VOL XVI

No. 2

Official Publication of the Northern Luzon Forum for Church and Society
in Partnership with the Regional Ecumenical Council in the Cordillera

Dec.
2016

Editorial Board
Bishop Carlito Cenzon, D.D.
CICM
Fr. Claudio Banasan
Diocese of Baguio
Bishop Benjamin Justo
UMC
Bishop Dr. Juan A. Marigza
UCCP
Bishop Elorde M. Sambat
UCCP-NLJA
Rev. Dr. Pearl Dingayan
Ecumenical Theological Seminary
Rev. Luna Dingayan
Ecumenical Theological Seminary
Rev. David Tabo-oy
ECP

Editorial Staff
Mr. Ben Longid
Ptr. William Mariano
Ptr. Maricar Delfun
Mr. Paul Ruiz (Lay-out Artist)

Mailing Address:
The Writing on the Wall
42 Bokawkan Road, Baguio City,
2600, Philippines
Telephone no: (074) 619 4346
E-mail: wowpublication@yahoo.com.ph
Subscription Fee:
Local: P300 per year
International: $50 per

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Articles

Editorial

CHRISTMAS IS GODS ACT OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE POOR
Biblico-Theological Reflection

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE TO REIGN IN OUR LAND

Pages
3
4

Church and Society

GENUINE REGIONAL AUTONOMY AS SELF-DETERMINATION IN THE
CORDILLERA 6
Liturgical Resources

LITURGICAL RESOURCE FOR DECEMBER 2016

Sermon

ADVANCING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AGENDA FOR GENUINE PEACE
AND FREEDOM 10
Womens Corner

REFLECTIONS 12
Peoples Voice

JOINT STATEMENT FROM IPMSDL, AIPP and IOSDE
28

STATEMENT FROM THE ECUMENICAL BISHOPS FORUM (EBF)
NORTH LUZON 30

STATEMENT FROM THE CORDILLERA PEOPLES ALLIANCE 31
Photo Gallery 15, 32, 33
Featured News

FROM THE ILI TO THE CITY: THE CONTINUING STRUGGLE OF

NATIONAL MINORITIES FOR SELF-DETERMINATION

34

Ecumenical News

UNC DELEGATES RE_ELECT THE INCUMBENT BISHOPS
35

CHIEF PEACE NEGOTIATOR ANNOUNCES GRP TO RELEASE

70 POLITICAL PRISONERS 37

CORDILLERA ELDERS PUSH FOR GENUINE REGIONAL AUTONOMY
37

REVIVING AWIT BAGUIO-BENGUET 37
Literati 38
Not so Trivia

FACTSHEET ON: HUMAN TRAFFICKING 39

The Writing on the Wall is an ecumenical journal meant to generate discourse on social issues
as it aims to develop appropriate faith responses not only among individual Christians but as
corporate members of the Living Church. It is a companion magazine for church workers all
over the region journeying in the pilgrimage to Shalom.
It is a celebration and a struggle: to be ever faithful to the gospel, ever close to the poor and
ever relevant to the times. Thus, it aims to come up with timely and critical articles which are
significant to integral evangelization and holistic ministry to the people.
Everyone is invited to contribute their ideas - theological, literary, social and even artistic
works (not excluding financial contributions of course) to the enhancement and continuing
release of this publication. Together, let us catalyze the tasks for spiritual and social salvation!
The contents of this publication are encouraged to be freely reproduced and disseminated - no
need to ask for permissions but we would appreciate proper acknowledgement.

Some articles are meant

to stimulate lively debate
and critical thinking and
may not necessarily reflect
the position of the Editorial
Board and RECCORD.

Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin!

The Biblical Writing on the Wall foretells of Nebuchadnezzars kingdom because he is found wanting in the eyes of GOD. So shall
this present age of monopoly capitalist globalization where the idol Mammon reigns! This work urges all the faithful to do what the
Lord requires: to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our GOD.

CHRISTMAS IS GODS ACT OF

SOLIDARITY WITH THE POOR
We are living in a time of great turmoil, in a world of armed conflict,
of sorrow and outrage at the senseless mayhem that has engulfed us from
Africa to North Dakota, to Mindanao, to the Cordillera and to a number
of other places where fear and violence continue to disrupt the lives of
people.
In the Philippines, despite declarations of
a unilateral ceasefire and despite President
Dutertes avowal to pursue peace talks with insurgent groups, military operations continue in
the countryside especially in indigenous peoples
communities. To date, Katribu has documented
that at least nine indigenous peoples activists
have been killed under Dutertes watch. Oplan
Bayanihan, cloaked as peace development outreach program is a blatant anti-insurgency program employed by the military under the previous administration and is still being used now as
a justification for the presence of military and
para-military troops in areas surrounding mining and logging operations and corporate plantations. The exploitation of resources by extractive
industries often take place without the indigenous peoples free, prior and informed consent
which is an outright transgression of the IPs basic right to self-determination.
There is no peace among those on whom His
favors rest- the poor, the hungry, those of humble estate. Without precluding the rich, these are
intended to be the primary receivers of the good
news. The steadfastness of churches in providing
support and refuge to Lumads in the face of militarization is a praiseworthy display of courage
and solidarity with the oppressed.
National minorities increasingly find themselves
in situations of conflict in their territories targeted
by big business for their natural resources and it is a
common occurrence for them to be told to sacrifice
their lands, cultural and economic rights for corporate
greed which is often masked as the public interest.
This has been the justification for state forces to harass Native Americans in Standing Rock, the Lumads
in Mindanao, national minorities in the Cordillera,
Honduras, Columbia ... you name it, national minorities are the victims of corporate and state violence
worldwide.

the city to air their grievances, they are violently

attacked and beaten up and maliciously trolled in
social media. The stories of national minorities are
often relegated to obscure corners or are deliberately distorted adding to the sad reality of marginality.
In Christmas, we celebrate Gods incarnation into
a broken world, we acknowledge the plight of the
poor, the sick, the captives in the bondage of injustice and affirm Gods decision to side with the
marginalized. The least we can do is to eschew the
trappings of affluence and celebrate poverty as an
act of solidarity with the poor.

Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth

It is a sad fact that mainstream media has generamong those whom He is pleased.
ally chosen to ignore the plight of national minoriLuke 2:14
ties. When they decide to band together, march to
3

December 2016

BIBLICO-THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

TO REIGN IN OUR LAND
REV. LUNA L. DINGAYAN
President, Ecumenical Theological Seminary
No. 42, Bokawkan Road, Baguio City
BIBLICAL TEXTS: Acts 12:1-5
About this time King Herod began to persecute some members
of the church. He had James, the
brother of John, put to death by
the sword. When he saw that this
pleased the Jews, he went ahead and
had Peter arrested. (This happened
during the time of the Festival of
Unleavened Bread.) After his arrest
Peter was put in jail, where he was
handed over to be guarded by four
groups of four soldiers each. Herod
planned to put him on trial in public after Passover. So Peter was kept
in jail, but the people of the church
were praying earnestly to God for
him.
INTRODUCTION:
I was asked to share with you
some Biblico-Theological Reflections on the theme: Give Peace a
Chance to Reign in our Land.
I would like to view our theme
this morning as an earnest prayer addressed to the God of peace recited
repeatedly through all these years. I
know for sure that for many years,
the Ecumenical Bishops Forum
have been conducting activities like
this, passionately praying and urging the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the
National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDFP) to return once
again to the negotiating table to talk
about genuine and lasting peace and
resolve once and for all our social
problems politically and peacefully,
and thereby, Give Peace a Chance
to Reign in our Land.
4

Now, we are all delighted and

excited that President Duterte responded positively to this yearning for peace and worked out for
the resumption of the peace talks
that had been suspended for many
years. The formal peace talks had
been resumed last August 22, 2016
in Oslo, Norway. And according to
some reports, the two panels agreed
to reaffirm all previously signed
agreements since The Hague Joint
Declaration of 1992 and resolved to
conduct formal talks and consultations in accordance with said agreements.
Aside from The Hague Joint
Declaration, both parties also reaffirmed all the previous bilateral
and binding agreements made in
the peace negotiations that include
the JASIG of 1995; the Joint Agreement on the Formation, Sequence
and Operationalization of the Reciprocal Working Committees of the
GRP and NDFP Negotiating Panels
of 1995; and the Comprehensive
Agreement on Respect for Human
Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) of 1998.
The two sides also agreed that the
Reciprocal Working Committees
on Social and Economic Reforms
(RWC-SER) of the GRP and NDFP
shall meet this September. The
Working Committees shall tackle
and strive to reach an agreement on
genuine land reform, national industrialization, workers rights and
welfare, social welfare, education
and culture. They would also strive
to finish within six months from

September the tentative Comprehensive Agreement on Social and

Economic Reforms to be submitted
for approval by both panels.
All these things are very encouraging and hopeful signs that God,
indeed, is answering our prayers
for peace. For who among us ever
thought that God could make use of
a President with a very bad temper
and a very bad mouth to be instrument for the resumption of peace
talks? Of course, we know for sure
from Biblical history that God could
even make use of Cyrus the Great,
the Pagan Ruler of Persia who never knew Yahweh, to be instrument
in setting free the Israelites from
Babylonian Captivity and return to
their homeland.
But nevertheless, let us continue to pray for God to continuously work in wondrous ways to
Give Peace a Chance to Reign in
our Land. For surely, the enemies
of peace are also doing everything
they could to frustrate the reign of
peace in our land.
United in Prayer
Praying is one of the traditional
reactions of Christians when faced
with crises in life, be it social or
personal, political, economic, moral or spiritual. In the Book of Acts,
there is an interesting story about a
prayer meeting that opened a prison
cell (Acts 12: 1-19). The story began with the persecution of Christians during the time of King Herod
Agrippa. It had reached its peak
with the arrest and imprisonment of
December 2016

BIBLICO-THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS
Peter. The authorities had already
executed James, the brother of John
and one of Jesus disciples. And
evidently, King Herod would not allow Peter to escape for he instructed
soldiers to guard him day and night.
From the Christians point of
view, Peter was the leader of the
Early Church most worth saving and praying for. Peters death
would surely be a major tragedy to
the Christian movement. But from
King Herods point of view, Peter was the Christian most worth
watching and destroying. For him,
Peter was a very dangerous person.
But nevertheless, the small group of
Christians in Jerusalem did not lose
heart. There was only one course of
action opened to them, and this was
to be united in prayer.
And so the Christians gathered
together in the house of Mary, the
mother of John Mark. This place
might have been the Upper Room.
And there they put themselves in
the sole business of praying for Peter.
Today, if some grave injustice
were done to a Christian leader, how
different we might act. Many of us
would perhaps write to the newspapers and other media outlets letters of protests, arrange interviews
with government and military officials, organize a press conference,
or present a petition to the highest
person in the land. But none of
these things were possible in the
Early Church. Those believers in
Christ could do only one thing; they
could only come together in a godly
home, get down on their knees and
pray to the Almighty God.
Two Contending Parties
Now, consider the contrast between the two contending parties.
On the one side, we have a handful
of Christians, without any political
power. On the other side, we have
the power of the whole Roman Empire and its local collaborators, like
King Herod Agrippa.
5

Also,
conraying is one of the traditional reacsider the contrast
between tions of Christians when faced with crithe means the ses in life, be it social or personal, potwo parties employed. To keep litical, economic, moral or spiritual. In
Peter in prison, the Book of Acts, there is an interestKing Herod re- ing story about a prayer meeting that
lied on his sol- opened a prison cell (Acts 12: 1-19).
diers. To overcome Herods
In his letter to the Romans,
might, the Christians relied on unitApostle
Paul gives us an answer
ed intercessory prayers.
(cf. Rom. 8:26-27). For him, prayFrom any human point of view it ing is humanly impossible. In other
is very clear which side was stron- words, when we pray we are actualger. What can a small group of ly doing something humanly imposChristians do against the enormous sible. We are talking to Someone
power of the Roman Empire? But who is not someone else, but who is
in all such estimates of forces, it is nearer to us than we ourselves are.
so easy to leave out one crucial fac- We are addressing Someone, who
tor, and that is, Gods omnipotence. can never become an object of our
However, the Early Christians re- address, because He is always subfused to do that. Thus, we read in ject, always acting, always creating.
the Scripture: So Peter was kept We are telling something to Him
in jail, but the people of the church who knows not only what we are
were praying earnestly to God for telling Him, but also all the unconhim (Acts 12:5).
scious tendencies out of which our
In a world like ours, where peo- conscious words come out. This is
ple put their ultimate trust in them- the reason why praying in humanly
selves and have complete reliance impossible.
on weapons of terror and death,
It is actually God Himself who
and where Christians seem to be in- prays through us when we pray to
timidated and confused; the life of Him; it is God Himself in us. That
the Early Christians in their prayer is what Holy Spirit means. Holy
meetings is a glaring reminder to us Spirit is another word for Gods
that the ultimate power that guided Presence with inspiring and transthe church throughout the ages in forming power.
the midst of struggles and persecuSomeone in us, not we ourselves,
tions is in Gods Almighty Hand.
intercedes
before God for us. We
Indeed, our Christian hope is far
cannot
bridge
the gap between God
greater than the violence and greed
and
ourselves
even
through the most
of powerful men and women.
intensive and frequent prayers. The
Praying as Humanly Impos- essence of prayer is the act of God
sible
working in us and through us, and
Now, let us look more closely at raising our whole being to God
the prayer meeting in the home of Himself.
John Marks mother. Consider first
Hence, it is difficult to really pray
of all the purpose of their meeting. because this would mean that we
The Christians met to pray. Some- have to submit our whole being to
times it is easier for us to talk and the power and sovereignty of God;
write about prayer, preach about For unless this happens to us, our
prayer or discuss prayer than to prayers would just be babbling of
really pray. It is important at this
(continued in page 14)
point to consider why this is so.

December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

GENUINE REGIONAL AUTONOMY AS SELFDETERMINATION IN THE CORDILLERA
REVISITING CORDILLERA AUTONOMY: A
MULTI-STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTATION ON
REGIONAL AUTONOMY AND FEDERALISM
BENGUET STATE UNIVERSITY,
AUGUST 31, 2016
The historical formation of the
indigenous peoples of the Cordillera as national minorities
First off, it is important to understand how the indigenous peoples of
the Cordillera became national minorities. The well-known historian of
the Cordillera, William Henry Scott,
explains how this happened. Previous
to Spanish colonization, there was no
majority-minority dichotomy. What
generally existed throughout the archipelago which Spain colonized and
named after its sovereign, were small
independent barangay communities
which inter-related with each other.
Spain was able to effectively colonize the greater part of the archipelago, in the process integrating the
formerly independent communities
into the newly formed Filipino nation. There were some communities,
however, specifically in the Cordillera region in the north and the Moro
and Lumad communities down south,
which remained largely unsubjugated
throughout the three hundred years of
Spanish colonial rule.
Three centuries is a very long
time. Three centuries of a different
experience with colonialism can spell
a world of difference. It created the
majority out of the colonized Filipinos who now shared more things in
common as they suffered exploitation and oppression under Spain, and
as they commonly experienced the
integrating developments in the economic (the feudal encomienda system, later the semi-feudal hacienda
system), political (centralized government), and cultural (conversion
6

JOANNA K. CARINO
Executive Director
Cordillera Peoples Alliance

to Christianity) fields. It also made

national minorities, or second class
Filipinos, of those who were only in
the periphery of the great economic,
political and cultural changes which
the majority collectively experienced,
and who therefore retained much of
their indigenous traditions and institutions throughout Spanish colonial
rule.
The Americans succeeded where
the Spaniards did not. They were
able to effectively colonize the whole
Cordillera. They opened up the region, with its rich natural resources,
to imperialist incursions. They subsumed the regions peoples to the colonial and semi-feudal set-up, along
the way drawing the national minorities into the wider national and class
structure. However, the differentiation which was created by the fact
that sections of the archipelago were
not effectively colonized by Spain
was never effectively bridged by the
new colonizer, and up to the presentday Philippine republic.
The national minorities continue
to suffer national oppression and institutionalized discrimination which
make them second class citizens and
less equal to the rest of the Filipino
people. At the same time, they also
share the problems common to the
rest of the Filipino people to which
they also belong.
National Oppression and SelfDetermination
There are distinct forms of national oppression which the indigenous
peoples of the Cordillera have his-

torically been subjected to, and which

have remained unrectified up to the
present:
1) The violation of indigenous
peoples prior rights to ancestral
lands, through land grabbing, oppressive laws and extractive projects
2) Political
misrepresentation
and the non-recognition of indigenous socio-political institutions and
processes
3) The commercialization and
vulgarization of indigenous cultures
4) Historical government neglect
5) Institutionalized discrimination
Indigenous peoples have coined
the term development aggression to
refer to large-scale destructive projects such as mining, logging and corporate energy projects which destroy
the environment and the ancestral domain of indigenous peoples. Development aggression is often accompanied by the militarization of indigenous communities which result in
the ethnocide of indigenous peoples.
(eg. Bakwit of Lumad communities
in Mindanao)
Indigenous peoples worldwide
have invoked the right to self-determination as the solution to their ageold problems of national oppression.
International human rights covenants
recognize that all peoples have the
right to self-determination, by virtue
of which they have the right to freely
determine their political status and
their socio-economic, political and
December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

cultural development, at their own
pace.
Historical Context of the Right
to Self-Determination
Historically, the right to self-determination was originally applied to
nations in creating their own independent states, and in asserting national
sovereignty and territorial integrity.
This was during the period of the development of modern capitalism in
Europe alongside which the original
nation-states were formed. (Great
Britain, Germany, France, Spain, etc.)
Unlike in Western Europe, where
the development was towards integrated nation-states, in Eastern Europe where capitalist development
was uneven, multi-national states
were formed, states consisting of
several nationalities. Thus minority nationalities were formed side by
side with a dominant nationality in
the multi-national states (eg. AustriaHungary, Poland, Russia). There existed inequality and national oppression between the dominant nationality and the minority nationalities.
Thus the issue of the right to selfdetermination was a major concern in
the formation of the USSR. One of
the major achievements of the USSR
before its dis-integration was the unification of the various nationalities
with the guarantee of the complete
equality of rights for all nations, full
recognition of the right of nations to
self-determination, and regional autonomy for national groupings occupying their own territory within a
multi-national state.
Expansionism and colonization
then, and present-day neo-colonialism have stunted the natural course of
development of many nations in Asia,
Africa and Latin America, for whom
the autonomous development towards
the capitalist nation-state has been effectively closed. Instead, there is the
continuing underdevelopment in the
so-called developing countries,
with monopoly capitalism at the root
of this phenomenon. The oppression
7

and exploitation
he International human rights covebrought
about
by direct coloni- nants recognize that all peoples have
zation then and
neo-liberal glo- the right to self-determination, by virbalization now tue of which they have the right to freehave resulted in
the rise of na- ly determine their political status and
tional liberation their socio-economic, political and culmovements in
the colonies and tural development, at their own pace.
neo-colonies,
1. Secession: seceding outright
with the demand for separation or infrom
a state of national oppression
dependence as the form of self-deterand
creating
their own independent
mination.
state
Within the neo-colonies, and even
2. Federation: joining a federain pockets inside the developed countion
of states as one constituent and
tries, there is the persistence of preco-equal
state
capitalist modes of production and
social formations among indigenous
3. Regional Autonomy: constipeoples who have refused to give up tuting an autonomous political unit
traditional lifestyles. Indigenous peo- wherein it exercises self-rule within a
ples are to be found all over the world broader nation-state
and many are self-proclaimed na4. Special Laws which seek to
tions, while living within a defined
recognize
minority rights eg. Indignational territory of a nation-state.
enous
Peoples
Rights Act or Bangsa
Such tenacious persistence of tradiMoro
Basic
Law
tional lifestyles even in the face of
neo-colonialism and imperialist gloWhile there may be a whole range
balization are by themselves manifes- of forms of self-determination, the
tations of self-determination.
key issue is the empowerment of the
From the above, and notwithstand- people, the level of organization and
ing the changing context, we may strength that they are able to build,
observe that self-determination has the struggles that they can successbeen a response to repression, to in- fully wage, including the support
equality, to discrimination. Self-de- that they can generate from the wider
termination is thus an assertion of a population in the country, and interpeoples collective human rights and nationally, based on the legitimacy
of their struggle against oppressive
identity against oppression.
structures.
The right of a people to freely deThe Right to Self-Determination
termine its political status, in theory,
as
Applied
to the Cordillera Region
includes the right to form an independent state that stands on equal footing
Since that historical divide which
with other nation-states, or otherwise, led to the formation of the majority
to define its mode of associating with Filipinos and the national minorities,
an existing state wherein it enjoys the the indigenous peoples of the Corsame rights as the other constituent dillera continue to suffer from varipeoples of that state.
ous forms of national oppression and
Thus, the right to self-determina- discrimination. Because of this, they
tion directly translates into the right resist full integration into the wider
of peoples to govern themselves society and continue to defend their
without external impositions. Histori- indigenous life, ancestral land and
cally, this right covers a wide range natural resources, cultural integrity
of options:
(continued in page 16)
December 2016

LITURGICAL RESOURCES

Liturgical Resource
December 2016

REV. LUNA L. DINGAYAN

President, Ecumenical Theological Seminary
No. 42, Bokawkan Road, Baguio City

I - CALL TO WORSHIP:
Leader Our God whom
we gather to worship is God
of freedom. God delivered
the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt and called them
up to live in freedom. Even
today, God calls us to live
as free men and women, for
we have been redeemed by
the precious blood of Jesus
Christ our Lord as well as
the blood of countless martyrs of freedom and faith.
Come and let us worship the
God of freedom.
II PRAYER:
Almighty and Everlasting
God, whose nature is love
and freedom, we offer you

our praise and thanksgiving

for creating us to love and to
be free, so that in love and
freedom we would become
good and responsible stewards of all the things you
have entrusted to our care.
Grant us now your living
presence as we freely and
lovingly worship you in spirit
and in truth. For in Christs
Name, we pray. Amen.
III RESPONSIVE READING:
Leader Law is not written on paper; it is written in
the hearts and minds of the
citizens.
People An unjust law is
not a law; it is an exaction.
Leader Obeying an unjust

law is not being a good citizen; it is being a good slave.

People It is not preventing
tyranny; it is upholding.
Leader There are no tyrants where there are no
rebels the kind of rebellion that would say NO to
what is wrong in order to say
YES to what is right.
People Not obeying an
unjust law is obeying the
law, the law of universal conscience.
All - In the world of the
deformed, normality is astounding. In a world of duplicity, simplicity is grace. In
a world of lies, truth is subversive.

December 2016

LITURGICAL RESOURCES
IV MEDITATION:
The spring of lawlessness
in this country is not lack
of respect for law. It is lack
of respect for human life.
This cannot be solved by the
harshest punishment or even
the strictest enforcement of
law and order. It can only
be solved by the strictest enforcement of human rights.
V STATEMENT OF
FAITH:
We believe in human rights

and the power of the people

for life and for change.
We do not believe that sufferings in the struggle are in
vain or that our dreams for
a renewed humanity will remain as dreams or that death
is the end.
We dare to believe in a new
humanity where genuine
peace and justice will flourish. Amen.
VI BLESSINGS:

Dear God, here we have

drunk from the fountain
of inner strength. Here we
found the light to brighten
our way. Here we have
felt the purifying spirit
that would transform our
thoughts. Enable us, therefore, O loving God, to go
forth from this place with
your blessings to be strong in
our Christian commitment
to serve you and your people.
Amen.

December 2016

SERMON

Advancing the Indigenous Peoples Agenda for

Genuine Peace and Freedom
I Corinthians 14:33 NIV

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace-as in all

the congregations of the Lords people.
Good morning to all of you. I am
thankful that you came to this forum
despite of many undertakings you
have in your respective areas. I am
also thankful that we begin this activity at an auspicious time skipping
the unholy hours in the afternoon.
Naimbag a bigat kadakayo amin.
Since that the NLJ is a co-organizer of this activity and considering that this is being conducted in
a UCCP chapel, I was requested by
the coordinator to give the message
today in our ecumenical service with
the theme, Advancing the Indigenous Peoples Agenda for Genuine
Peace and Freedom I think I need
to adjust a bit in order to internalize more the plight of our indigenous
brethren especially in the Cordillera
where many of our UCCP congregations are situated.
I am not an indigenous people in
the strictest sense. Ngem IP ak met
ah ta IP to me means inramandak piman. But more than this inramadak
is a fact that whoever subscribes to
the aspirations of indigenous people
is considered as one. Paragraph d
of the added provision of the WGIP
in the Universal Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples says
that any individual who identified
himself or herself as indigenous and
was accepted by the group or the
community as one of its members
10

BISHOP ELORDE M. SAMBAT

UCCP Bishop assigned to
UCCP North Luzon Jurisdiction

was to be regarded as an indigenous the rest of creation. They should be

person. Therefore kami po yon.
freed from harm and danger of opFor the information of everybody pression and imperialism thus alI was accepted in a fitting occasion lowing them to realize their self-delast November, 2013 by the Isnag termination without imposition.
of Apayao as an adopted son. This
was done during a public worship
in UCCP Kalanasan, Apayao. I was
given the symbol of acceptance during that occasion and therefore legitimize my claim really that they did
inramadak piman. IP ak nga talagan
kakabsat.

Many passages in the Bible especially found in Deuteronomy (2:3334; 7:1-11; 9:1-5; 11:8-9, 23, 31-32),
Exodus (23:23-24), Joshua (chapters
2-12), and the Psalms (78:54-55;
80:8; 105:44), mesmerize modern
theologians and biblical scholars.
These passages point to something
I am happy to join you today to- scandalous when it comes to morals.
gether with our brethren and guests
While many Christians regard
from the churches of the ecumeni- these passages as myths that apparcal circle in the Cordillera. I am also ently do not represent the will or
happy that no less than our NCCP commandments of God, archaeologgeneral secretary, the Most Rev. Rex ical evidence exposes that the IsraR. B. Reyes is with us today.
elite tribes settled the land without
In the Article 7 of the United Na- thrashing the indigenous population.
tions Declaration on the Rights of Some Christians however question
Indigenous Peoples it states, Indig- the right of the Israelites to the land,
enous peoples have the collective which the Bible says they took from
right to live in freedom, peace and the indigenous population. Chrissecurity as distinct peoples and shall tians accept the claim of many presnot be subjected to any act of geno- ent Jews that this same land now
cide or any other act of violence, lawfully belongs only to the nation
including forcibly removing chil- of Israel.
dren of the group to another group.
That gives us the idea of including
freedom as a salient feature of our
theme apart from genuine peace that
we want to reign in our lands. This
freedom pertains to indigenous right
to live in peace and in harmony with

Our understanding of this story

brings us to a terrible and disastrous
truth that our Bible says. God allowed ethnic cleansing. In fact, Jews
are not the only people to have used
this approach to justify displacing
peoples in order to fulfill Gods will
December 2016

SERMON
through subjugation. This is also the
imperial story of the West conquering settlers in the New World. The
same biblical texts justify the killing
of indigenous peoples in the guise of
civilization.
Americans and American government believe that God has given the
newfound land to them and to their
descendants, and so they use the Bible to justify the slaughter and displacement of peoples who lived on
this land before they came. Christian Americans and Jewish Israelis
have to affirm that God did not for
their sake justify ethnic cleansing.
We must proclaim that the God who
saves is blind to race or ethnicity
or nationality or gender or any other
status distinction. Now, as always,
religious humility is needed as much
as political courage.

hile many Christians regard these

W
passages as myths that apparently

do not represent the will or commandments of God, archaeological evidence

exposes that the Israelite tribes settled the land without thrashing the
indigenous population.

Perhaps you are aware that some

of the churches in mainland America have repented on their acts of
atrocities done to the native Indians. I have attended the UMC General Conference in Tampa, Florida
in May, 2012. The United Methodist
Church pronounced her repentance
and asked forgiveness against the indigenous people of America for their
wrongdoings. Other churches earlier
did the same and some churches particularly the mainline Protestants are
following suit at present.

by asking pardon for sins committed against the indigenous peoples.

As we continue our proclamation of
the Gospel of Christ, we ask forgiveness for moments when we failed
to witness Jesus who loved and respected peoples of all cultures and
ethnic backgrounds. As we continue
to welcome indigenous peoples into
the Catholic community, we ask forgiveness for suppressing their spirit
as a people and the moments when
we injured their personhood as they
took on a new identity as Catholics.
As we continue to preach Jesus who
embraced vulnerability to walk towards the resurrection and who lived
with the powerless and poor, we ask
forgiveness for moments when we
entered indigenous communities
from a position of power, indifferent to their struggles and pains. We
ask forgiveness for moments when
we taught Christianity as a religion
robed with colonial cultural superiority, instead of sharing it as a religion that calls for a relationship with
God and a way of life.

It is not surprising therefore

that the dominant Roman Catholic
Church proclaimed her misconceptions and asked forgiveness from
the indigenous people as enunciated
in their Episcopal Commission on
Indigenous Peoples statement saying in part, Integral Evangelization calls us as a Church to a humble
examination of conscience and towards a healing of historical wounds

American Christians and Jews

must reject the reading of our scriptures that justifies conquest and the
denial of human rights to those who
threaten our security. Palestinian
Christians and Muslims must repudiate carnages committed in the
name of God, which cannot in any
way be justified by the injustice they
have suffered. Jews, Christians, and
Muslims in faith, all children of

11

Abraham must now put their trust

in the God of justice and mercy, the
God of all the nations, the God who
condemns ethnic cleansing rather
than commands it, the God who calls
us to be reconciled, the God who inspires us all to be peacemakers.
Apostle Paul in his exposition of
I Corinthians 14:33 tells us of a God
of peace who longs for a genuine
and lasting peace not only among
the Israelites but for all nations and
peoples. God is a god of equality
and does not look upon inferior race
and colors. He is interested in peoples who acknowledges his lordship
rather than occupying himself with
how these peoples grandiosely figured themselves with pride that they
are Christs followers of superiority
over other races. In fact, according
to Jim Burklo in his book entitled
Open Christianity he noted, Jesus was singularly uninterested in
the doctrinal purity of the people
he encountered along his road. His
warning to avoid useless theological hairsplitting holds true today as
it did then. Today, the church that
was founded in his name is so busy
defining who is and who is not a
Christian, so distracted with its effort to position itself in the modern
marketplace of religious affiliations,
that it often loses sight of the spiritual truths that created it in the first
place. Our God is not concerned
(continued in page 18)

December 2016

WOMENS CORNER

REFLECTIONS

[Interview with a Volunteer from AVID (AUSTRALIAN VOLUNTEER FOR

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT), ON DEC. 2, 2016]
ALEXANDRA BINGHAM
Media and Communications Officer
UCCP-North Luzon Jurisdiction Office

What is the institution you are

working with in the North Luzon /
Cordillera and what position / line
of work and nature of work do you
do with this institution?
I am currently working as Media
and Communications Officer with
the UCCP NLJ team based in Baguio City. My role involves building
the capacity of individuals and communities in visual communications
for improved advocacy outcomes for
Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera
region. Through a series of Video,
Photography and Editing workshops
I have encouraged the team to increase their knowledge of producing
professional communications materials. We have also looked at optimizing how content is shared to reach the
largest possible audience and have
the greatest impact. Over the course
of the year we endeavored to produce
professional documentaries featuring issues experienced by indigenous
communities, such as indigenous land
ownership (Land Is Life), climate
change/ disaster risk reduction and
the implications of mining in North
Luzon.
Further, I have provided staff one-onone training in targeted social media
campaigning, copy writing, branding
and e-communications, successfully
equipping the team with skills neces12

sary to produce professional online

content.
What other institutions have you
been working with in the Cordillera Region, aside from the institution you are currently deployed in?
During the series of training workshops we have had representatives
join from RECCORD and the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA). Further,
we have tried to where possible engage organizations in the Cordillera
who can inform our documentaries.
Have you directly and/or indirectly
worked with Indigenous Peoples
communities / Indigenous Peoples
Organizations in the Cordillera
and what issues have you worked
with them?
As part of my work I directly work
with IP. Most of our work has focused
on land rights, small and large scale
mining, disaster risk reduction and
climate change.
From the issues you have directly /
indirectly worked with the Indigenous Peoples communities / Indigenous Peoples Organizations, what
is the most striking to you?
More than the issues themselves I have
been very intrigued and frustrated by
the systems of injustice that make life
better for some and worse for others.

An example is the trading post in La

Trinidad that collects vegetables and
fruit for distribution. Their unfair
pricing on crops and refusal to take
additional supplies (when theyve met
their quota) adding to the millions of
tons of food wasted around the world
every week. Further, vegetables supplied to Manila surge to astronomical prices (190 peso for one piece of
broccoli) meaning Filipino people
would rather buy unhealthy food options because it is more affordable.
The system doesnt have to be this
way and the Philippines could put in
place better logistics to get vegetables
direct from the farm to the buyer - and
have more sent to Manila. But the endemic systems of injustice, or maybe
the its too hard factor, means there
will likely be little change in years to
come. It grieves me so.
What did you discover on vulnerability issues of the indigenous
people in the cordillera regarding
disaster, justice and peace and right
to self-determination?
Indigenous peoples, often as result
of their being in very remote locations, have less access to common
services such as schooling, legal aid
and emergency services. This means
they are vulnerable to many things:
the impacts of environmental disaster
- landslides, floods, destroyed crops
December 2016

WOMENS CORNER
etc. Sudden illness can be life threatening. Advocating for better services
for remote areas is time consuming
and very bureaucratic, and often IP
are not best placed to produce the required supporting documentation. IP
value input and assistance from the
UCCP, as the approach to improving
their livelihoods includes them in the
process (self-determination).
What life changing reflections came
to you during you integration with
the indigenous peoples communities?
Peoples attitude to life in indigenous
communities is one of positivity and
hope. They are some of the most generous peoples Ive met and community seems to trump the individual.
Coming from what can sometimes be
a very me, me, me culture in Australia I have been profoundly challenged
by this attitude to life. I understand
from the Biblical texts that we are
called to lay down our life for others, but these communities actually
do that! I know I am called to do the
same. Having returned to Australia
this year I found myself thinking more
communal, giving more generously
of my time, money and food - Pinoys
love to share food.

the United Church of Christ in the

Philippines (UCCP) in 2012 and
2014 I heard many stories of injustice
and human rights abuses that local
communities encountered. This ultimately impacted my decision to return
to the Philippines in a more long term
capacity in 2016. I am soon to return
to Australia, but the experiences Ive
had here and the people Ive met will
surely impact the decisions I make for
my future. I have a small media business in Australia and my hope is to
grow this into a collective of storytellers sharing meaning through film and
photography. The stories we plan to
tell are those of love, and of hope - including those of communities abroad.
They have powerful stories to tell, but
limited means for sharing them.
What recommendations do you

have in mind to improve the internship program and the engagement

of interns in institutional and community work?
Work culture in the Philippines is different to that of Australia, and I imagine most countries in the West, as it
is far more collective and relationship
oriented. As a person who likes to be
efficient and just get the job done,
often by myself, it has been an adjustment. Its been good though, as Ive
learnt how valuable positive workplace connections can be and that
they go hand in hand with achieving
outcomes, something I will surely
keep in mind in my approach to future
roles in Australia. I think this communal orientation of the workplace
could be clearly documented for future interns

Are you looking forward in the

near future to pursue any work
with regards to direct or indirect involvement with indigenous peoples
issues? If yes, what would you like
to do, and where would you prefer
to work?
Peoples stories inspire me; of overcoming adversity, of fighting the good
fight, of striving for a better world.
Having visited projects managed by
the Indigenous Peoples Program of
13

Fun in harvesting vegetables: Alexandra Bingham has been visiting Copcopit, Dalipey,
Bakun, Benguet, Philippines since 2014 to experience first hand life in the indigenous communities of Benguet and learn about particular community issues of the IPs.

December 2016

BIBLICO-THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS
(continued from page 5, Biblico...)

empty words, and our prayer meetings or prayer rallies would be no

different from a mere social gathering.
Work of Prayer
Now, let us look at the persistence of the prayer meeting that
opened a prison cell in the Early
Church. Praying was done earnestly. It was in the prayer meeting that
the Christians really fought and won
the battle against the forces of evil.
It was on their bended knees that
they gained victory. The opening of
the prison bars was little more than
the going forth of a conqueror to receive the spoils of conquest.
This was true even with our Lord
Jesus Christ. Prayer was very central in his life and ministry. Jesus
considered prayer not merely as a
preparation for the battle, but rather the battle itself. If we take the
New Testament as our guide, we are
driven to a conclusion that the only
work that really taxed the energies
of Jesus was the work of prayer.
Have we ever asked ourselves
why Jesus was so peaceful and
calm in the face of his tormentors,
and even in the face of death on the
cross? I believe this was so because
even before those things could happen, he had already won at the Garden of Gethsemane the most decisive battle against the forces of evil
in following his Fathers will.
In the same way, the Early Christians won their battle in the secret
place of prayer, and God our Father
who saw them in secret rewarded
them openly.
The experiences of our Lord
Jesus Christ and that of the Early
Christians remind us once more that
the most decisive battle against the
forces of darkness of this present
age is fought when we are on our
bended knees, when we are meeting
together in prayer. For having won
here, all else would seem to have
14

been accomplished with consummate ease.

Gods Response to Prayer
Finally, let us also consider how
God responded to their prayers. According to the story, God sent His
angel and opened the prison bars
and set Peter free. And the Christians were so amazed when they
saw Peter knocking at the door of
the place they were praying (cf. Acts
12:6-19). We notice from the Biblical story that God answered their
prayers in a manner that they were
all astonished. Their human understanding could not really fathom the
mysteries of Gods power and abiding presence. Hence, they reacted
with a sense of awe and amazement.
There is a wonderful story from
the life of St. Augustine that I would
like to cite at this point. As a young
person, Augustine had lived a wild
and licentious life. He greatly troubled his mother Monica. His mother was a devout Christian and had
been longing to see her son a Christian also, but there in that North African city of Carthage where they
lived, Augustine just went from evil
to evil.
Augustines mother thought,
If my son Augustine would go to
Rome he would surely go down
into the sin of the city and be overwhelmed. And so, she prayed desperately, O God, please stop my
son from going to Rome. But nevertheless, Augustine went to Rome
to study, and so her prayers seemed
to be not answered at all.
However, it was there in Italy
that Augustine met Bishop Ambrose of Milan, one of the famous
Early Church Fathers. Augustine
heard through Bishop Ambrose the
challenge of Christ and he became
Christian, became a theologian and
bishop of the church, and one of the
great saints of history.
Halfway through this experience, Augustines mother Monica
could have said, God did not lis-

ten to my prayers. I pleaded that

Augustine should not go to Rome,
and yet he went to Rome. Well, it
is true God did not answer her particular request, but God answered
her prayers that her son might be
delivered from the power of sin.
This is the unpredictable God,
the God of surprise. And so, as
we pray there is mystery about it.
There is uncertainty about it. And
sometimes we could only expect the
unexpected, hoping that God provides the best for us. God works in
wondrous ways, indeed.
We are not really sure what our
continuous prayer meetings and
prayer rallies for peace could bring
to our country and people. But I do
believe that if we really have that
sincere desire, like that of the Early
Christians in their prayer meetings,
to really put ourselves in earnest
prayer and submit ourselves to the
power and sovereignty of our Almighty God, then perhaps something surprisingly new will happen
to us, to our country and people.
Perhaps, we may not be freed
from a prison cell like that of Peter.
But perhaps we could be freed from
a deeper level of imprisonment. We
could be freed from the prison cells
of hatred and greed, of pride and
self-centeredness that might have
enslaved us, and preventing us from
experiencing genuine and lasting
peace in our land.
We could be freed to be one people, one nation, enjoying the blessings of this rich and beautiful land
God has entrusted to all of us. For
the God of peace who made the
heavens and the earth will finally
answer our yearnings for peace, and
will finally give peace a chance to
reign in our Land. Amen
_____________
*Delivered at the EBF- Northern
Luzon Area Annual Regional Membership Consolidation and Expansion, Sept. 2, 2016, Hotel Supreme,
113 Magsaysay Ave., Baguio City.

December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

(continued from page 27, Church...) Blaan Literacy School and Learning
Center (BLSLC), Salugpongan Ta
Panagutin ang mga opisyal at Tanu Igkanugon Community Learnyunit militar na napatunayang sang- ing Center (STTICLC), Program for
kot sa pagpaslang sa mga katutubo. Mamanwa Integrated Services and
Panagutin ang 26th IB para kay Kapi- Development (PMISD), at iba pa.
tan Angis Precioso at Genesis Amba- Ipawalang-bisa ang Department of
son, ang 27th IB para kina Ronald Education Memorandum No. 221 na
Malley at Andy Datuwata at salarin sa nagbibigay daan sa militarisasyon sa
Capion Massacre, ang 29th IB para loob ng mga paaralan. Huwag gamikay Edgar Kasal, Ricardo Tuazon Sr., tin bilang bahagi ng programang konat Rusin Sarrento, ang 29th at 30th IB tra-insurhensya ang mga serbisyong
para sa pagpatay kay Datu Arnel Nay- panlipunan at pagtatayo ng mga
er, ang 39th IB para sa mag-amang paaralan.
Dejos at mag-amang Freay, ang 41st
Ibasura ang Enhanced Defense
IB para sa Ligiw Massacre, 5th ID
Cooperation
Agreement at Balikatan.
para kay William Bugatti, ang 60th
IB para kay Totong Mabinsi, ang 61st
IB para sa batang si Rodilyn Aguirre,
at ang 75th IB para Lianga Massacre,
at pagpatay kina Armel Masadog at
Philip John Polapoy. Kagyat na paalisin sa komunidad ng mga katutubo
ang mga yunit militar na ito.

Itigil ang pagsasampa ang mga

gawa-gawang kaso at ipawalang bisa
ang lahat ng mga kasong isinampa laban sa mga lider katutubo at miyembro ng mga katutubong organisasyon
tulad nila Genasque Enriquez, Jalandoni Campos, Kerlan Fanagel, Marlon
Baganay, Mendo Bisiotan, Lenor Danao at marami pang iba.
Imbestigahan ang kaso ng sapilitang pagkawala at ilitaw ang mga katutubong biktima nito tulad nila John
Calaba ng Sultan Kudarat, Philim Polapoy ng Agusan del Sur, Elde Martinez, Jojo Tejero ng Surigao del Sur,
James Balao ng Benguet, at iba pang
biktima. Tiyakin ang pagpapanagot
sa mga salarin sa kanilang sapilitang
pagkawala.
Itigil ang atake at/o pandarahas at
pagsasara sa mga katutubong paaralan na pinatatakbo ng mga katutubo at
mga organisasyon tulad ng Mindanao
Interfaith Services Foundation, Inc.
(MISFI), Tribal Filipino Program of
Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS), Alternative Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV),
15

Ipatigil ang anumang joint military

operation nito sa mga lugar ng mga
katutubo sa Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, at
Panay.
6. Panagutin si BS Aquino at ang
rehimen nito bilang pangunahing
nagtaguyod ng mga neoliberal na
patakaran na nagbigay daan sa pangangmkam ng lupang ninuno at mga
rekurso at paglabag sa kolektibong
karapatan sa sariling pagpapasya ng
mga katutubo, at bilang punong komander ng Armed Forces of the Philippines na nagdulot ng malawakang paglabag sa karapatang pantao ng mga
katutubong mamamayan

PEACE FORUM:
RECCORD,
the
Pilgrims for Peace
Cordillera, Cordillera
Human
Rights
Alliance
and the different
churches and organizations joined together last 25 July
2016 at the Baguio
City First United
Methodist Church
(BCFUMC) in a
Forum for Peace
followed by an Ecumenical Service
with the theme:
Waging
Peace
Based on Justice.
The
participants
supported the call
for the resumption
of the formal Peace
Talks to address
the root causes of
the armed conflict
and the release of
political prisoners.

December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

(continued from page 7, Church)
and identity against outside forces
which seek to assimilate them into
the wider oppressive system. This
resolute persistence of indigenous
livelihoods, socio-political institutions and cultural practices is in itself
an assertion of self-determination

The Popular Resistance to Chico

and Cellophil as Self-Determination
Soon after Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972, he tried
to build four huge dams along the
Chico river to be funded by the World
Bank. At the same time he awarded
200,000 hectares of forest land to the
Cellophil Resources Corporation as
a logging and paper pulp concession
to his crony Herminio Disini. These
were so-called priority development
projects of the Marcos dictatorship
throughout the dark years of martial
law. In defense of indigenous life, ancestral land and cultural integrity, the
Kalinga and Bontok people waged
sustained struggles against the construction of the Chico dams, followed
soon after by Tinggian opposition to
the Cellophil Resources Corporation.
These indigenous peoples of Bontok, Kalinga and Abra, considered by
many as among the most neglected
and powerless sectors of Philippine
society, were able to stop the development aggression against fearsome
odds, by asserting their collective human rights to ancestral land and selfdetermination. In their steadfast and
uncompromising defense of their life,
land, livelihood and resources, they
earned the respect and support not
only of the other national minorities
in the region, but also other progressive forces both here in the Philippines and abroad. When they finally
resorted to armed resistance after
peaceful methods to seek redress of
grievances had proved futile in the
face of unbridled militarization, many
were convinced that this was but a
logical step for these warrior societies in the defense of their indigenous
peoples rights.
16

During this period, many of the

finest of the sons and daughters of
the indigenous communities in the
region joined the CPP-NPA. In 1981,
the revolutionary movement articulated its program for the Cordillera
Peoples Democratic Front (CPDF).
The 8-point CPDF program included
the recognition of the right to ancestral land and regional autonomy as
the form of self-determination for
the Cordillera. The CPDF was projected as the umbrella organization of
all revolutionary forces in the region
allied with the National Democratic
Front. In truth, it was the revolutionary movement which first articulated
the demands of the indigenous peoples for ancestral land and self-determination.
The Chico and Cellophil struggles
were a great learning experience into
the reality of indigenous peoples
rights. During this period the concept
of ancestral land and self-determination were vague abstractions for
many. The Chico and Cellophil struggles educated them that this was concrete reality for indigenous peoples.
Chico and Cellophil gave a deeper dimension to human rights, going
beyond the narrow definition of individual civil and political rights as
defined in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, to the collective
human rights of indigenous peoples.
The Chico and Cellophil struggles
were waged in uncompromising defense of ancestral land and the right
to self determination, or the right of
the indigenous communities to freely
determine their continued existence
as distinct peoples, and the right to
freely determine their political status, and their economic, political and
socio-cultural development, at a pace
which they themselves define.
The unfolding Chico and Cellophil drama ignited dormant Igorot
nationalism. Numerous activists and
mass leaders espousing their rights
as indigenous peoples emerged. The
different Cordillera tribes were challenged into the recognition of the

pressing need for a greater unity

among themselves if they hoped to
succeed in the defense of their collective human rights as indigenous
peoples. Igorot students and intellectuals put their energies into the more
serious discussion and study of what
it meant to be indigenous peoples and
national minorities.
This increased introspection and
self-awareness among the indigenous
peoples of the Cordillera paved the
way towards a pan-Cordillera mass
movement, as it marked the shift from
spontaneous reaction to conscious and
concerted unified action. As the different Igorot tribes and sectors were
increasingly exposed to each other in
mass meetings, inter-tribal activities
and bodong conferences, there was
the opportunity for dialogue and mutual sharing and learning. From here,
the different groups realized that they
shared a common history of national
oppression; a common geography
and territory the Cordillera mountain range; a common persistence of
their indigenous cultures, albeit in
varying degrees; common problems
and common enemies.

December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

The heroic Chico and Cellophil
struggles also served to inspire and
motivate many non-indigenous advocates, in the region, the nation, and
abroad, which made it possible to
generate broad national and international support to sustain the growing
mass movement. There were broad
solidarity and advocacy for the popular resistance in the region from academics, environmentalists, church
groups, the mass media, NGOs and
a wide array of solidarity organizations. The Free Legal Assistance
Group of the late senators Jose Diokno and Lorenzo Taada offered their
legal assistance. Anthropologists and
academics wrote numerous treatises.
Progressive media practitioners provided good press coverage.
Chico and Cellophil brought to
the fore the fact that the present-day
problems of tribal peoples and indigenous communities are much bigger and more complicated than any
faced in earlier historical periods.
More concretely, Chico and Cellophil
showed the indigenous peoples of the
Cordillera that their problems cannot
be taken in isolation from the wider

17

Philippine realities, and the incursions of imperialist globalization.

The indigenist romanticized view
of tribal society as a static autonomous entity which should be preserved in its pure form shattered, as
Igorots united with as broad an alliance as possible for the defense of indigenous rights. Although the Chico
resistance at the start was the spontaneous tribal response to outside
threat, it soon positioned itself firmly
within the mainstream of the national
democratic struggle.
Chico and Cellophil Inspired the
Growth of the Mass Movement
It was not long before the popular
resistance which was fast expanding
in the villages in the Cordillera interior found its way into the urban areas.
The popular resistance in the indigenous communities to Chico and Cellophil inspired the formation of a militant mass movement for the defense
of ancestral domain and for self-determination in the Cordillera, within
the framework of the wider national
democratic open mass movement.
A conjuncture of developments
helped in the configuration of the militant national democratic open mass
movement in the Cordillera.
There was a wealth of information
and data generated through social investigation and research throughout
the Chico and Cellophil struggles.
These were sifted through, systematized and analyzed with the active
participation of Igorot political activists, intellectuals and advocates in
theorizing. There was active discussion and debate on the national minority question, and a framework for
analysis was developed, undoubtedly
with a strong influence from the Left.
The period from the mid-seventies
to the mid-eighties was a decade of
ferment and upheaval throughout the
Cordillera region as the indigenous
peoples here drew on the lessons
from Chico and Cellophil and learned
to assert their rights. More and more
militant organizations sprouted, as

more and more began to assert their

rights even under conditions of intense militarization.
On April 24, 1980, military troops
of the Marcos dictatorship gunned
down Macliing Dulag of the Butbut
tribe, in Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga.
Macliing was one of the leaders of the
opposition to the Chico dams. He was
killed in the dead of night in an effort
to intimidate the indigenous opposition. The people refused to be cowed.
Instead, Macliings death was commemorated with a Macliing memorial yearly thereafter to remember
the martyrs who had given up their
lives in the struggle. It also became
an occasion where Cordillera advocates would come to express their
solidarity with the Cordillera peoples
struggles. In 1985, April 24 was commemorated as Cordillera Day for the
first time.
The protest actions in various parts
of the Cordillera interior soon also
found their way to the town centers
and Baguio City. One issue which
drew widespread protest from conscientized Igorots was the Ministry
of Tourism-sponsored Grand Caao
from 1980-83, which displayed Igorots dancing and singing through the
streets to attract the tourist dollar. Opposition to the Grand Caao became
a rallying point for Igorot students
and professionals who opposed the
commercialization of indigenous culture, and who protested this imposed
celebration in the face of the problems of militarization, ethnocide and
development aggression confronting
the indigenous peoples.
Cultural presentations with new
revolutionary content were staged,
utilizing the traditional sallidummay, uggayam, ullalim. Traditional
forms of song and dance infused
with new revolutionary content from
the areas of resistance in the Cordillera interior were popularized. Other
cultural forms depicting the peoples
problems and resistance were also
creatively developed by progressive
(continued in page 21

December 2016

SERMON
(continued from page 11, Sermon)

about who we are in terms of color,

gender, persuasion, ethnicity and
theology. He is a god that embraces
all including the minorities and the
indigenous ones.
Our Cordilleran context teemed
with many tribes of indigenous
people is not different from the experiences of other ethnic groups
throughout the world. Their issue is
basically moored on their land and
their culture. Land and culture are
intertwined in the lives of the Cordillerans as also the same with other
indigenous people. These are two
important aspects that surround their
beings. But at present, both are on
the verge of obliteration because of
lowlanders intrusion and oppression. These lowlanders are the subjects of multi-national corporations
plundering the vast resources of the
north particularly the areas long inhabited by the indigenous people.
Modern capitalism well-guarded
by the state mechanism continues
to explore and exploit the resources
stored in our rich-laden territory.
Our people are pushed at the edge
of the spectrum with nothing to
utilize for their sustenance. Those
who organize themselves and try
to defend their land and culture are
either exterminated in covert activity or even in broad daylight, while
the rest are ostracized by the people
directly benefitted by the exploiters. Many indigenous peoples lives
were extolled in defending their land
and culture. The names of Macli-ing
Dulag, Pedro Dungoc, Romy Gardo,
Pepe Manegdeg, Ama Daniel Ngayaan, Romy Sanchez, Jovito Pinakilid, Ravenio and Abel Sungit, Budbud Usting, Markus Bangit, James
Balao, Alice Claver , Jimmy Liguy18

on, and many others are enthroned

in the hall of struggle for IPs selfdetermination and realization. Our
UCCP experience is replete with
individuals who suffered the worst
fate of martyrdom in defending their
ancestral land from insatiable exploitations of these subalterns.
The recent victims of these martyrs were Emerito Samarca, Dionel Campos and Bello Sinzo all of
ALCADEV in Lianga, Surigao del
Sur. Joaquin Cadagcan, Remar Mayantao, Rogen Suminao and Cenon
Nacaytuna and Hermie Alegre are
all indigenous peoples such as Lumad and Cordilleran asserting their
rights. Their cases are still unsolved
although the perpetrators are known
and many witnesses are pointing at
them. This plethora of cases joined
the growing statistics of unresolved
crimes committed against indigenous people. It is not surprising
therefore that the ploy of the present
government today in relation to extra judicial killing on war on drugs
could be used by the state mechanism to include indigenous people
fighting for their rights so that genuine peace that is based on justice be
achieved.
Land is sacred to the Cordillerans
as well as to other indigenous peoples
not only in the north but throughout
the Philippines. To them attachment
to the land is synonymous with life.
If their land is taken away from them
or if their land is laid to waste, their
lives are no longer worth living.
They are then pushed into the maelstrom of poverty, want and longings
devoid of abundance and peace. That
is why they will have to defend their
ancestral land at all cost. Ti daga mi
ket biag mi

Additionally, their culture is

their way of life and spirituality.
They lived by it for centuries unperturbed by the civilizations adjoining
them. The Cordilleran spirituality is
pointing at an inclusive community
gathering people, nature and spirits
together in a feast of life. In a statement of the IFAD Valuing Diversity
in Sustainable development, 2002 it
says, Indigenous peoples notions
of development are holistic and
hence different from mainstream
development practice. They aspire
to protect and enhance their identity
and cultural integrity, together with
their land and their right to self-determination.
But the introduction of Christianity by western colonizers tends
to destroy their culture. Example of
these acts is the notion introduced
by evangelical Christians that their
pagan ways are inimical and contradicts the pristine orthodoxy of
evangelical faith. There are many a
good number of religious leaders es-

Church workers and members

from the different denominations
together with peoples organizations and non-government organizations gathered at the UCCPBaguio for the celebration of the
Indigenous Peoples Month, last
14 October 2016. NCCP Gen.
Sec. Rex Reyes gave an update
on the on-going peace talks.
UCCP-NLJ Bishop Elorde Sambat delivered the message for the
IP Month Celebration.

December 2016

SERMON
pecially coming from the so called
new religious movement which up
to now, condemn native practices as
simply paganistic. They cannot accept these rituals as component of
a contemporary worship and rite in
addition to the ones they introduced.
Today however especially in the
UCCP and other mainline Protestant
churches, we regard these rituals as
contributory in cultivating the faith
experience of our indigenous Christian brethren. Seemingly, we have
discovered together how redeemed
indigenous culture can be utilized as
an expression of worship and vehicle
for evangelism and tried to identify
the hindrances affecting the active
participation of indigenous peoples
in the Body of Christ. I then enjoin
you participants to this forum to
please explore on this venture to better understand the culture of our IP
brethren so that we can better understand their plight as a people that in
the end, we join them in their quest

19

for genuine peace and freedom.

We are witnesses to the many
struggles for self-determination
across the globe as indigenous peoples and minority nationalities assert
their right to freely determine their
political status and freely pursue
their economic, social struggle and
did long for a genuine peace based
on justice so that freedom will reign
in their lands. However elusive as it
was and is today. The report of the
UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous
people presented in September, 2005
says in part, Generally speaking,
the human rights situation of indigenous peoples is far from satisfactory.
Despite the progress made in some
countries, in most regions of the
world indigenous people continue
to face powerful obstacles hindering
the full and effective enjoyment of
their rights and to endure grave violations of their fundamental rights.
This hinders them in attaining genuine peace and the prevalence of human rights violation in their respective areas.

resources by multi-national corporations; Massive displacement due to

large-scale destructive projects of
States and imperialist corporations
(mines, dams, logging, special economic zones, mono-crop plantations,
etc.) and concomitant militarization;
Government neglect and deprivation
of basic social services; Impoverishment; Grave human rights violations
under the US-led War on Terror &
corresponding Security Acts; Racism, chauvinism and discrimination;
National oppression and the nonrecognition of our identity as indigenous peoples.

This sounds familiar in every aspect, in every corner of the globe, in

every part of the Philippines when
we talk of indigenous peoples struggle for self-determination and selfrealization. Therefore the struggle
beckons every Cordillerans to support this plea. As Carino challenged,
It is about time that we unite as an
international indigenous peoples
movement for self-determination
and liberation as we strive to build a
better world beyond the neo-liberal
capitalist model that has caused not
Joana Carino of Cordillera Peo- only the climate crisis but the global
ples Alliance noted, Historically, economic crises as well.
the right to self-determination was
The Canaanites in the Bible were
originally applied to nations in cre- displaced upon the arrival of the
ating their own independent states, Israelites in their place of abode.
and in asserting national sovereignty Similarly, many indigenous peoples
and territorial integrity. There ex- throughout the country were pushed
isted inequality and national oppres- at the edge of civilization upon the
sion between the dominant nation- arrival of colonizers. These conquisality and the minority nationalities. tadores encompassed the IPs way
Presently, despite the great diversity of life and resolved to annihilate
of indigenous peoples worldwide, their culture, language, spiritualthe truth is that there is also a great ity and identity as people. With the
commonality in the modern-day prevalence of technological growth
forms of national oppression that at present, their culture is slowly
we face, among them are the follow(continued in page 20)
ing: Intensified plunder of land and
December 2016

SERMON
(continued from page 19, Sermon)

dissipating being subsumed by the

onslaught of modern convenience
in every facet of living. In my tour
around the Cordillera region, I can
see a lot of electronic gadgets utilized by the residents foremost of
them, is the cellular phone in every corner. This gadget replaced the
more cherished ways of personal
contacts among the people berth on
intimate relationship.
Our focus in this IP Forum is to
advance the indigenous peoples
agenda for genuine peace and freedom that will help them understand
better their situation gearing at selfdetermination. Are we really serious in joining them in this aspect?
Or are we complacent in engaging
them seriously towards attaining
genuine peace and freedom? If so,
I admonish you not only to identify yourself with them but be one
of them in their quest for genuine
peace that is based on justice so
that freedom looms in this land. Lao
Tzu, the great Chinese philosopher
has said of this technique a long,
long time ago when he mused, Go
to the people, live with them, learn
from them, love them. Start with
what they know, build with what
they have. I therefore admonish
you to do this technique together
with our IP brothers and sisters.

Let us see the context of our IP

brothers and sisters in the eyes of
their own assessment before it will
be too late to rescue them. Let us do
something to save their culture and
land, and will not wait until the
earth becomes dirt before we begin to act, to borrow the words of
Santos Mero of CPA. We should be
disturbed in our beliefs about indigenous people and discover that much
is required of us in order to help them
address their issues and struggles towards genuine peace and freedom.
We will join them in advancing their
struggle. Their agenda of advancing
this cause compels us to speak and
stand out for them.
The wise man Solomon counseled
the people of the Old Testament when
he said in the Book of Proverbs 31:8,
Speak for them and be a righteous
judge. Protect the rights of the poor
and needy. Similarly, this warning
beckons everyone present here today
to push for the IP agenda for genuine peace and freedom. Those who
do not have the physical capability
to push forward must speak of their
rights and be their defender. No excuses therefore on our side.

Otherwise, if we will not speak

for them and will not listen to their
woes, the stones will cry out and be
the ones speak for them. That then,
would surely be a shattering ignoInstead of stooping down on them miny on us. And I hope it would not
and trying to decimate their beings, be so.
we should then reflect and find for
In the name of the Father: the Son
upgraded methods by which we
and the Holy Spirit, Amen
could harmoniously exist with their
(Delivered by Bishop Elorde
culture and spirituality. We should
learn from them and intently adapt Mendoza Sambat at the Ecumenical
their ways of preserving Mother Na- Service on the celebration of Indigeture and putting respect to what God nous Peoples Month on October 14,
had orderly created.
2016 at UCCP Baguio City)

20

Instead

of stooping
down on them and trying to decimate their
beings, we should then
reflect and find for
upgraded methods by
which we could harmoniously exist with
their culture and
spirituality.
December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

(continued from page 17, Church...)

cultural workers.
The people learned the value
of concerted and unified mass action. The decade of ferment led to
increased coordination among the
growing number of militant organizations, and more concerted efforts
towards defining the substance and
features of a program for self-determination of the indigenous peoples in
the Cordillera.
The Cordillera Peoples Alliance
for the Defense of Ancestral Domain and for Self-Determination
In June, 1984 more than three hundred representatives from all over
the Cordillera region gathered in a
Peoples Congress in Bontoc and organized the Cordillera Peoples Alliance for the Defense of the Ancestral
Domain and for Self-Determination
(CPA). Among our founding documents was the seminal paper Towards
Defining the Substance and Features
of Self-Determination in the Cordillera. In this document, we proposed
that regional autonomy would be the
form of self-determination for the
Cordillera.
From 1984-86, the CPA distinguished itself by being at the forefront of the struggle for indigenous
peoples rights. We launched many
campaigns such as those for Ancestral Land Rights, Regional Autonomy, anti-militarization, Kaigorotan
unity, and others.
One of the early campaigns of the
CPA was to bring together the Cordillera provinces as one region. Many
people may not know it but the Cordillera provinces did not always stand
together as one region. One of the early declarations of the dictator Marcos
was to divide the Philippines into regions. Without any consideration for
the commonalities of history, geography, national minority status and the
like, Marcos divided the Cordillera
provinces, including Mountain Province and Benguet along with Abra in
Region 1, and Kalinga-Apayao and
21

Ifugao in Region 2. CPA protested

this act as a form of political misrepresentation and national oppression,
which had the ulterior motive to stop
the unification of the indigenous peoples of the Cordillera, especially as
the resistance against Chico and Cellophil was raging.
In 1985, the Cordillera representatives to the Interim Batasang Pambansa were trying to pass a bill to
regionalize the Cordillera provinces.
The CPA allied with the sponsors of
the bill for the tactical demand of regionalization but raised the slogan
regionalization and beyond, to be
able to conduct a regional campaign
on indigenous peoples rights and regional autonomy as the form of selfdetermination for the region.
CPAs main thrust was towards the
conscientization, organizing and empowerment of the Cordillera indigenous peoples in the struggle against
national oppression and for self-determination. It played a most significant role in popularizing the demand
for the recognition of indigenous
peoples rights, not only in the region
but even nationally. To set the record
straight against historical revisionism, it was the CPA that popularized
the concepts and slogans of ancestral
land, national oppression, self-determination and regional autonomy, such
that these became integrated into the
national struggle against the Marcos
dictatorship, as it was the CPA which
was at the forefront of this struggle in
the region.
The CPLA Split and the CEBCRA-CBAd
Around this time, the Cordillera
Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) of
Conrado Balweg had split from the
Communist Party of the Philippines
New Peoples Army in the region.
The CPLA was soon coddled by the
Aquino government after the much
publicized peace talks and sipat held
in Mt. Data in September 1986. On
July 15, 1987, Aquino signed Executive Order 220 creating the Cordillera
Executive Board (CEB) and the Cor-

dillera Regional Assembly (CRA) as

transitional bodies to work towards
the creation of the Cordillera Autonomous Region after the ratification of
an Organic Act as defined in the Constitution.
July 15 is presently celebrated as
a public holiday in the Cordillera
Administrative Region, in contra-position to the peoples Cordillera Day
which has been commemorated since
1985 to commemorate the martyrdom
of Macliing Dulag, and other Cordillera heroes.
EO 220 gave Conrado Balweg a
privileged position as it institutionalized his Cordillera Bodong Administration (which had split from the
Cordillera Bodong Association allied
with the CPA) in the CEB-CRA. Although EO 220 stopped short of official recognition of the CPLA as the
regional security force, which it had
asked for, the Aquino government
practically gave Conrado Balweg and
the CPLA license to lord it over the
new Cordillera administrative region.
Many opportunists soon toadied up
to them as they had the power to dispense positions, projects, and patronage in the new structures.
The CPLA even had license to
murder and commit criminal acts.
In 1987, they killed Daniel Ngayan
in cold blood at Cagaluan Gate in
Lubuagan. Ama Daniel was a tribal
leader from Tanglag, leader of the
Cordillera Bodong Association and
vice chairperson of the CPA when he
was killed. Soon after, they tortured
and murdered Romy Gardo of Tubo,
Abra, CPA organizer in that province.
Through the years, many others became martyrs through the bloodied
hands of the CPLA.
Although Conrado Balweg had the
temerity to publicly acknowledge that
the CPLA had killed Ngayaan and
Gardo, the Aquino government never
took him to task for it. Neither was
the CPLA punished for their other
crimes such as murder, robbery, grave
(continued in page 22

December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

(continued from page 21, Church...)

threat and intimidation. The families

and friends of the many victims of the
CPLA did not receive any justice from
the Philippine government which had
simply tolerated all of their crimes.
In December 1999, the CPP-NPA
in the region exacted what it called
revolutionary justice, and killed
Conrado Balweg while on a visit to
his hometown. The CPLA soon broke
up into factions, with some being
integrated into the Armed Forces of
the Philippines, and others flaunting
themselves as armed goons involved
in criminal activities.
The CEB-CRA-CBAd lasted
from the time it was created in 1987
by EO 220 to 2000, when Congress
practically abolished it by refusing to
continue allocating funds for its operations. It was composed of a hodgepodge of political appointees which
included Conrado Balweg and his
CBAd, traditional tribal leaders who
probably did not even know what regional autonomy was all about, johnnies-come-lately to the autonomy
bandwagon, and the like.
In the 12 years of its existence, it accomplished nothing of significance. It
was just a superfluous structure set up
to accommodate political appointees,
with all of the graft and corruption,
inefficiency and infighting associated
with such government bureaucracies.
It could not even effectively conduct
the educational campaign on regional
autonomy that it was mandated to do.
The Two Organic Acts
The process towards setting up the
Cordillera Autonomous Region defined in the Constitution is for Congress, with the help of a Cordillera
Regional Consultative Commission,
to draft an Organic Act to establish
the autonomous region. The Organic
Act is to be submitted to the people
for ratification in a plebiscite called
for the purpose.
In 1990, RA 6766, the Organic Act
to create the Cordillera Autonomous
22

Region was submitted to the people

in a plebiscite and was resoundingly
rejected by the voting population except for Ifugao. Some well-meaning
professionals who were involved in
the original draft complained that
Congress had considerable watered
down their proposals, and saw the futility of their efforts.
Again in 1997, a new Organic Act,
RA 8438 was the subject of a plebiscite, and again it was resoundingly
rejected, except for Apayao. A third
attempt was made with HB 4349
which was submitted to the last 16th
Congress but was not passed into law.
Notwithstanding that it was the
CPA that had lobbied for the inclusion of the provision on Cordillera
autonomy in the Constitution, the
militant mass movement campaigned
for the rejection of these Organic Acts
when they were brought before the
electorate in a plebiscite. The CPAs
rejection was because this was not the
regional autonomy as a form of selfdetermination for the Cordillera that
we had envisioned as early as in our
founding Congress.
Our position was that the Organic
Acts passed by Congress was bogus
autonomy. We wanted to differentiate genuine regional autonomy as
a recognition of the right to self-determination, not only the decentralization of administrative functions
similar to that provided by the Local
Government Code. We wanted to differentiate between the form, i.e. setting up a regional bureaucracy, from
the substance, i.e. full recognition of
indigenous peoples rights and the
institutional rectification of national
oppression and discrimination.
Furthermore, we became disillusioned with government when the
Corazon Aquino regime which the
mass movement had helped install
through people power soon excluded
the CPA because of our Left orientation. The State instigated the collusion
of central government, the CPLA and
traditional leaders to try and marginalize the mass movement and coopt

its earlier gains. We were witness to

the infighting and corruption of traditional leaders and opportunists who
had jockeyed themselves into position in the superfluous bureaucracy
of the CRA-CEB-CBAd created by
E.O. 220.
It is ironic that what has been internationally projected as the return
of democracy to the Philippines with
the assumption of Corazon Aquino
to the Philippine presidency was a
most difficult time for the CPA. It
was targeted with a systematic red
scare and terrorist attacks from the
Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army
(CPLA) in collusion with Philippine
security forces and Malacaang. It is
ironic that while the CPA was able to
withstand the fascist repression of the
Marcos dictatorship, it was subjected
to much harsher tyranny under the
so-called democratic space of the
Corazon Aquino.
Truth to tell, these were difficult
years for the militant mass movement
in the region. There was disillusionment with the new government that
had tried to coopt and corrupt the
popular movement for regional autonomy. There was the sense of betrayal tayo ang nagtanim, nag-ani,
nagbayo at nagluto, tapos iba ang
kumain. There was the real threat to
life and limb from the CPLA, aside
from the great confusion caused by
the split.
In any case, the government chose
to coddle the CPLA, and excluded
the CPA. In defense, the CPA chose
not to work with government and the
CPLA. It instead opted to critique
the initiatives of government and the
CPLA, CEB-CRA-CBAd, and later
the two Organic Acts passed by Congress, while continuing with our campaign for genuine regional autonomy
as opposed to bogus autonomy.
It has been 32 years since the
founding of the CPA. The Alliance has
regained lost ground since those difficult years. The national democratic
mass movement in the Cordillera
persists at conducting conscientizaDecember 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

tion, building peoples organizations,
launching campaigns in defense of
land, life and cultural integrity, doing
alternative self-determined development, and empowering the grassroots
as we work towards our vision of
genuine regional autonomy within a
truly democratic and sovereign Philippine republic. On the other hand,
like a flash in the pan, the CRA-CEBCBAd and the CPLA have ceased to
exist.
The militant mass movement has
learned valuable lessons from the
failed government experiment with
regional autonomy in the ARMM
and E.O. 220. Genuine regional autonomy cannot merely be structural
nor mechanical. For it to be substantial, it has to be predicated on a full
and substantial recognition of indigenous peoples rights. It cannot be
rushed, as it can succeed only when
the people are fully knowledgeable and prepared for it. It cannot be
merely granted from above, it has to
be asserted by a conscientized and
empowered people.
Furthermore, government cannot
exclude the Left, whether this is the
underground Left or the open democratic Left, especially as it was the
Left which first articulated the call
for regional autonomy as the form of
self-determination for the Cordillera.
It is in this light that we welcome
the resumption of the Peace Talks be-

tween the Philippine government and

the CPP-NPA-NDFP and the successful conclusion of the first round
of formal peace talks just last week.
We fully support the peace process
and have submitted the indigenous
peoples agenda for consideration as
the two panels proceed to the negotiations on socio-economic reform.
The agenda includes the recognition
of ancestral land rights and regional
autonomy as a recognition of the
right to self-determination.
With regard to the Federal program
of the new president Rodrigo Duterte,
we are concerned not so much about
the form as the substance. We believe
that genuine regional autonomy can
be contextualized either within a federal arrangement or a unitary one.
What is important is that there
should be structural changes so that
the pyramid structure of Philippine
society where only the few richest
families profit from the toils of the
majority is reversed. A major stumbling block to the regional autonomy
as self determination struggle is that
the ruling elites in Philippine society
are against it if the natural resources
in the region are to be used primarily
for the indigenous peoples benefit.
We believe that the Cordillera
mountain range is the ancestral domain of the indigenous people in the
region. We believe that the Cordillera region is indivisible because of

our common history of national oppression, our common geography

and adaptation to the mountainous
terrain, the common persistence of
indigenous cultures up to the present time, our common problems
and enemies, and a common vision
of our collective rights to ancestral
land, self-identity and self-determination. Among our major critiques of
the earlier house bill, in fact, is the
threatening tone that only those who
will vote yes in the referendum will
compose the autonomous region.
The Cordillera should stand alone as
one autonomous region or one federal state, and not be subsumed in a
Northern Luzon state.
Activists are idealists in that we
envision a new society not only for
the Cordillera Autonomous Region
or Federal State of the future, but
also contextualized within a truly
sovereign and democratic Philippine
society. We Igorot activists are idealists in that we would want to bring
the best of indigenous society to the
genuine transformation of Philippine
society.
The new president has announced
that change is coming. The change
that we want is the full recognition
of indigenous peoples rights to their
ancestral land and to self-determination, and the institutional rectification of national oppression and discrimination

ANG ADYENDA NG MGA KATUTUBONG MAMAMAYAN SA

GOBYERNONG RODRIGO DUTERTE
Sa mga nagdaang rehimen hanggang sa administrasyong Aquino,
kaming mga katutubong mamamayan ay paulit ulit na nakararanas ng
pang-aagaw sa aming mga lupain,
sapilitang napapalayas dahil sa mapanirang proyekto ng gubyerno at mga
dayuhang korporasyon, nakararanas
ng diskriminasyon, at matinding paglabag sa karapatang pantao.
23

Sa mahabang panahon ay nananatili kaming mahirap at atrasado sa

usaping pang-ekonomiya sa kabila
ng katotohanan na ang aming mga
lupain at teritoryo ay mayaman at
maaaring magamit sa pag-unlad ng
aming mga komunidad at ng bansa.
Ang kaunlaran na sinasabi at ipinapatupad ng gubyerno at mga korporasyon sa aming mga komunidad,

tulad ng pagmimina, plantasyon,

proyektong pag-enerhiyat mga dambuhalang dam, reserbasyon, logging,
ekoturismo, reforestation program at
iba pa, ay hindi nagbunga ng pagangat ng aming kabuhayan at pag-alis
sa amin sa kahirapan. Bagkus ay nagdulot ito ng pagkawala ng aming mga
(continued in page 24

December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

(continued from page 23, Church...)

lupain, pagwasak sa aming kabuhayan, pagkakawatak-watak ng aming

pagkakaisa, at pagkalusaw ng aming
mayamang kulturat tradisyon at pagkakakilanlan bilang mga katutubong
mamamayan.
Ang batas Indigenous Peoples
Rights Act (IPRA) at ang National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples
(NCIP) na nangako ng pagkilala sa
aming karapatan ay walang silbi sa
harap ng iba pang mga batas at programang prayoridad ng gubyerno at
sa katunayan ay nagamit pa laban sa
aming interes. Ang free, prior, and
informed consent (FPIC) ng IPRA
ay lantarang nilalabag at binabaluktot para ilusot ang mga mapanira at
mapandambong na mga proyekto sa
aming pamayanan.
Ang mga serbisyong panlipunan
na aming inaasahang makukuha mula
sa gubyerno ay hindi naibibigay, kapos o hindi sapat, at sadyang ipinauubaya sa kakarampot na limos ng mga
pribadong kumpanya na pumapasok
sa aming mga lupain. Samantala, ang
mga paaralan, kooperatiba, klinika,
patubig, at iba pang proyekto na aming pinagsikapang ipundar mula sa
aming pagkakaisa, kolektibong paninindigan at pagpapasya para sa
kapakinabangan ng aming komunidad ay minamaliit at di kinikilala, at
sinisira ng mga militar at iba pang
ahensya ng gubyerno.
Maliban sa aming karapatan sa
lupa at kabuhayan, ipinagkait sa amin
ang karapatan na mamahala at magpasya sa sarili, maging kabahagi ng
proseso sa pagdedesisyon sa mga
bagay na nakaaapekto sa amin at sa
bansa, at sa pagkakait sa iba pang
karapatang pampulitika. Sa halip na
maging katuwang namin sa pagsusulong ng aming kolektibong interes,
naging kasangkapan pa ang mga
ahensya tulad ng Bureau of NonChristian Tribes (BNCT), Commission on National Integration (CNI),
Presidential Assistance on National
Minorities (PANAMIN), Office for
Southern Cultural Communities/
24

Office for Northern Cultural Communities (OSCC/ONCC), Office of

Mangyan Affairs sa Mindoro, at ang
National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP) upang padaluyin ang
mga programang umaagaw sa aming
mga lupain. Sa prosesong pampulitika at elektoral, naging patuloy na
biktima kami ng pandaraya, pandarahas, diskriminasyon at pagkakait sa
karapatan upang aktibong makilahok
sa mga prosesong pampulitika. Sa lokal na pamamahala, wala o sadyang
napakaliit lamang ng aming bahagi
sa pusisyon at pagdedesisyon sa lokal
na gubyerno. Patuloy na nararanasan ng mga katutubong mamamayan
ang historikal na marginalisasyon at
kawalan ng tunay na representasyon.
Ang aming karapatang sibil at
karapatang pantao ay patuloy na
niyuyurakan. Ang aming mga komunidad ay itinuring ng gubyerno
bilang mga kaaway at naging target
ng kanilang kontra-insurhensyang
programa. Ang aming pakikibaka ay
sinusupil at direktang tinarget kami
bilang kaaway ng gubyerno. Bilang
resulta, daan-daang bilang ng mga
katutubo ang naging biktima ng
pamamaslang, pagkawala, tortyur,
pagsampa ng gawa-gawang kaso habang libu-libo ang naging biktima ng
sapilitang paglikas bunga ng militarisasyon at paghasik ng lagim ng mga
grupong paramilitar na nagsisiguro
sa pagpasok ng interes ng dambuhalang kumpanya sa aming mga lupang
ninuno. Ang kawalan ng kapayapaan
at katarungan sa aming mga komunidad at ang mga paglabag sa aming
karapatang pantao ay nagpapatuloy
dahil sa pagkaantala ng usapang pangkapayapaan sa pagitan ng gobyerno
at National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDFP) na magbibigay
daan sa paglutas ng armadong tunggalian, kabilang dito ang pagkamit
sa aming karapatan sa lupa, sariling
pagpapasya, at tunay na pag-unlad.
Sa ganitong kalagayan, inihahapag
namin sa bagong Pangulong Rodrigo
Duterte at sa gobyerno nito ang mga
sumusunod na kolektibong panawagan at kahilingan.

1. Isulong at ipagpatuloy ang usapang pangkapayapaan sa pagitan ng

Gobyerno ng Republika ng Pilipinas
(GPH) at National Democratic Front
of the Philippines (NDFP). Palayain
ang mga katutubong bilanggong pulitikal, lahat ng mga bilanggong pulitikal at NDFP consultants sa usapang
pangkapayapaan.
Isulong ang usapang pangkapayapaan sa pagitan ng Gobyerno ng Pilipinas at NDFP upang bigyang daanan
ng pagresolba sa ugat ng mga armadong tunggalian at ng sistematiko at
matagal nang pang-aapi, kahirapan at
diskriminasyon sa mga katutubo.
Kagyat na palayain si Eddie Cruz,
Jaime Hapson, Kennedy Bangibang
at lahat ng mga bilangong pulitikal
at mga NDFP consultants sa usapang
pangkapayapaan.
Tiyakin ang pagkilala at paggalang sa mga kolektibong karapatan naming mga katutubo sa lupang
ninuno at sariling pagpapasya sa pagtalakay at pagbubuo ng Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) sa pagitan
ng GPH at NDFP.
Ipatupad ang Comprehensive
Agreement on the Respect for Human
Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
2. Tunay na kilalanin at itaguyod
ang karapatan naming mga katutubong mamamayan sa lupang ninuno
at sariling pagpapasya.
Ipawalang bisa ang batas Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) at
magbalangkas ng mga bagong batas at patakaran na TUNAY na gumagalang sa karapatan naming mga
katutubo sa lupang ninuno, sariling
pagpapasya, at karapatang pantao.
Ipatigil ang pagpapatupad ng Indigenous Peoples Master Plan 20112016 (IPMAP) at magbalangkas ng
bagong programa na TUNAY na gumagalang sa karapatan naming mga
katutubo, sariling pagpapasya, at
karapatang pantao.
Rebyuhin at imbestigahan ang
December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

lahat ng mga Certificate of Ancestral
Land Title (CALT), Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) at Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development Protection Plan (ADSDPP),
partikular sa usapin ng kawastuhan
ng mga ginawaran ng titulo, laki
ng nasasakupan, lokasyon ng sinasakupan, at iba pa. Kanselahin ang
mga titulong napatunayang bogus at
maanomalya. Siguruhin ang kolektibong pagmamay-ari sa lupa at sariling pagpapasya naming mga katutubo. Repasuhin ang panuntunan sa
paggagawad ng mga CALT at CADT,
at ang pagbubuo ng ADSDPP.
Igalang at itaguyod ang karapatan
naming mga katutubo, alinsunod sa
aming kultura at nakagisnang tradisyon, na malaya at sama-samang pagpasyahan ang anumang programa at
proyekto sa mga lugar na saklaw ng
lupang ninuno. Kanselahin ang mga
mapanirang proyektong naaprubahan
at ipinatutupad, tulad ng pagmimina
(Exploration Permit, Mineral Production Sharing Agreement, Financial
Technical Assistance Agreement),
energy projects (dam, geothermal,
coal fired power plants), plantations,
eco-tourism, military reservation, at
iba pa na hindi dumaan sa tamang
proseso ng free, prior and informed
consent (FPIC) at may paglabag sa
sariling pagpapasya ng mga katutubong mamamayan.
Tiyakin ang tunay na representasyon ng mga katutubo sa mga ahensya ng gubyerno. I-revamp ang National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP) kaalinsabay ng
pagpapawalang bisa sa batas IPRA
at magbuo ng isang departmento na
tunay na magsisilbi sa kagalingan ng
mga katutubo. Imbestigahan at panagutin ang mga opisyal at commissioners ng NCIP na sangkot sa mabigat na paglabag sa mga karapatan
naming mga katutubo, mula sa isyu
ng korapsyon, pakikipagsabwatan laban sa mga katutubo at para sa interes
ng mga korporasyon, di pagtupad sa
mga katungkulan, at di-wastong representasyon para sa mga katutubo.
25

Itigil ang paghirang ng mga pekeng datu na hindi tunay na kumakatawan sa interes at kagalingan ng
mga katutubo at hindi tunay itinalaga
ng mga katutubo sa komunidad. Itigil
ang pagbibinyag sa mga opisyal militar at mga pulitiko bilang mga Datu,
Fulong, Timuay, at iba pang katawagan. Ang mga ito ay mga porma ng
misrepresentasyon sa amin at tuwirang pagyurak sa aming sistemang
sosyo-politika. Irebyu ang pagkatao
at rekord ng mga datu at iba pang lider katutubo na kinikilala at itinalaga
ng NCIP bilang kinatawan sa lokal na
gubyerno. Imbestigahan at panagutin sa paglabag sa karapatang pantao
ang mga datu na hinirang ng NCIP at
namumuno sa mga grupong paramilitar tulad nila Joel Unad ng Mindnao
Indigenous Peoples Conference on
Peace and Development (MIPCPD).
Rebyuhin ang implementasyon
ng Administrative Order No.01-2009
ng National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) at ang Memorandum Circular No.2010-119 ng
DILG kaugnay sa Mandatory Representation sa Local Legislatives and
Development Councils ng Department of Local Government. Igalang
ang tradisyunal na proseso at kolektibong pagpapasya ng mga katutubo
sa pagpili ng kinatawan sa mga lokal
na konseho ng gubyerno. Magbuo ng
mekanismo na magsisiguro sa tunay
at kolektibong pagpili ng mga katutubo, batay sa kanilang nakagisnang
kultura at paniniwala, ng magiging
kinatawan nila sa lokal na gubyerno.
Ibasura ang House Bil 4649 o ano
mang katulad na panukalang batas
na naglalayong magtayo ng bogus na
Cordillera Autonmous Region, na tinulan na ng mga mamamayang Kordilyera sa nakaraang dalawang plebisito.
Kilalanin at igalang ang karapatan ng
mga mamamayan ng Kordilyera sa
sariling pagpapasya sa pamamagitan
ng Genuine Regional Autonomy.
3. Itigil ang patuloy na pangangamkam sa aming mga lupang ninuno at pandarambong ng likas yaman
sa aming mga teritoryo.

Gawing prayoridad sa Kongreso

ang pagbasura at pagbabago sa mga
batas na Mining Act of 1995 (RA
7942), National Integrated Protected
Areas Systems Law o NIPAS of 1992
(RA 7586), Aurora Special Economic
Zone Act of 2007 at Amyenda nito
(RA 9490 at RA 10083), Biofuels Act
of 2006 (RA 9367) at Agricultural
and Fisheries Modernization Act of
1997 (R.A. No. 8435).
Kagyat na ipawalang bisa ang
mga kontra-katutubo at kontra-mamamayang kautusan at proklamasyon na inilabas at ipinatupad ng mga
nakaraang pangulo tulad ng Mining
Executive Order #79, Executive Order #26 na nagpapatupad ng National
Greening Program at sa Executive
Order #193 para sa pagpatupad at
ekstensyon nito, ng Presidential Declaration 705 at DENR Department
Administrative Order #99-53 na nagbigay daan sa mga Integrated Forestry Management Agreement (IFMA)
at pagpapahintulot ng malawakan at
komersyal na pagtotroso, ng Presidential Proclamation #67 at Presidential Proclamation # 429 na nagbigay
bisa sa paggamit sa lupa ng mga
Tumanduk bilang military at school
reservation, ng Joint Administrative
Order #01-2012 ng DAR-DENRLRA-NCIP na nagsasaayos ng mga
usapin sa pagitan ng mga sangkot na
ahensya, at marami pang iba.
Magpatupad ng moratoryo sa pagapruba sa lahat ng bagong aplikasyon
ng pagmimina. Rebyuhin ang lahat ng mga kontrata sa pagmimina
at agarang ikansela ang kontrata ng
mga kumpanya na lantarang sumisira
sa kalikasan at lumalabag sa kolektibong karapatan ng mga katutubo.
Huwag pahintulutan ang pagmimina
sa mga watershed o kamalig tubig.
Kagyat na itigil operasyon at kanselahin ang kontrata ng mga kumpanya ng pagmimina na napatunayang
sumira sa kalikasan at lumabag sa
karapatan ng mga katutubo tulad ng
operasyon ng Philex Mining Corpora(continued in page 26

December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

(continued from page 25, Church...)

tion at Lepanto Consolidated Mining

Co. sa Benguet, Oceana Gold Philippines Inc. at FCF Minerals sa Nueva
Vizcaya, Citinickel sa Palawan, at
sa mga kumpanyang nasa Mindanao
tulad ng Toronto Venture Inc. (TVI)
sa Zamboanga del Sur at Zamboanga
del Norte, ng Saguittarius Mines Inc.Xstrata sa Sultan Kudarat, Davao del
Sur, at Sarangani, ng San Roque Mining Inc. Metals sa Agusan del Norte,
Shenzou Mining Group Corporation
at Greenstone Resources Corportion, Silangan Mining Corporation, at
Taganito sa Surigao del Norte, at iba
pa.
Panagutin ang mga maysalang
kumpanya ng pagmimina, pagtotroso, plantasyon, dam at iba pang
dambuhalang negosyo. Bigyan ng
kaukulang bayad pinsala at kompensasyon ang mga biktimang apektado
sa pagkasira ng kalikasan at paglabag
sa karapatang pangtao, at iwasto at
gawan ng pagsasaayos ang mga napinsalang kapaligiran at kabuhayan.
Imbestigahan ang iba pang porma
ng pangaagaw ng lupain sa mga katutubo. Bigyang karampatang aksyon
ang mga ito tulad ng pagbabalik ng
lupain, kompensasyon, suportang
pangkabuhayan, at iba pa.
Sa Caraga, ipatupad ang mga
rekomendasyon ng imbestigasyon ng
MGB XIII kaugnay sa polusyon bunga ng operasyon ng nickel mining sa
Claver, Surigao del Norte, Taganaan,
Surigao del Norte, at Adlay, Carrascal, Surigao del Sur.
Itigil ang pag-aproba at implementasyon ng susunod na 5-taong
ng Social Development Management
Program (SDMP). Siyasatin ang
implementasyon at epekto ng mga
proyekto gamit ang pondo ng SDMP
ng mga korporasyon. Imbestigahan at
i-audit ang MGB sa pagiging bahagi
ng tripartite council at pangangasiwa
at paggamit nito ng mga pondo ng
SDMP.
Tiyakin ang maka-kalikasan,
makabayan, at maka-katutubot ma26

mamayang patakaran sa paggamit

ng likas na yaman para sa enerhiya.
Ibasura ang Electric Power Industry
Reform Act (EPIRA), Renewable Energy Act, at Philippine Energy Plan
na nagbibigay pabor sa mga dayuhan
at kapitalista.
Itigil ang pagtatayo ng mga dambuhalang dam na nagdudulot ng
pagkawala ng kabuhayan at pagpapalayas ng mga komunidad ng mga
katutubo tulad Laiban Dam, BalogBalog Dam, Ilaguen Dam, Diduyon
Dam, Jalaur Multi Purpose Project,
Pan-ay River Basin Integrated Development Project, Pulangi V, Alimit
Hydro Complex ng SN Abotiz sa Ifugao, at iba pa.
Itigil ang mga proyektong pangenerhiya na nagdudulot ng pangaagaw sa lupa at pagkasira ng kabuhayan at kalikasan. Itigil ang pagtatayo ng mga geothermal project ng
Chevron at Aragorn Power sa Kalinga, ng PRC Magma sa Benguet,
Mountain Province, at Ifugao, ng
Aboitiz sa Pampanga at Zambales, at
sa South Cotabato. Kagyat na kanselahin ang Coal Operating Contracts
(COC) ng Department of Energy at
mga korporasyon sa mga lugar ng
Carmen-Tago hanggang Andap Valley Complex sa Surigao del Sur, at
sa mga probinsya ng Zamboanga
del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay , Sarangani, South Cotabato, Agusan del
Sur, at Agusan del Norte.
Ipawalang bisa ang mga kasunduang pinasok ng administrasyong
Aquino sa ilalim ng Public Private
Partnership na nakakaapekto sa mga
katutubo at mamamayan tulad ng
Jalaur Multipurpose dam project sa
Capiz, Clark Green City sa Pampanga, at iba pa. Itigil ang bidding at
tuluyang ibasura ang New Centennial
Water Resources Project para sa pagtatayo ng dambuhalang dam sa lalawigan ng Rizal at Quezon.
Itigil ang implementasyon ng National Greening Program laluna sa sakop ng lupaing ninuno ng Tumandok
sa mga bayan ng Tapaz at Jamindan
sa probinsya ng Capiz at mga bayan

ng Janiuay, Lambunao at Maasin sa

Iloilo at sa mga lupain ng mga katutubo sa Kordilyera, Cagayan, Mindoro, Palawan at iba pang mga probinsya. Kagyat na ibalik ang mga lupang
sinakop ng proyekto para sa produktibong gamit ng mga katutubo. Magpatupad ng sustenableng programa
para sa pangangalaga at pangangasiwa ng kalikasan na may paggalang sa
karapatan ng mga katutubong mamamayan.
Imbestigahan, kanselahin ang
kontrata at ipatigil ang ekspansyon ng
mga malalaking konsesyon ng pagtotroso at mga plantasyon sa lupain
ng mga katutubo.
4. Ipagkaloob ang libre at sapat na
serbisyong panlipunan, tulong pangkabuhayan, at suporta sa mga biktima ng kalamidad at sakuna.
Maglaan ng sapat na pondo para
sa serbisyong pang-edukasyon, pangkalusugan, at suportang pangkabuhayan sa mga katutubo. Magbalangkas ng programa na tunay na
magbibigay solusyun sa kahirapan
at kawalang serbisyong panlipunan.
Maglaan ng sapat na pondo para sa
direktang serbisyong kalusugan, patubig, sanitasyon, imprastruktura, atbpa.
Itigil ang diskriminasyon at magpatupad ng mga programang pangedukasyon na tunay na kumikilala
sa kultura, kaalaman, kahalagahan,
karapatan, kasaysayan at isyu naming
mga katutubo. Tiyakin ang pagbalangkas at pagkakaroon ng indigenous
peoples education and curriculum,
pagrebyu at pagbabago/pagtutuwid
ng mga textbooks at kurikulum sa
mga pampubliko at maging sa pampribadong paaralan.
Kilalanin, igalang, pangalagaan
at suportahan ang patuloy na operasyon ng mga paaralan ng Lumad na
pinatatakbo ng mga komunidad ng
mga katutubo at mga suportang organisasyon. Bigyan ng pantay na
oportunidad sa mataas na paaralan o
kolehiyo ang mga mag-aaral na nagtapos sa mga formal at non-formal na
December 2016

CHURCH AND SOCIETY

mga paaralan, at hayaan sila na kumuha ng akreditasyon at equivalency
examinations na pinangangasiwaan
ng Department of Education.
Ipawalang bisa ang No Home
Birthing Policy. Maglaan ng sapat na
pondo, pasilidad, personnel at serbisyong pangkalusugan sa komunidad
ng mga katutubo.
Magpatupad ng sustenableng programa para sa agrikultura at pangangalaga at pangangasiwa ng kalikasan
na may paggalang sa karapatan ng
mga katutubong mamamayan sa pagpapasya sa sarili. Itigil ang mga programa ng gobyerno na nagtataguyod
sa paggamit ng mga genetically-modified crops at ipagbawal ang paggamit
at pagbenta ng mga mapaminsalang
agri-chemicals katulad ng glyphosate.
Kagyat na bigyan ng tulong na
pagkain, kabuhayan at suporta sa pagsasaka ang mga katutubo at magpatupad ng programa sa rehabilitasyon ng
mga komunidad ng mga katutubo na
nasalanta ng mga kalamidad tulad ng
bagyong Yolanda, El Nio at iba pa.
I-audit ang calamity fund para sa biktima ng El Nino o tagtuyot, Bagyong
Yolanda, Bagyong Pablo atbpa.
Imbestigahan ang naging paggastos sa P295 bilyong pondong budget
at implementasyon ng Conditional
Cash Transfer/Pantawid Pamilya
Progam (4Ps), Payapa at Masaganang
Pamayanan (PAMANA), at Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of
Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS)
ng Department of Social Work and
Development.
Bigyan ng karampatang suportang pinansyal at materyal ang mga
katutubong biktima ng sapilitan paglikas bunga ng militarisasyon. Tiyakin ang pagbibigay tulong para sa
rehabilitasyon kabilang, na ang muling pagtatayo ng mga bahay at paaralan, pagsasaayos ng mga sakahan,
para sa mga komunidad na nakabalik
at makakabalik mula sa pangmatagalang ebakwasyon.
27

Palakasin ang kakayahan ng mga

katutubong kababaihan sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay sa kanila ng
mga kinakailangang pagsasanay at
pagbibigay ng sosyo-ekonomikong
programa sa kanila.
5. Igalang at itaguyod ang karapatang pantao ng mga katutubong mamamayan.
Itigil ang pagpapatupad ng Internal Peace and Security Plan Oplan
Bayanihan at ang partikular na bahagi nito na IP Centric Approach ng
Whole of Nation Initiative (WNI),
at ang Peace and Development Outreach Program (PDOP), na nagresulta
sa patuloy at tumitinding malawakang
militarisasyon ng mga komunidad ng
katutubo, harassment, sapilitang paglikas, sapilitang pagkawala, pampulitikang pamamaslang at iba pang uri
ng paglabag ng karapatang pantao ng
mga katutubo. Bigyan ng bayad pinsala ang lahat ng mga biktima ng implementasyon ng Oplan Bayanihan.
Itigil ang matinding militarisasyon sa komunidad naming mga
katutubo. Kagyat na paalisin o ipullout ang mga militar at grupong paramilitar, itigil ang pagtatayo ng mga
detatsment ng militar at buwagin ang
mga kampo militar sa aming mga komunidad. Tiyaking ligtas na makabalik ang mga biktima ng sapilitang
paglikas sa kanilang mga komunidad.
Kagyat na ibalik sa mga komunidad
ang mga sapilitang napalikas na mga
Lumad, partikular yaong nasa evacuation center sa UCCP Haran, Davao
City, Tandag Sports Complex sa Surigao del Sur, sa Kapitolyo ng Bukidnon, at iba pa.
Itigil ang paggamit ng militar,
LGU at NCIP sa mga katutubo sa
kontra-insurhensyang programa ng
gubyerno. Buwagin ang mga grupong para-militar tulad ng Task Force
Gantangan, Bagani Force, Bulif, Alamara, Magahat, Salakawan, NIPARSANMATRIDA, Cordillera Peoples
Liberation Army (CPLA), at iba pa
na armadong grupo na ginagamit sa
kontra-insurhensyang programa ng

gubyerno. Ipawalang-bisa ang Executive Order No. 546 na nagpapahintulot sa patuloy na pag-iral at rekrutment sa mga grupong para-militar.
Bigyang karampatang hustisya at
makatarungang bayad-pinsala ang lahat ng katutubo na biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao tulad nila
Dionel Campos, Datu Juvello Sinzo,
Rodilyn Aguirre at 97 pang biktima
ng pampulitikang pamamaslang sa
ilalim ng adminstrasyong Aquino at
ang 151 na biktima sa ilalim ng Administrasyong Arroyo.
Sampahan ng kaso at agad na arestuhin ang mga lider at kasapi ng
mga grupong paramilitar na kinilala
nang pumaslang sa mga katutubo.
Parusahan sila Alde Salusad ng New
Indigenous Peoples Army for Reform- (NIPAR-SANMATRIDA) na
pumatay kay Datu Jimmy Liguyon
at Datu Erning Mantugohan; sila
Loloy Tejero, Bobby Tejero, Calpet Egua, Waway Belandres, Joman
Marcos Bocales at Marcial Belandres
ng grupong Magahat-TF Bagani na
salarin sa Lianga Massacre at pagpatay kina Aldren Dumaguit at Henry
Alameda; panagutin sila Mankolabi at Manlumakad Bocales ng Dela
Mance-Alamara Group na pumatay
kina Obet Pabiana, Paking Olinan,
at Datu Mankombite Mariano, sina
Berting Laygayan at Frank Coguit ng
Lubog-Bagani Force para sa pagkamatay ni Blemar Mondejar; pagpapanagot kina Donato, Maninggo, at Joven Salangani ng Alamara-Salangani
Group na pumatay kina Datu Manliro Landahay at Alibando Tingkas,
at gayundin, ang pagpapanagot sa
mag-asawang Deo Mampatilan at
Nida Mampatilan, dating mayor ng
Esperanza, Agusan del Sur at pinuno
ng grupong Salakawan para sa pagkamatay nila Datu Arpe Belayong at
Solte San-ogan. Panagutin din ang
mga opisyal at yunit militar na sangkot sa mga grupong paramilitar na ito
tulad nila Lt. Col. Fallar ng 8th IB sa
grupong NIPAR at LTC Jesus Durante ng 2nd SRB sa grupong Magahat.
(continued in page 15

December 2016

PEOPLES VOICE

We Stand With Standing Rock! Stop Attacking Water Protectors!

A Joint Statement by
International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL)
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP)
International Organization for Self Determination and Equality (IOSDE)
23 November 2016
On the night of November 20, 2016, over 400 Water Protectors gathered on a bridge near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in
South Dakota, United States and were violently dispersed by police forces in the name of the corporate-owned Dakota Access Pipeline
(DAPL). The security forces were in riot gear and used water cannons, concussion grenades, rubber bullets, tear gas and sound cannons
against the Water Protectors, who were weaponless and praying, singing and seeking to create access to and through the bridge in order
to ensure connection to a nearby town for supplies, support and health care.
In this horrific incident, police forces indiscriminately aimed water cannons at everyone on the site, and targeted peoples heads and
legs with their bullets. Tear gas was also used against the Water Protectors. Around 300 were injured and 26 had to be hospitalized,
including one arm amputation case, one for cardiac arrest, and another for seizures. Because of the near-freezing temperature in the area,
the water from the cannons used by the police caused early signs of hypothermia. Police also illegally detained 16 protesters one day
after the incident.
Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, has continued construction of the USD 3.7 billion
project despite a request from the US government to temporarily cease construction. The US Army Corps of Engineers, with capacity
to implement this request into order, has in fact done nothing to stop ETP from continuing construction. The 1,170-mile pipeline will
threaten the water supplies and waterways, and continue to desecrate Native American burial grounds and sacred sites. ETP has already
land grabbed from private US landowners as well as Native Americans in the course of construction. At least 500 activists and supporters
have been slapped with trumped-up charges for resisting the project.
The International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact
(AIPP), and the International Organization for Self Determination and Equality (IOSDE) condemn in the strongest possible terms this
violent dispersal of Water Protectors by government security forces. Instead of protecting its own people against plunder, environmental
degradation and human rights violations, the US government has chosen to side with big corporations such as ETP. It has done nothing
to uphold its international obligations to protect human rights, and its continued support of the DPAL construction clearly shows its bias
to protect corporate interests and outright disregard of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and other oppressed groups not only in its own
country but in the whole world.
We from the IPMSDL, AIPP and IOSDE strongly reiterate our solidarity with the Sioux peoples in their fight against corporate
encroachment, plunder and militarization of their ancestral lands. We continue to stand with the Standing Rock Sioux peoples and all
Indigenous Peoples in the world in our common struggle for self-determination, the defense of our lands, territories and resources, and
the protection of our cultural heritage. Global attention and actions are urgently needed to resolve the historical injustices committed
against Indigenous Peoples, which is the source of many of the conflicts around the world
Reference:
Ms. Beverly Longid, Global Coordinator, IPMSDL, info@ipmsdl.org, ipmsdl@gmail.com
Ms. Joan Carling, Secretary General, AIPP, aippmail@aippnet.org
Ms. India Reed Bowers, Direector, IOSDE, info@iosde.org

28

December 2016

PEOPLES VOICE

North

Luzon

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE TO REIGN IN OUR LAND

Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace
that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be
worried and upset; do not be afraid.
John 14:27
To the Christian faithful of all ecclesial denominations,
To all people of good will, advocates of peace,
Greetings!
We, the Ecumenical Bishops Forum of Northern Luzon, issue this pastoral statement for your consideration and guidance in our
nations urgent task to seek peace and pursue it (Ps 34:14).
Formal peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front
of the Philippines (NDFP) have been on and off since these began in September 1992. We have not stopped yearning and praying for
peace. Yet the enemies for peace somewhat reigned supreme for almost 15 years, in the incumbency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and
Benigno Simeon Aquino III as President and principal of the GRP. Clearly, the road to peace is a long way to go.
It is good to know that peace negotiations under this present administration have gone back to the negotiation table. We rejoice over
the outcome of the formal talks just concluded in Oslo, Norway. We congratulate the negotiating panels of both the GRP and the NDFP
for their willingness to look for avenues of peace. We laud them for:
1. Reaffirming the previous Agreements: The Hague Joint Declarations of 1992; JASIG of 1995; The Joint Declaration on the
Formation, Sequence and Operationalization of the Reciprocal Working Committees (RWC) of the GRP and NDFP of 1995; and the
Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) of 1998
2. Reconstitution of JASIG List
3. Working for the acceleration of the Peace Negotiations through the Reciprocal Working Committee Socio Economic Reform
(RWC-SER); Reciprocal Working Group Political and Constitutional Reform (PWG Political and Constitutional Reform (PWGPCR); Reciprocal Working Group End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces (RWG-EHDF) and the Joint Monitoring Committee
4. Releases of peace consultants of the NDFP
5. Amnesty Proclamation
6. Ceasefire
It is good to see a chance that peace talks seem to push through, to a victorious end. Despite the Aquino governments ridicule of
The Hague Joint Declaration as document of perpetual division, and the unconscionable subtle sabotage of the US Government
putting the CPP-NPA-NDFP in its list of terrorist organizations.
We note the confidence building measures done by both parties --- the Release of the Peace consultants of the NDFP by the GRP;
and in the same breadth, the releases of Prisoners of War (POW) by the New Peoples Army that has been on going. We view these as
signs worthy of commendation. On the other hand, we hope that the Joint Monitoring Committee for CARHRIHL be reconstituted
and put to task immediately. We prevail upon them to work for active monitoring; for it is upon vigilance that violations of Human
29

December 2016

PEOPLES VOICE
Rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is deterred if not eliminated.
With agreements forged on these matters, the panels can then tackle a new Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic
Reforms (CASER) that aims to resolve major historical and structural imbalances in Philippine society.
Dearly beloved peace advocates, how shall we judge the correctness, the quality, the worth of proposals to be presented to the nation
and the world? As your pastors, we offer these guidelines for reflection and action.
We invite all to a common effort to urge the GRP and NDFP through their respective peace panels to negotiate terms of a lasting
peace based on justice and righteousness.
We invite all to participate in creative ways as individuals, local churches and organizations, to present suggestions to the panels
procedural guidelines, actual proposals and implementaries, and above all, to critique proposals in the light of Gospel values and
human rights of persons, family, and community.
Proposals are deemed just and acceptable if they are in accordance with:
The right to life, food, jobs, and decent social services
The right of the people to genuine agrarian reform
The right of the people to nationalist industrialization
The right of the people to national sovereignty against monopoly capitalist globalization and foreign aggression
The right of the people to gender and racial equality and religious freedom
The right of Indigenous Peoples to ancestral domain and to self determination
The right of the people and of creation to ecological integrity.
Let us pray for the success of the peace talks, and renew our lives to be worthy to receive from above graces of justice and peace
and prosperity for all.
THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED

City of Baguio, Philippines

September 02, 2016
Signed:
RT. REV. BRENT W. ALAWAS

BISHOP ELORDE M. SAMBAT

EBF NL Coordinator
Bishop, UCCP

Diocesan Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Northern

Philippines
Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP)

RT. REV. VERMILION C. TAGALOG

RT. REV. JOEL A. PACHAO

Diocesan Bishop, Diocese of LUISA

Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI)
RT. REV. JERRY L. SAGUN
Diocesan Bishop, Diocese of Santiago
Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI)
RT. REV. ESTEBAN G. SABAWIL
Diocesan Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Northern Luzon

Diocesan Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of North Central

Philippines
Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP)
REV. FELIPE B. EHICAN, JR.
District President
North Luzon Highland District
Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP)

Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP)

30

December 2016

PEOPLES VOICE

World Indigenous Peoples Day in Baguio City

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) is pleased to invite the public to a simple program celebrating our identity
and culture as indigenous peoples of the Cordillera on August 9, 2016 from 9AM to 12 NN at the Igorot Park. The
event is part of the global commemoration of International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples, first pronounced
by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1994.
The program is co-organised with the Dap-ayan ti Kultura iti Kordilyera (DKK), Cordillera Elders Alliance (CEA)
and the CPA chapter in Baguio City, Tongtongan ti Umili. Cultural presentations and messages of solidarity are lined
up by guests invited, including members of the City Council, indigenous peoples organisations and advocates. Leaders from The public is invited to join the celebration, and is enjoined the come in their indigenous attire. A parade kicks
off at 9AM at the Post Office Park to mark the celebration.
The activity is also inspired by the call for genuine change across the country, therefore serving as a forum to impart
the Indigenous Peoples Agenda. The Agenda was crafted by indigenous peoples across the country through KATRIBU
national indigenous peoples alliance. It contains urgent and long-term issues being raised by indigenous communities for redress under the Duterte Administration. Some of the IP Agendas main points include the resumption of the
peace talks between Philippine government with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), genuine
recognition of indigenous peoples right to ancestral land and self-determination, a stop to the plunder of resources in
indigenous territories, sufficient and appropriate basic social services and support for victims of disasters. A complete
version of the Agenda (in Filipino) is annexed to this press release, for information and guidance.
CPA actively participated in processes leading to the crafting of the IP Agenda, including the National Peoples
Summit for Genuine Change and submission of the National Peoples Agenda to Pres. Duterte after his inauguration
followed by a short meeting. The Indigenous Peoples Agenda will be submitted separately to Malacaang on August 8,
through the initiative of KATRIBU. Particular urgent and long term concerns of indigenous peoples of the Cordillera
is articulated in the said agenda.
CPA has also slated other activities for the whole month of August, also in commemoration of World IP Day, such
as its Regional Council Meeting on August 9-10, Elders Workshop on Autonomy in partnership with the Regional Development Council-CAR through NEDA-CAR and the CAR Association of State Universities and Colleges (CARASUC) in August 29-30, and on August 31, a Cordillera Multistakeholders Consultation on Autonomy and Federalism,
also in partnership with RDC-NEDA, CARASUC and UP Baguio. Both events will be hosted by the Benguet State
University (BSU)

Reference:
ATB Anongos
Secretary General
31

December 2016

PHOTO GALLERY
ADVENT RECOLLECTION:

Thirty four (34) women clergy and the lay from different church institutions gathered
at St. Scholasticas Convent, Military-cut Off, Baguio City last 1 December 2016 for the Ecumenical Advent Recollection with the theme: Rise Up! Go and Serve Gods People. The Biblico-Theological Reflection on the theme was given
by Deaconess Norma Dollaga from AWIT National. Cases of violations against women and children and updates on the
rising cases of people living with HIV-AIDS were part of the sharing during the ecumenical service.

Thirty four (34) women clergy and the lay from different church
institutions joined the candle lighting activity held outside the
venue of the Ecumenical Advent Recollection at St. Scholasticas Convent, Baguio City by wearing the red ribbon as a sign
of solidarity and commitment for the HIV-AIDS awareness campaign.

ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN IN THEOLOGY - NORTH LUZON (AWIT-NL) Assembly:

18 church workers and lay people organized the AWIT-NL last 1 December 2016 at St. Scholasticas Convent, Baguio City. They
elected a new set of officers for the quadrennium 2016-2020 namely: Ptr. Maricar P. Delfun - Coordinator, Sr. Odilia Bulayungan,
OSB - Co Coordinator, Rev. Emelyn Dacuycuy - Secretary Treasurer, Rev. Penelope Caytap - Program Officer and Provincial
Repre, sentatives: Rev. Roceni Bakian, Rev. Digna Blanco, Rev. Emelyn Dacuycuy, Ms. Mariefe Revollido, Ptr. Gladina Campana,
and Secretariat: Rev. Penelope Caytap, Ptr. Lany Pingo, Ptr. Gladina Campana.

32

December 2016

PHOTO GALLERY
THE ECUMENICAL YOUTH RECEPTION

organized by RECCORD last 1 October 2016

was a starting point for the different youth organizations within Metro-Baguio and Benguet to come together for fellowship
and study. The theme Get High With Christ truly electrified the youth in getting high with what the Lord requires of every
Christian in terms of their spiritual growth and being Christ-like. This was followed by two workshops on migration as part
of the study sessions held last 9 November 2016 at Epiphany Church, km. 5, La Trinidad, Benguet and at The Salvation Army
Baguio Corps, Baguio City held last 27 November 2016.

33

December 2016

FEATURED NEWS

From the ili to the city: the continuing struggle

of national minorities for self-determination
In a historical caravan, the
national Lakbayan ng Pambansang
Minorya para sa Sariling Pagpapasya
at
Makatarungang
Kapayapaan
(Lakbayan) brought together the
indigenous peoples (IPs) and the
Moro people for one common
cause - the struggle for our right to
self-determination and just peace.
From Luzon, Visayas to Mindanao,
indigenous peoples and the Moro
people, known as national minority,
converged at the countrys capital from
October 13-27, 2016, and fortified their
unity into greater heights.
Lakbayans most important success
was the formation of the SANDUGO
Movement of Moro and Indigenous
Peoples for Self Determination.
Sandugo is a historical tradition of peace
pacts by different tribes during the preSpanish colonization. Hosted by the
University of the Philippines Diliman
on October 14-15, 2016, the Sandugo
was a clear testament of IP and Moro

peoples unity and of the unwavering

struggle of national minorities for selfdetermination and just peace.
From the Cordillera region, the major
tribes and ethnolinguistic groups were
well represented in the Convenors of
the newly formed Sandugo: Windel
Bolinget
(Kankanaey),
Fernando
Mangili (Ibaloi), Vergel Aniceto (Ibaloi),
Joanna Carino (Ibaloi), Martes Buli-e
(Kankanaey), James Tayaban (Tuwali),
Andrew Pahiwon (Ayangan), Leo
Belingon (Kalanguya), Juan Dammay
(Kalinga), Piya Malayao (Bontok),
Gerald Chopchopen (Sadanga), Emerita
Dazon (Kankanaey), Susan Camarao
(Tinguian), Ceasar Barona (Tinguian),
Samuel Dian (Bago).
The Sandugo lead the series of
peaceful and successful pickets
and protest actions that followed,
from October 17-27, at the national
headquarters of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP), Philippine National

Police (PNP); national offices of the

National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP) and Department of
Justice (DOJ); and the US Embassy.
The protest actions underscored
the long list of crimes committed by
the AFP against the Igorots and other
IPs in the country, the inability of the
PNP to arrest paramilitary criminals in
indigenous communities, the call for the
abolition of the NCIP due to its crimes
against the indigenous peoples, and the
call for the DOJ to drop and stop the
filing of trumped charges against the
national minorities. On the other hand,
the protest at the US Embassy was
meant to call for an end to US control
of the economic and political life of
the country, and in support to President
Dutertes independent foreign policy.
A major highlight of the protest actions
were the violent dispersals by the AFP
during the protest in front of a gate of the
AFP Headquarters on October 18, and
by the PNP during the peaceful protest
in front of the US Embassy on October
19. The Cordillera Peoples Alliance
vehemently condemned the violent
and bloody dispersals which clearly
show the continuing discrimination and
oppression of national minorities by the

The Caravan of National Minorities for Self-Determination and Just

Peace culminated in a ceremonila convergence dubbed as Hugpungan, a cultural showcase staged by Sandugo (the newly-formed alliance of indigenous peoples and Moros) last October 26 at the University Theater of the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD).
Photo Credit: http://www.nordis.net

34

December 2016

ECUMENICAL NEWS
US and the State through the AFP and
PNP.
Earlier on October 13, the northern
Luzon delegates of Lakbayan, including
the Cordillera Peoples Alliance
delegation picketed the national offices
of Lepanto Consolidated Mining
Company (LCMC), Oceana Gold,
Chevron and SN Aboitiz. Directly
affected communities of Mankayan,
Benguet; Cervantes and Quirino,
Ilocos Sur; Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva
Vizcaya also called for the closure of
LCMC and Oceana Gold because of its
environmental crimes and destruction
to their communities and livelihood.
In similar manner, the communities to
be affected by Chevron and SN Aboitiz
in Kalinga and Ifugao demanded the
full recognition of indigenous peoples
rights in the conduct of the Free Prior
Informed Consent processes.
Lakbayan also highlighted the
richness of culture of the national
minorities. Throughout the duration
of the Lakbayan, colorful indigenous
attires were accompanied by the
marching sounds of gongs and
indigenous instruments. From pickets,
protest actions to programs at the
Kampuhan, cultural performances were
transformed to tell the rich history, issues
and aspirations of national minorities.
Every song, dance, pattong, kullilipan,
uggayam and other cultural forms were
further expressed the continuing struggle
and challenges for the defense of land,
life and resources.
Finally, Lakbayan brought the
struggles of national minorities from
their ili to the national seat of power.
Lakbayan is also a historical converging
point for national minorities to share
their stories and songs of victories,
resistance and hope in their struggle for
self-determination and just peace.
The Cordillera Peoples Alliance
thanks and commends the overwhelming
support and solidarity of various groups
and institutions to the Lakbayan of
National Minorities, including the
University of the Philippines Diliman
which hosted the Lakbayan, and friends
and supporters of the CPA
35

(continued from page 39, Not so...)

ty, lack of equal opportunity

and cultural practices create
conditions of vulnerability,
which traffickers easily exploit

the World Council of Churches,

the World Student Christian
Federation and the World
YWCA http://women.overcomingvioAlence.org

Sources: US
Department of Justice, US State Department, Salvation Army Canada,
UNIFEM, Central
Asia-Caucasus Institute
A 2010 Lenten
Study compiled by

UMC Delegates re-elect the incumbent Bishops

The three incumbent Bishops of
the United Methodist Church were reelected by delegates at the Philippines
Central Conference meeting at Aldersgate
United Methodist Church Angeles City,
Pampanga, Philippines from December 1
to 3, 2016. Bishop Pedro M. Torio Jr., was
the first bishop elected at the quadrennial
meeting receiving 320 of the 470 votes
cast on the sixth ballot on December 1.
This was followed by Bishop Ciriaco Q.
Francisco who was elected on the 12th
ballot on December 2, receiving 318 out
of 457 votes cast and Bishop Rodolfo A.

Juan was re-elected on the 16th ballot on

December 3 receiving 323 of 458 votes
cast.
The Committee on Episcopacy
announced the assignments for the newly
re-elected bishops for the next four years
from 2017 to 2020 and confirmed by the
delegates. Bp. Torio will continue to serve
the Baguio Episcopal Area, which he
has led since he was first elected bishop
in 2012. Bp. Juan will lead the Davao
Episcopal Area, while Bp. Francisco will
move to the Manila Episcopal Area

Photo Credit: Rev. Joel Bengbeng

December 2016

ECUMENICAL NEWS
just waiting for
the President to
sign the release
orders and we
are hopeful he
will sign them
next week, he
addded. Bello
said that the
release of political detainees shows
the sincerity of the President to
pursue the peace negotiations until
its logical conclusion, which is a just
and lasting peace.

Chief peace negotiator announces

GRP to release 70 political
prisoners
BAGUIO CITY The chief
peace negotiator of the Government
of the Philippines (GRP) said the
Duterte administration is poised to
release more political prisoners on
humanitarian grounds.
Silvestre Bello III, GRP chief
peace negotiator, said they are just
awaiting the signature of President
Rodrigo Duterte for the release of at
least 70 political detainees by the end
of the month. He said the political
detainees to be released are elderly,
women and have medical conditions.

Luis Jalandoni, chief adviser of the

NDFP said the 400 political prisoners
should be released primarily because
they were unjustly imprisoned. He
said the political prisoners were
arrested and jailed for trumped up
charges.

doctrine of the Comprehensive

Agreement on the Respect of Human
Rights and International Humanitarian
Law (CARHRIHL) which was signed
by the GRP and NDFP in 1998 and
recently reaffirmed.
He further said that the release of
political prisoners will be beneficial
to the peace negotiations pointing
out that these political prisoners will
work for the advancement of the
peace talks.
Jalandoni shared that the release
of political prisoners was discussed
when Duterte met with then NDFP
Vice Chair now Chief Negotiator
Fidel Agcaoili on May 15. He said the
president explained during the said
meeting that the best way is through a
general amnesty proclamation of the
President, with the concurrence of
both the senate and congress

Jalandoni said the arrest and

Bello added that seven more NDFP detention of the political prisoners
#Kimberlie Ngabit-Quitasol (from nordis.net)
consultants will be released. We are runs counter with the political offense

Cordillera elders
push for genuine
regional autonomy

WORKING ON PEACE. The chief negotiator of the Government of the Philippines Silvestre Bello
III (left), chief adviser of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Luis Jalandoni
(middle) and NDFP Consultant for Cordillera and National Minority Affairs Kennedy Bangibang
share a hearty laugh during the peace forum organized by the Baguio City government together
with non-government groups pushing for a just and lasting peace last November 25. Photo by
Noel Godinez

36

Nabayagen ti naglabas a panawen.

Ubbing kami pay idi nangrugi ti tongtongan ti maipanggep iti otonomiya.
Lallakay ken babbaket kamin tatta a panawen ngem isu latta ti matongtong. Adda
pay ngata namnama a maipatungpal ti
pudno nga otonomiya? Statement of
an elder from Apayao
At least 162 elders, Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives, local
government officials and representatives
of peoples organizations from the six
provinces of the Cordillera and Baguio
December 2016

ECUMENICAL NEWS

REVIVING AWIT
BAGUIO-BENGUET
Association of Women in Theology
Baguio-Benguet (AWIT-BB) met on 1
Sept 2016, at St. Scholasticas Convent,
Baguio City to revive the organization of
church women as a venue for fellowship,
study, action and reflection.
Some of the original members have
already joined our Creator in the great beyond and we are thankful of their contributions and services during their earthly life.
Others are enjoying their retirement age
and remain active in doing different minisCity gathered for the Cordillera Elders
Workshop on Regional Autonomy held at
the Gladiola Hall, Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet from August
29-30, 2016. The workshop successfully
culminated with a declaration reiterating
the Cordillera indigenous peoples stand
for genuine regional autonomy and support to the ongoing peace talk between
the Government of the Philippines and
the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines.
The elders declaration highlighted
the importance of grassroots information,
education and campaign on autonomy,
its basic content and features. They also
reiterated the importance of consultations
with different stakeholders, organizations and groups on the root causes of the
problems of the Cordillera peoples and to
come up with appropriate and comprehensive plan.
The elders declaration strongly calls
on all the Cordillera politicians and main
proponents of House Bill 4649 not to refile the bill at the House of Representatives. The elders stated that the bill does
not embody the substance of genuine
37

tries and services to Gods people.

AWIT-BB created a core group composed of Rev. Esther Balawag, UCCP; Ms.
Geraldine Fiag-oy, ECP; Ms. Shiela Sangui,
UMC; and Sr. Odilia Bulayungan, OSB,

RC. They will be responsible in planning

for the assembly of AWIT, in formulating
initial plans and programs that would benefit women church workers and the lay
#Ptr. Maricar Delfun

recognition of the collective rights of the

Cordillera indigenous peoples over their
ancestral lands and right to self-determination. In fact, the HB4649 allows the
disintegration of the territoriality of the
Cordillera. The elders said that a provision of the bill to allow two provinces to
form an autonomous region is totally unacceptable.
In addition, the elders declaration expressed support for the crafting of a new
bill that will truly recognize and uphold
the rights to ancestral land and right to

self-determination of the Cordillera indigenous peoples thru a democratic process with the participation of elders.
The Cordillera Elders Workshop on
Regional Autonomy was a joint collaboration of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance,
National Economic Development Authority-Cordillera Administrative Region,
Cordillera Elders Alliance, and Cordillera
Administrative Region Association of
State Universities and Colleges
#Samuel Anongos

Photo credit:

https://cpaphils.wordpress.com

December 2016

LITERATI
PANATANG MAPAGKALINGA
Sa mga buhay na lugmok sa hirap at kalungkutan
Nababalot ng takot sa gitna ng karimlan
Buhay at kabuhayan na tinangay sa kawalan
Sa marahas na hampas ng daluyong ng kamatayan.
Sinikap bumangon ngunit paano simulan
Dating napanghawakan ay sapilitang nabitawan
Sa taglay na lakas ay muling nabuhayan
Sa pagtutulungan ay higit na napayaman.
Gobyerno ang syang pangunahing inaasahan
Batayang pangangailangay nararapat tugunan
Pagpapahalaga ng buhay ay dapat tanganan
Tapat na pagkalinga ay syang tunay na sukatan.
Kayong tumugon sa hinaing ng mamamayan
Mula sa mga organisasyon at simbahang pinagmulan
Iisang adhikain at buong-pusong gumampan
Higit na nangangailangan ay sinikap mapaglingkuran.
Panatang mapagkalinga ang syang dapat panghawakan
Kalagayan ng mahihirap at bulnerableng mamamayan
Sa delubyo at sakuna ang laging natatamaan
Sa sama-samang pagkilos ay tiyak mawawakasan.
-Rev. Irma Mepico-Balaba

38

December 2016

NOT SO TRIVIA

FACTSHEET
ON
HUMAN
TRAFFICKING
Human trafficking is a modern
form of slavery and affects all
parts of the globe. Since it is illegal and traffickers aim to keep
their victims isolated and humiliated, it is difficult to verify exact
statistics. The true problem is
likely to be significantly bigger
than the statistics suggest.
Worldwide, there are an
estimated 27 million modern
day slaves.
UNIFEM estimates that between 500,000 and 2 million
persons are trafficked across
international borders each
year. Other NGOs estimate
the number is nearer 4 million.
The Uzbek government
estimates that around 1000
Uzbek women are illegally
trafficked from their country
each year, mainly to Turkey
or the United Arab Emirates.
In the past decade, five or
six trafficked Uzbek women
have been murdered each
year in the UAE. Many others have been imprisoned for
visa offences.
About 80% of trafficking
39

victims are women, 70% of

whom are trafficked for the
commercial sex industry.
60-95% of trafficked women in prostitution have been
raped and physically assaulted.
In some parts of Africa and
in the Mekong region, the
vast majority of those trafficked are children.
Trafficking affects virtually
every country in the world.
The largest numbers come
from Asia and the former
Soviet Union, which is now
believed to be the biggest
source of trafficking for the
sex industry. Victims are
sent to Asia, the Middle East,
Western Europe and North
America.
In many countries, women
make up the largest proportion of traffickers. In Latvia,
women made up 53% of trafficking convictions.
Trafficking in persons fuels organised crime. Human
trafficking in Eastern Europe
is estimated to generate be-

tween US$5 and 22 billion in

annual revenue. It is closely
associated with money laundering, drug trafficking and
document forgery.
Prostitution, legal or decriminalised, is a major
global industry. In the Philippines, it is the 4th largest source of gross national
product. 300,000 sex tourists
from Japan visit the Philippines each year.
In the Netherlands, the sex
industry generates $1billion per annum, with 2000
brothels and 30,000 working
women, of whom 68-80%
come from countries other
than Holland.
In a 9 country survey of
nearly 800 women working
in the sex trade, 89% wanted
to leave the industry, 75%
had been homeless at some
point and 68% had symptoms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Women
in developing countries face
the highest risk of becoming
victims of trafficking. Pover(continued in page 35

December 2016

The Writing on the Wall

42 Bokawkan Road,
Baguio City, 2600 , Philippines

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