(This was delivered in Filipino)
STATEMENT OF SUPPORT
To
the Lumads in the ARMM:
Teduray,
Lambangian, Dulangan Manobo, Higaonon
Greetings
of Peace!
The
journey for Lumad recognition in the ARMM did not start yesterday, last year or
in the last decade. Like many of its fellow
Lumads in Mindanao, it has suffered, in the words of researchers – minoritization
– with the entry of settlers and their different versions of development.
Right
after the EDSA Revolution, a bill for Indigenous Peoples Rights was filed, in
the same year that a bill creating an autonomous region in Mindanao was filed. Today as we all celebrate the 18th
Celebration of the International Day of the World's
Indigenous Peoples, let
us recall some markers in recent history.
August 9 is the date declared by the UN
General Assembly in December of 1994 and was celebrated the year after.
1997 was a landmark year for the Indigenous
Peoples in the Philippines. It was the
year that a law protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples was passed. What took about three years to pass a law
creating the ARMM took 11 arduous years for IPRA to be passed.
IPRA as we all know seeks to recognize,
promote and protect the rights of the Indigenous Peoples. These bundle of rights include the Right to
Ancestral Domain; the Right to Self-Governance and Empowerment; Social Justice
and Human Rights; and Right to Cultural Integrity.
In 2003, the Regional Legislative Assembly
adopted Resolution No 269 to ensure the application of IPRA in the ARMM; and
mandating the OSCC to formulate the implementing rules and regulations.
In 2005, Resolution No 119 was passed by the
Regional Legislative Assembly approving the implementation of Resolution No 269
for the delineation of the ancestral domain claims of the non-Moro IPs in the
ARMM.
In 2006, Administrative Order No 1 was issued
– these are guidelines in the implementation of the Free and Prior Informed
Consent or FPIC. FPIC is the consensus
of all members of the Indigenous Cultural Communities which is determined in
accordance with their respective customary laws and practices that is free from
any external manipulation, interference and coercion and obtained after fully
disclosing the intent and scope of the program/project/activity, in a language
and process the community understands.
In 2007, the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was passed.
In 2008, Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 241 or
what is better known as the Tribal Peoples’ Rights Act, was passed. The implementing rules and regulations were
reviewed and finally passed five years after, in 2012.
Glimmer of Hope
Twenty-seven years after EDSA Revolution,
sixteen years after the passing of IPRA, ten years after Resolution 269, five
years after MMAA 241 – it was pronounced by the ARMM Government early this year
that there is no legal impediment in implementing the IPRA in the ARMM. Moreover, the newly appointed members of the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) have just assumed office in August 1.
Though long in coming, these two developments
provide a glimmer of hope in the journey of the Lumad in the ARMM. It is hoped that the endless passing around
of the Lumads in the ARMM, marginalized as they are, would finally come to a
stop.
As this year’s theme is: “Indigenous Peoples
Building Alliances: Honouring Treaties, Agreements and other Constructive
Arrangements”, we support the call of the Lumads in the ARMM for the NCIP to look
at IPRA again as the government’s peace agreement with the Indigenous Peoples. As
pacts and agreements were forged orally in the ways of our forefathers, manifestation
of this Word of Honor is the issuance of the Certificate of Ancestral Domain
Title (CADT).
The Lumads in the ARMM – Teduray, Lambangian,
Dulangan Manobo and Higaonon – need all the support they can get. From us who are in privileged positions, let
this be a call. Remember that we, too,
at certain points in our history, also suffered oppression from the powerful
and the mighty. Let us not be the
oppressors of today by depriving the Lumads of what are rightfully theirs. As Nelson Mandela quoted Williamson in his
inaugural speech: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest
fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Let the implementation of IPRA be the legacy.
On
behalf of our operating partners – the Institute for Autonomy and Governance
(IAG), Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), and Development Consultants (DEVCON);
funders European Commission (EC) and German Government – IPDEV as an
independent entity reiterates its support to all initiatives that will recognize
the Lumads in the ARMM for their empowerment and sustainable development.
Meuyag!
Aveen
Acuña-Gulo
Project
Manager
IPDEV
9th
day of August, 2013 in the Celebration of the 18th World IP Day.
Cotabato City, Philippines
