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AFP, Malacañang misleading the public on atrocities vs Lumad — Karapatan

ICHRP Secretariat
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AFP, Malacañang misleading the public on atrocities vs Lumad — Karapatan

“Karapatan condemns the psy-ops (psychological operations) of the BS Aquino regime and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which has become desperate and abominable in an attempt to obfuscate and distort facts on the human rights violations against the Lumad and the Filipino people.  The regime expects to turn public opinion in its favor and to justify further attacks against communities and schools in Mindanao,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.

In a statement, Col. Alexander Macario, commander of the 401st Infantry Brigade of the AFP, singled out award-winning journalist and blogger Inday Varona for re-posting on her Facebook account Karapatan’s urgent alert on the burning of a teachers’ cottage of the ALCADEV extension school in Sitio Km. 30, Brgy. Padiay, Sibagat, Agusan del Sur by soldiers believed to be members of the 23rd Infantry Battalion-Philippine Army.

The Eastern Mindanao Command immediately released a statement denying any involvement in the arson and destruction of school properties, saying there was no military deployment in the area. But the military unit has a detachment less than five kilometers from the ALCADEV school. Residents said the 23rd IBPA and the 1st Special Forces Battalion were conducting military operations, some three to five kilometers away from ALCADEV when the incident happened.

On Sunday, the statement of the 4th Infantry Division-Philippine Army (ID-PA) pointed its finger at the New People’s Army saying the act was meant to “destroy the soldier’s image and also to generate fund.” Col. Macario also directly implicated Varona as an active collaborator of the NPA.

“Only the fascist minds of the AFP can make up such ludicrous and incongruent stories. Only the fascist minds of the AFP can hurl wild, but dangerous accusations on the basis of Facebook reposts. When caught red-handed on rights violations, the AFP always resorts to desperate but measured tactics to harass and intimidate even journalists who report on human rights violations against the Lumad and the rest of the population,” Palabay said. Karapatan reported the incident based on initial testimonies of the residents.

Aside from the burning of the cottage, suspected members of the 23rd IBPA also destroyed books, school supplies, instructional and learning materials, stocks of rice, power generator set, audio-video equipment, sewing machine, kitchen utensils and farm tools. The 5,000 banana and abaca seedlings in the school nursery, as well as hardwood and fruit trees were also destroyed. Since September, the 24 school children and 10 teachers of ALCADEV have been staying at the Tandag City Sports Complex, where nearly 2,000 residents from Lianga and San Miguel towns have evacuated after the massacre of ALCADEV executive director Emerito Samarca and Lumad leaders Dionel Campos and Datu Juvello Sinzo.

Earlier, AFP Civil Relations Officer, Brig. Gen. Joselito Kakilala said TV personality Maine Mendoza, popularly known as Yaya Dub, singer-composer Aiza Seguerra and other artists were “misled” into supporting the calls of the Lumad.

“It is the BS Aquino regime and AFP that has deliberately misled the public and the international community about the real human rights situation in Lumad communities and in Mindanao. They fear international scrutiny—of human rights activists and of UN independent experts. They fear the naked truth as recounted by numerous victims, their families, witnesses, and community members,” Palabay concluded.

http://www.karapatan.org/AFP+can%E2%80%99t+cover+up+atrocities+vs+Lumad+by+finger+pointing

Reference:
Cristina “Tinay” Palabay
Secretary General
0917-3162831

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
0918-9790580

———————————————————————
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
———————————————————————

Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Building
#1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets
Central District, Diliman
Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties.  It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.

Indigenous peoples speak out vs. extractive industries at UN parallel session

ICHRP Secretariat
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Indigenous peoples speak out vs. extractive industries at UN parallel session

IP experiences on extractive industries discussed in UN business and rights parallel session

16 November 2015, Geneva, Switzerland—Indigenous representatives from countries in Asia, Latin America and the United States come together to present their experiences on the mechanisms for redress in the light of extractive industries entering their ancestral lands.

The international business community gathers today in Geneva for the fourth Forum on Business and Human Rights organized by the Office of the Higher Commission on Human Rights. To air the voices of the indigenous communities directly impacted by these businesses, a parallel session titled ‘Recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights to Land, Territories and Resources, and Challenges in their Access to Mechanisms for Redress’ has been organized.

The session opens with a short video from the Philippines which presents the killings of an indigenous leader by state-backed paramilitary forces, motivated by their promotion of the entry of mining in an ancestral domain.

“Right now we have more than 4000 indigenous peoples displaced in the Philippines who cannot come home to their communities because of the continuing military and paramilitary attacks,” said Angelica Gonzales of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines introducing the session, bridging from the short documentary. “And this is just in the Philippines.”

Other presentations show that despite laws that are in place both in national and international levels, the rights of indigenous peoples continue to be violated.

“In our country, we hear a lot about our leaders getting threatened,” said Carlos Gualtero from the Colombia-based Consejo Regional Indigena del Tolima. “In some cases, some have been assassinated so they cannot do the lobbying and defend their rights.”

“Businesses in general avoid Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). They know they will always have a negative environmental impact. In Colombia, the situation is the same [as in other countries]. The states are corrupt because of the businesses. They do not make demands on these businesses.”

In two of the presentations, failure of national laws have led to the victimization of the indigenous peoples by their own governmental systems. Michael Hill from the Apache Nation presents the recent military bill that has allowed the taking of their land, which is their spiritual center.  “In our language, n’de (pronounced as en-da) [referring to the military bill NDAA National Defense Authorization Act] means enemy. This place [their ancestral land taken away through NDAA] is a site of commerce for many tribes prior to colonization in trading and bartering goods.”

Arnold Alamon of the Philippines points out that the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act has been used to force indigenous peoples to agree to streamlined permits that allow extractive industries access to their ancestral lands.

MSU-IIT Professor and Mindanao Interfaith Institute on Lumad Studies Executive Editor Arnold Alamon (right) in the UNBHR parallel session panel. Photo from rmp-nmr.org
MSU-IIT Professor and Mindanao Interfaith Institute on Lumad Studies Executive Editor Arnold Alamon (right) in the UNBHR parallel session panel. Photo from rmp-nmr.org

“Instead of working for the indigenous peoples, what is happening in some countries – like the Philippines  – the laws victimize the indigenous communities, are used by businesses so that they can force their entry into the ancestral lands,” said Alamon, a sociology professor of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology and executive editor of the Mindanao Interfaith Institute on Lumad Studies, prior to the start of the session. Many of the government economic policies promote the entry of resource-extractive industries in the still rich ancestral lands.

“87 Lumad schools are threatened with closure, three have ceased operating, throwing more than a thousand indigenous students from school. One of the closures was after the killing of their school director Emerito Samarca. What fuels this madness in Mindanao is the lucrative potential for mining,” he said in his presentation.

Some traditional remedies were also discussed. “We bring on the shame game – doing spiritual prayers.  This is our redress. We are going directly to the creator,” said Hill. “We will act in that way, and behave in that way in a manner that is connected to the earth as woman’s ways. We also need to step back as nations and come back down to earth and find out what’s happening to our systems.”

A social- environmental monitoring done by the Guarani young professionals in the Chiquisaca District in Bolivia was also shared. “The community fought for respect and they got it,” said Lorena Terrazas of the Red Pazinde who clarified that the scheme they had set up had not been readily given to them. They also fought hard which had forced Repsol, the oil company they are now working together with, out of their lands. “Nothing is perfect but I think we are moving forward.”

Coordinated by the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Region (RMP-NMR) Inc, the parallel session was co-organized with Incomindios, Latin America Mining Monitoring Program, Red PAZINDE, Asia Indigenous People’s Network on Extractive Industries and Energies, and the Indigenous Peoples’ Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation. Organizations like Civicus, World Council of Churches-Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, and the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness also co-organized the event.###

ALCADEV teachers’ cottage in Agusan del Sur burned down

ICHRP Secretariat
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ALCADEV teachers’ cottage in Agusan del Sur burned down

As the Lumad at Liwasang Bonifacio expect Manila-style dismantling of the Manilakbayan camp tomorrow, November 13, report coming from the Karapatan-Caraga region says that the teachers’ cottage of ALCADEV in Brgy. Padiay, Sibagat, Agusan del Sur was torched at 2 a.m., today by men believed to be under the command of the 23rd Infantry Battalion-Philippine Army.

Aside from the teachers’ cottage, the men also set on fire a nursery of fruit and hardwood trees at the back of the cottage. The 2,500 sq. meters of school demo farm was also destroyed.

The school is the second agricultural learning center for Lumad operated by the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development, Inc. (ALCADEV). Opened two years ago in June 2013, it caters to the needs of the residents of Agusan del Sur. The school has 24 students and 10 teachers.

ALCADEV’s executive director Emerito Samarca was killed on September 1, 2015 with Lumad leaders Dionel Campos and Datu Juvello Sinzo. Two schools were burned at the time—the elementary schools by the Tribal Filipino Program for Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS) in the villages of Han-ayan and in Panukmuan, Lianga, Surigao del Sur.

Killings continue

“This is the height of impudence. The BS Aquino regime continues to ignore the public uproar on the Lumad killings and the resounding call to pull-out the military troops from the Lumad communities in Mindanao and to dismantle the AFP-backed paramilitary groups. It has instead given the military carte blanche to go on a rampage against the people in remote villages,” said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.

Palabay said incidents of extrajudicial killing in Talaingod, Davao del Norte and in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon were reported and are now being investigated by Karapatan chapters and church groups.

Killed on November 7 was Datu Manliro Landahay, a council member of the Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanugon, the same organization that runs the Lumad schools in Davao provinces. The armed men were identified as Donato Salangani and Maninggo Salangani, members of the Alamara paramilitary group of Alambi Salangani, under the command of the  68th IB-PA.

On October 27, in Bukidnon, Mankombete Mariano, 48, was shot and then hacked to death by Manlumakad Bocalas, a member of Dela Mance group attached to the 8th IB-PA. Mariano’s 10-year-old grandchild survived the shooting, but saw how his grandfather was hacked in the head, in the left shoulder and left thigh.

“All these fascist  attacks happened as ManiLakbayan 2015 continues to be ignored by a regime that is more concerned with how to show the heads of States and other foreign visitors coming for the APEC Summit that it is ‘more fun in the Philippines’, despite poverty, landlessness, and unabated human rights violations,” Palabay ended.

http://www.karapatan.org/ALCADEV+teachers%E2%80%99+cottage+in+Agusan+del+Sur+burned+down

Reference:
Cristina “Tinay” Palabay
Secretary General
0917-3162831

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
0918-9790580

———————————————————————
PUBLIC INFORMATION DESK
publicinfo@karapatan.org
———————————————————————

Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights
2nd Flr. Erythrina Building
#1 Maaralin corner Matatag Streets
Central District, Diliman
Quezon City, PHILIPPINES 1101
Telefax: (+63 2) 4354146
Web: http://www.karapatan.org

KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties.  It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.

Talaandig killed, 2 children wounded in latest attack of paramilitary group

ICHRP Secretariat
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Talaandig killed, 2 children wounded in latest attack of paramilitary group

Katungod Lumad Alert:

The dela Mance paramilitary group has struck once again, killing Mankombate Mariano, and wounded his grandchildren aged 10 and 11 years old.

On October 27, 2015 at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, Mariano and 16 others, including 12 children, all from Sitio Balaudo, St. Peter, Malaybalay City, were on their way to Dulmatong to pick Durian fruits. Dumaltong is a forested area in Barangay Canangaan in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon. It was a yearly event for the Talaandig community of Sitio Balaudo to gather fruits from the area at this time of the year.

Mariano was leading the group while one of his grandchildren (named ‘Dodong’, not his real name) was behind him. When they were about 5 meters from a durian tree they had planned to pick, a series of shots were fired from the direction of the tree. Mariano’s companions ran back, leaving behind Mariano and Dodong, who could no longer move because of their gunshot wounds. Mariano was shot on the chest and hip while Dodong was hit on his left leg. Dodong fell to the ground, rolled down the hillside and hid behind abaca plants.

From his location, Dodong saw Manlumakad Bocalas, who was holding a machete, ran towards his grandfather who was lying on the ground. Mariano was hacked in the head, left shoulder and left thigh. The other assailant, Mankolobi Bocalas was aiming his rifle at the others who fled.

Dodong attempted to run and was shot again in his right leg. He bravely stood up, ignoring the wounds he sustained and ran. Mankolabi followed him with gunfire. His school backpack containing his notebooks fortunately saved his life. Some bullets hit the bag although he also sustained wounds on his right shoulder, his thigh, and his left arm and hip.

Before sunset Dodong returned to the place of the incident and saw Mariano’s dead body.

Meanwhile, the other grandchild (‘Nena’, not her real name) of Mariano was able to reach Balaudo with the others at around 7 in the evening. Nena experienced a numbing of the right leg and found that she had a bullet wound there. Some more of their companions arrived at around 2am the following day, having stayed in the forest without food or water.

The community leaders decided to return to Dumaltong and look for their companions that early morning of October 28, 2015. They retrieved Mariano’s body near the durian tree.  They also found Dodong, who was alive but wounded and weak, lying a few meters behind some bushes.

The perpetrators, Mankolobi Bocalas and Manlumakad Bocalas were reportedly members of the dela Mance Group believed to be part of the Alamara, a bigger paramilitary group based in the mountains on the Bukidnon and Davao boundary including the Pantaron Range. The dela Mance group continues to harass and threaten the communities as they continue to control the use of the ancestral lands along the Pantaron range.

Please download the Katungod Lumad ALERT with photos in this link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzc5SdETrPEAMEtzcnFienYwVjQ/view?usp=sharing

Demand justice now!

EXPRESS YOUR CONCERN to the Philippine Government by writing to:

H.E. Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Fax: (+632) 742-1641 / 929-3968
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph

Hon. Leila M. de Lima
Secretary, Department of Justice
Tel: 523-8481 (loc. 211/214 ), 521-1908
Fax: 524-5936
Email: info@doj.gov.ph

Ret. Lt. Gen. Voltaire T. Gazmin
Secretary, Department of National Defense
Voice:+63(2) 911-6193, Fax:+63(2) 911-6213

Hon. Jose Luis Martin Gascon
Chairperson, Commission On Human Rights
Telefax: 929-0102, 928-5655, 926-6188

Atty. Leonor T. Oralde-Quintayo
Chairperson, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
Tel: 373-97-87
Email: chairpersonsoffice@gmail.com

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III
Chair, Justice and Human Rights Committee
Philippine Senate
Trunk Lines: (632) 552-6601 to 70 loc. 5548
Direct Lines: (632) 822-9758
Fax No.: (632) 822-9759
Email: kokopimenteloffice@yahoo.com

Rep. Guillermo Romarate Jr.
Chair, Human Rights Committee
House of Representatives
Tel: (632) 931-5001; local 7051, 9518974

Leonor T. Oralde-Quintayo
Chair, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
Tel.: 373-9942

Hon. Renante I. Ocando
Mayor, Municipality of Cabanglasan
Tel.: 0917-718-7079

Hon. Jose Ma. Zubiri, Jr.
Governor, Province of Bukidnon
Provincial Capitol, Malaybalay City
Tel.: (088) 221-2523; (088) 813-3845

Hon. Ignacio W. Zubiri
Mayor, City of Malaybalay
E-mail: malaybalaycmo@gmail.com
Tel.: (088) 221-2267

Copy furnish your letters to info@rmp-nmr.org

Contact us at:
Higala sa Lumad Network
Room 01, Kalinaw Lanao Center for Interfaith Resources
0016 Bougainvilla Puti, Villaverde
9200 Iligan City, Philippines
T/F: +63 (63) 223 5179
E: info@rmp-nmr.org

Katungod Lumad Alert is published by the ‘Higala sa Lumad’ [Friends of the Lumad] Network.

‘Higala sa Lumad’ Network is a support group composed of a broad range of interfaith personalities/representative of organizations synergizing relevant capacities and resources for Lumad communities under attack. ‘Higala’ also serves as an informal monitoring network for Lumad human rights. ‘Higala’ has been established as a component of the ‘Healing the Hurt’ Project.

Published with support from the European Commission.

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of RMP-NMR and ‘Healing the Hurt’ Project partners and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

Yolanda (Haiyan) Lessons from Philippine government’s shortfalls

ICHRP Secretariat
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Yolanda (Haiyan) Lessons from Philippine government’s shortfalls

http://opinion.inquirer.net/90177/yolanda-lessons-from-govts-shortfalls

IN A speaking tour hosted by Migrante Aotearoa and Leyte-Samar NZ Solidarity Foundation Inc., Dr. Efleda Bautista of People Surge, the alliance of disaster survivors, shared stories about the continuing hardships in communities devastated by Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” We take note of important lessons from the Yolanda tragedy and we have questions that beg for answers from the Aquino-Roxas leadership:

Y—YEARS and years of deforestation left the poor of Eastern Visayas most vulnerable to disasters and climate change. The whole Philippines is at risk as supertyphoons come more frequently and with greater gravity. When will government heed the people’s demand to stop large-scale mining and logging that further destroy the country’s remaining forests?

O—OVERPRICED bunkhouses did not meet international standards, and their being fit for Yolanda survivors is highly questionable. A baby and an elderly reportedly died of illness due to poor conditions in bunkhouses meant to be temporary shelters. But for how many more years will survivors wait for decent rehabilitation?

L—LOOTING in the aftermath of Yolanda could have been avoided if the national government had set aside political differences with the local government and just did its job to deliver immediate relief. Many more months after, why were food packs found spoiled in storage and fishing boats. Why were they left to rot while survivors waited for them?

A—ABSENCE of serious government efforts to inform the poor on the impact of storm surges must not be repeated. A lack of early warnings, evacuation plans and life-saving requirements for effective disaster response resulted in massive death toll. Why did government fail to improve systems for disaster preparedness even after Tropical Storm “Ondoy” in 2009 and despite the long-known fact that our country is hit by an average of 18-20 typhoons every year?

N—NO land, but, yes, there is money: the worst excuse for government’s failure to rebuild homes for the poor. But the No Build Zones effectively allowed business ventures to take over land previously occupied by the urban poor. How come they can easily find land for big business but not for the poor who most need shelter?

D—DISASTERS brought by nature are devastating, but government’s insensitivity to the poor who lose everything is an even bigger disaster, and it is manmade. Facing unjust criteria for receiving government cash assistance, many survivors, including low-paid teachers and government employees who lost their homes, have fallen prey to loan sharks. How long must the poor survivors wait for emergency shelter assistance?

A—ACCOUNTABILITY is in order. Audit reports about donations sleeping in banks prove two years of continuing criminal neglect. We ask, with this epic failure of the Aquino-Roxas leadership in times of great disasters, what can we expect from another six years of “daang matuwid” should Mar Roxas win the presidency?

DADAI NORMAN
Secretary, Leyte-Samar NZ Solidarity Foundation Inc.

DENNIS MAGA
National Coordinator
Migrante Aotearoa New Zealand

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