm he tended.
"The collection was agreed on by the council, it was not initiated by me alone," he said.
The NPA wanted to intercede and settle the issue, a move Banugan found outrageous.
"Ang gusto nila sila ang mu-settle nga naa may council diri (The rebels want to settle the issue when we have the tribal council)," he said.
Using their tribal policies as prescribed by the Ipra, the Mandaya tribe of CADT-01 have their council of elders or Magkatadong. The elders base their decisions on customary laws. The tribe also has the tribal council or the lawmakers and a "tagahusay" or the judiciary. They also have sitio representatives called Limpong, as well as clan representatives or Sabak.
At first, the natives fled their village, but later decided to stand their ground protected by their own Mannadu fighters who were armed with bolos.
The government military meanwhile sent out their troops as well to protect the villagers.
The rebels have since left, allowing the tribe members to stage the Kalindugan Festival again, albeit it was at a less festive scale than before.
"Wala man gud mi naka-prepare og maayo tungod niato (We did not have time to prepare because of what happened)," Caraga Councilor Daisy Jane Banugan-Polancos said.
The schools in CADT-01 again presented in dances and skits the ways of their people. The winner this year is the Sangab Elementary School, which presented the story of how the NPA tried to take over their land this year, including how the rebels were led by a gay commander; a detail confirmed by the military officer who was invited to join the festivities.
Indeed, self-determination as long demanded by indigenous groups tend to be looked down on or belittled by forces outside the tribe. This was manifested when the NPA tried to intercede, maybe in the belief that they can administer justice better.
The issues raised here are under Rulle III Part II of the rules and regulations of the Ipra Law (National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Adminsitrative Order No. 1 series of 1998), which states:
"Part II. Rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples to Ancestral Domains
"Section 1. Rights of Ownership. ICCs/IPs have rights of ownership over lands, waters, and natural resources and all improvements made by them at any time within the ancestral domains/lands. These rights shall include, but not limited to, the right over the fruits, the right to possess, the right to use, right to consume, right to exclude and right to recover ownership, and the rights or interests over land and natural resources.
The right to recover shall be particularly applied to lands lost through fraud or any form of vitiated consent or transferred for an unconscionable price."
It's in the law, but a tribe will never be given that without standing up as one and saying, they are their own people and they know the laws, both national and customary.