TACLOBAN CITY – Lumad leaders will confer on Pope Francis the title Apô (Elder) Edsila today (January 16) here in an event called  “Gathering of the Poor” to be witnessed by Catholic sisters and Typhoon Yolanda survivors.

“We are bestowing on him the title Apô Edsila since he is worthy of high esteem with his love for us, indigenous peoples, and for his respect for the values and beliefs that we have held sacred since time immemorial,” says Dulphing Ogan, secretary general of the Mindanao-wide indigenous peoples’ group Kalumaran.

“Edsila means ‘light’, ‘sunrise,’ or  ‘dawn of a new day’ — all signifying hope, newness, and change,” Ogan said. It is a term used by Higaonon and Talaandig tribes inhabiting the mountains around the Pulangi River in central Mindanao.

The honor will be solemnized by Ogan, a Blaan, and five other Lumad leaders coming from the Bagobo, Manobo, and Higaonon tribes through a ritual, along with around 50 Catholic nuns belonging to the Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (SAMIN) and a thousand Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) survivors belonging to People Surge. The Panubadtubad will be performed just before the sun sets today, eve of the Pontiff’s visit to Tacloban on January 17.

Ogan said “the Pope’s anticipated encyclical on climate change is a breath of fresh air for indigenous peoples because it will bring the issue of ancestral domains and the violation of our human rights from the margins to the center.”

He added that “the Pope’s indictment of the pitfalls of capitalism is an affirmation of our indigenous values of collectivism and stewardship of Mother Earth.”

Finding relevance in the Pope’s visit to Tacloban with their own issues, Ogan said “The Pope is visiting Tacloban as Haiyan’s ‘ground zero’ because we have defiled many ‘ancestral grounds’ through imperialist plunder such as largescale mining, plantation economies, and other extractive industries.”

“We look up to the Pope to usher in ‘newness’ and transformation in this global system that perpetuates greed, exploitation, and oppression— the very opposite of mercy and compassion,” Ogan said referring to the theme of the Papal Visit.

“Pope Francis, you are truly worthy to be called our Apô Edsila,” Ogan said.

Ogan says chicken blood will be offered to Magbabaya (the Supreme God of the Lumads) to signify the Mindanao indigenous peoples’ solidarity with the Pope.

He says that along with the offering is an incense “which seeks to drive all the bad spirits away that may bring harm to the people and the Pope and invite the good spirits to protect and guide him in all of his undertakings.”

Ogan says a betel nut, an “apog” (lime) and a seashell will also be offered “as symbols of the heart and compassion of the Lumads in defending and protecting their rights to self-determination and ancestral lands – the same compassion to the poor that the Pope has manifested.”

To go with these symbols is the partaking of a local wine “which stands for the courage and our shared determination as Lumads to carry on the struggle for a dignified and just life,” Ogan adds.

Bagobo chieftain Monico Cayog, 77, speaking in Visayan, added:  “I see in Pope Francis the qualities of an elder who is down-to-earth and breaks barriers dividing his esteemed position and the realities of his people. These are characteristics of a true elder.”

Cayog added that “the Pope’s pro-poor and pro-environment principles are akin to an elder’s teachings and wisdom which is centered on people and the Earth.”

For reference:
Dulphing Ogan
Secretary General
Kalumaran Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao
Mobile +639128880131 

Luisita farmers led by the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA) and the national federation Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) appeal to Pope Francis to look into the concerns of 491 political prisoners in the country who are now on hunger strike.

“Those of us fighting against landgrabbing and loss of livelihood are also targets of repression, harassment suits, illegal arrests and even extra-judicial killings (EJK),” said Florida Sibayan, AMBALA chairperson.

Sibayan is a survivor of the 2004 Hacienda Luisita Massacre. Under Aquino, Sibayan was repeatedly threatened by state forces, and was arrested and detained thrice for defending their land rights. She is currently out on bail.

Several activists and supporters of Luisita farmers also face harassment suits. Despite a 2012 Supreme Court ruling for total land distribution, farmers claim that Hacienda Luisita is still controlled by President Aquino’s family.

“Helping the poor is not a crime. Those who do are unjustly arrested under this repressive regime. We appeal for Pope Francis’s intercession to free our defenders,” said Sibayan.

UMA Deputy Secretary General Ranmil Echanis said that repression and criminalization of agrarian disputes and political offenses is part of state policy under Aquino’s Oplan Bayanihan (Operation Plan Cooperation).

“The growing number of political prisoners under Aquino is alarming. Majority of political detainees languishing in prisons all over the country are ordinary farmers, peasant leaders, community organizers and even professionals who went out of their way to help uplift the lives of ordinary farmers and calamity victims,” said Echanis.

Agricultural workers under UMA hope that the Pope’s intercession will also lead to the release of imprisoned peace negotiators and the resumption of peace negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF).

“Land reform is a major issue in the social and economic reforms (SER) agenda of the talks. Continuing agrarian unrest in the President’s own backyard, Hacienda Luisita, must be of immediate concern to both parties,” said Echanis.

Luisita farmers will join activities organized by the People’s Committee to Welcome the Pope (People’s Welcome), a network composed mostly of sectors from the poor and the oppressed.

Farmers will fast starting January 15 at the Liwasang Bonifacio Kampuhan to echo their appeal: “Pope Francis, Pope of the Poor, stand with us for land, justice and peace!”

Reference:
Gi Estrada
UMA Media Officer
+63916611418
www.peopleswelcome.net

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Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura
(Agricultural Workers Union)
Philippines
Follow UMA Pilipinas on Twitter

Anticipating arrival of Pope Francis: Camp Bagong Diwa political prisoners start hunger strike

Five days before the arrival of Pope Francis, political prisoners at Camp Bagong Diwa started their hunger strike yesterday January 10, which will last up to January 19, the Pope’s departure from the Philippines.

“Aside from these letters and other efforts, we are also putting the whole of ourselves in our plea for return of our freedom, application of justice and respect for human rights that have been and continue to be deprived from us,” thus said the political prisoners in a statement, explaining the reason for their hunger strike. The 32 political prisoners at Camp Bagong Diwa’s male and female dorm signed the declaration of hunger strike. Among them are Andrea Rosal, and consultants to the peace talks of the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) such as Alan Jazmines, Tirso Alcantara, Loida Magpatoc, Emeterio Antalan, and Leopoldo Caloza.

They expressed hope that, “Your Holiness may be able to help in pressing for the return of the lost freedom and other rights of political prisoners, and thus fully correcting such grave social and political ills that have long been pestering in our country…” They added, “We, political prisoners, are among those being made to suffer terribly in this country, in the same way that you actually also saw and have also been deeply concerned about in your own country, Argentina.”

The political prisoners’ called their hunger strike a testament of their “existence and dire plight as political prisoners”. The Aquino government continues to deny that there are political prisoners in the country, much like the administrations it preceded.

Aside from their plight, the political prisoners expect that Pope Francis would see the “widespread sufferings of the greater mass of the oppressed, violated, deprived and impoverished people in our country,” which, they said has also been the Pope’s concern in his own country, Argentina.

The political prisoners at CBD asked the jail authorities to donate in their behalf the at least P10,000 savings from their food rations to the victims of disasters brought about by Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013 and Typhoon Senyang in 2014. “We ask that the donation of such savings be coursed through the International Committee of the Red Cross,” they said.

Other political prisoners nationwide are expected to join in the hunger strike on January 15, while others will go on fast. Relatives of political prisoners and other victims of human rights violations go on sympathy fast and other sympathy actions while the Pope is in the country. All political prisoners in various jails nationwide will light candles on January 15 to welcome Pope Francis.

The statement is signed by Tirso Alcantara, Emeterio Antalan, Cesar Balmaceda, Leopoldo Caloza, Alan Jazmines, Jesus Abetria Jr., Modesto Araza, Alex Arias, Eddie Cruz, Philip Enteria, Voltaire Guray, Fidel Holanda, Edward Lanzanas, Rolando Laylo, Eliseo Lopez, Alberto Macasinag, Jared Morales, Denis Ortiz, Hermogenes Reyes Jr., Felicardo Salamat, Aristides Sarmiento, and Cirilo Verdan.

Reference:
Cristina “Tinay” Palabay
Secretary General
+63917-3162831

Angge Santos
Media Liaison
+63918-9790580

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<publicinfo@karapatan.org>

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