There’s nothing really in the 4th SONA that we
have not heard in the last twelve months.
At least for those of us who had access to conventional and social
media.
The choir wore ethnic-inspired costume that to my untrained
eye looked Teduray. Why it didn’t seem to
be a portent of things to be mentioned in the SONA I have no idea.
Throughout the applause-interrupted 104-minute speech I
waited for issues regarding indigenous peoples to be mentioned. Nothing.
Oh sorry, there was the choir.
Then a wee bit about “katutubo” getting
health insurance. And then images of indigenous
people ready to give baskets to tourists.
Then nothing.
I must have expected too much. The SONA should have been titled State of Metro
Manila Address. What would a P200
million profit from water services mean to a Mindanawon, anyway? Or a fantastic railway system that would run
the rat race faster? Instead of
decongesting a sinking metro by dispersing resources, it seemed like an invitation
for people from the provinces to congest it further. That then gives more justification for
passing the Reproductive Health Law, maybe.
Surely there’s a connection between floodwaters and logging;
between rice and cartels; between full coverage and the spike in
hospitalizations; between cash transfers and NGOs; between wealth-sharing and
environmental protection. But in the
speech the connections did not cross over.
Di tumawid.
Let’s leave the Alelluiahs for
the accomplishments to each government office with its own press relations
budget.
The non-mention of indigenous
peoples’ issues is actually a reflection of the outright neglect of the Aquino administration
to fulfill its part as duty holder. Issues
like mining, logging, foreign investors, human rights. Moreover, it seems to have forgotten, too,
that when the government passed Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples’
Rights Act (IPRA) in 1997, it signed a Peace Agreement with the indigenous
peoples of this country.
A Peace Agreement? Yes, it
is. And what makes IPRA unique as a
Peace Agreement is that it was largely fought in the legal arena, not in the
war zone. It was won without a solid armed
front. That makes two Peace Agreements
that the government has become wanting in fulfilling its side of the pact. Do we know what is usually done to a party
that reneges?
Despite its flaws, the IPRA is
also a poverty alleviation program. Why
subject IPs to the indignity of dole-outs and plastic cards when their
indigenous knowledge, skills, and practices are still existing? Why give them investors when they sorely ask
for schools? When they know how to read
and write and be competitive, can’t they then decide for themselves what
business endeavor to undertake? When
given the chance to manage their resources by themselves, can’t they not also
show stewardship and prudence like their forefathers? Government is only the facilitator, the guide
– and not party to the business. Hindi na dapat makipag-kumpetensya ang
gobyerno sa negosyo ng pribadong pamayanan.
Despite its flaws, the IPRA
provides legal bases of many actions the IPs are doing in the protection of
their rights i.e. Right to Ancestral Domain, Right to Cultural Integrity, Right to
Self-Governance and Empowerment, and Social Justice & Human Rights. Imagine protecting your ancestral lands with
unseen walls? Imagine decongesting
anglo-saxon influenced courts with cases that cannot be decided speedily if
filed anyway? Imagine deciding
collectively so that accountability is not shouldered only by one person? Imagine not having had to bow down and be
perpetually subservient to all forms of domination?
Oh, the Pork Barrel.
Though it was not mentioned, it shone like lard in the gowns and
cars. It was also exciting to note too, that
behind those glam and false eyelashes – are actually nothing.
* * * * * *
Aveen Acuña-Gulo
Cotabato City
22 July 2013
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