NEWS RELEASE

October 24, 2009

Talaingod deaths rising --- KATRIBU PARTYLIST


Talaingod, Davao Del Norte --- The Katribu Partylist raised alarm and called for immediate intervention over the rising number of deaths as a result of epidemic and hunger in the militarized hinterlands of this town.

The Katribu Partylist who went with peace advocates in an Interfaith Peace and Mercy Mission in Sitio Nasilaban from October 21 to 22 documented more than 43 deaths that have occurred from August to October this year in various villages in Talaingod. The Mercy Mission provided medical assistance to nearly 300 Ata-Manobo lumads.

KATRIBU partylist coordinator Russ Ybanez said an Ata-Manobo chieftain told them that 17 of his fellow villagers died due to hunger and illness when they were forced to evacuate for two consecutive times, on May and August this year. The Lumads fled from the wartorn areas where the 60th IB soldiers campaigned to have them become members of the Barangay Defense Force or Bagani forces.

“Sukwahi sa kultura sa lumad ang BDS. Makaapekto kana sa amoang pag-uma. Dili mi mosugot niana,” said Datu Ebong Gongotan, village datu in Sitio Bugni.

Acccording to Datu Gongotan, 47 families from Sitio Bugni evacuated on the last week of May this year after some unidentified military elements killed a certain Kopis, a 15 year old Ata-Manobo kid who was accused by the military of being an NPA.

They then sought refuge at Sitio Nasilaban, but the arrival of the 60th IB on August 15 forced the Lumads to go evacuate to the forest without any food supplies or certainty of a shelter just to evade the BDS recruitment.

“A clear act of desperation and cowardice, paramilitary recruitment directly uses civilians as frontliners and pawns in the military’s war,” Ybanez said.

Other areas where residents evacuated due to the September military operations are the villages of Sambulongan (60 families), Labuo ( 47 families), Laslasakan (36 families), Nalubas (37 families), Nabalabag( 12 families), and Sasu ( 20 families). Totaling to 232 families or 1392 individuals.

KATRIBU also said that the creation, maintenance of paramilitary forces or similar groups is categorically prohibited in international humanitarian laws and the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Laws (CARHRIHL) that uphold the protection of the civilian populace from hostilities.

KATRIBU, a lumad sectoral group aiming to represent the indigenous peoples’ concerns in Congress on 2010 called for the immediate intervention of the LGU in the area, particularly for a comprehensive medical assistance for the villagers of Talaingod.

It also urged for the immediate investigation of the military’s policy on paramilitary formation and seeks to dismantle the Barangay Defense System. ###

For Reference:


Russ Ybanez
Youth Coordinator
Katribu Partylist

PRESS RELEASE

October 23, 2009


KATRIBU hits 60th IB for forcibly recruiting lumads into BDS, Bagani in Talaingod


Talaingod, Davao del Norte—Katribu Partylist along with the other peace advocates strongly condemned the continued forcible recruitment of Ata-Manobos to become members of the Barangay Defense System (BDS) or Bagani Force by the 60th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army led by Lt. Col. Adriano Perez in various villages in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.


Cases of human rights abuses were documented by members of the Interfaith Peace and Mercy Mission (IPMM) which is being conducted simultaneously in areas gravely affected by militarization in Maragusan and Pantukan in Compostela Valley, Banganga and Lupon in Davao Oriental and Talaingod in Davao del Norte.


According to Datu Sumpo Taosan, Salugpongan leader and council member of Katribu Partylist (S)ince August 15 until the last week of September, military troops under the 60th encamped in the villages of Dulyan, Nasilaban, Sambolongan, Laslasakan, and Banwalay.


“Sa ilang pagkampo sa mga komunidad pugos silang ga-recruit kanamong mga Lumad nga moapil ug mamahimong mga myembro sa BDS o diba kaha sa Bagani, gani adunay upat ka higayon nga gipatawag kaming mga residente aron moapil sa dagkong pulong-pulong nga gipahigayon sa mga military ug hulgaon kami nga kung dili kami moapil sa BDS o Bagani buot pasabot mga supporter kami sa mga NPA,” Datu Taosan said.


Base on the testimonies of the victims, the Lumads were forced to go on duty from 9pm to 4am and to serve as BDS and Bagani. They were commanded by the military led by Lt. Col. Perez, who ordered them to campaign against the NPA in house to house sorties.


“Pugos na lang gyud nga mituman ang among mga sakop sa gisugo sa mga sundalo nga mag duty isip BDS o Bagani bisan walay tulog ug gutom. Wala man gani namo nasabtan ang tumong apan mi-duty na lang tungod kay mahadlok kami nga pasanginlan nga kami kuno mga tig suporta sa NPA. Nahadlok kami nga pamatyon kami sama sa gihimo nila kang Kapis Butod nga gipatay nila tungod lang sa pasangil nga supporter kini sa NPA bisan nga siya usa ka inosenteng sibilyan,” Datu Taosan added.


Presently, there are already 20 members of BDS in Nasilaban village and 11 members in Banwalay village. Both villages are situated in Brgy. Palma Gil, Talaingod.


According to Russ Ybanez, youth coordinator of Katribu Partylist and documentor of the IPMM team said “due to the forcible recruitment and continued military operations launched by the 60th IB, there were at least 248 families from villages of Laslasakan, Labuo, Sasu, Bugni, Sambolongan, Nalubas and Nabalabag in Brgy. Palma Gil, Talaingod who were forced to vacate from their communities and who went into hiding; consequently they suffered hunger in the process.


“After the Fact Finding Mission led by Katribu in September, military from 60th IB had temporarily pulled out from the affected villages but in October 17 a company of military troops led by Lt. Col. Perez came back to the villages and continued recruiting Lumads into the BDS or Bagani. They also plan to put up detachment in Tibukag village despite the residents’ opposition,” Ybanez said.


Katribu patylist reiterated its calls for the pull out of military troops in the Lumad communities, an end to all atrocities of the 60th IB and the 10th Infantry Division against the Ata Manobo and Lumad people., and justice be served to all victims of human rights violations.###



For reference:


Russ Ybanez
Youth Coordinator
Katribu Partylist


Datu Sumpo Taosan
Chieftain/ Leader
Salupongan ta Tanu Igkanugon

PRESS RELEASE


YOUTH GROUPS SUPPORT KATRIBU PARTYLIST


Davao City-- At least 50 youth leaders vowed to support the newly-launched KATRIBU, a partylist group for indigenous people saying that "it is high time for Congress to hear the voice from the Lumads and other tribes in the country."


Katribu Partylist aims to win three seats in Congress during the the 2010 election to represent and fight for the issues on the preservation and protection of ancestral doman and the environment.


Various youth groups led by Kadumahan Youth, a city-wide school based IP youth and advocates' organization, declared their support to KATRIBU Partylist as one of it's major resolutions in a Mindanao-wide consultation on Indigenous Youth held here today. The youth leaders representing indigenous peoples and advocates' organizations, student councils, and student publications gathered at the Salugpongan Hall of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines for a consultation on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change.


"We believe that the youth as the catalyst for change can voice out our common vision of protecting the Lumads and supporting their right to ancestral domain and the preservation of their culture," said Russ Angelo Ybanez, Kadumahan spokesperson and a delegate to the said consultation.


Ybanez added that "(T)he Katribu will complement in the struggle for justice for the indigenous people who have long been victimized by relentless militarization, evacuation, extra-judicial killing and landgrabbing as a result of development aggression."


Ybanez also said that "Arroyo government's plunder of natural resources poses alarming impact to climate change which will eventually result to more disasters just like what happened in Luzon".


The consultation was held coinciding with the celebration of the Tribal Filipino Week. Advocates and representatives from the different government agencies, peoples organizations, non-government organizations and various schools also participated in the first part of the said event. They expressed concern over the militarization and encroachment of multi-national corporations in lumad areas.


Leaders from PASAKA Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao and KALUMARAN graced the event challenging the indigenous youth and advocates to be involved in solving the pressing issues of our times, stressing on how these problems link each and every sector of the society.


“It is inspiring to see young leaders having the time, commitment and passion to learn from the issues confronting the Lumads and to join in the struggle for the rights of Lumads," said Dulping Ogan, National Vice Chairperson of Katribu Partylist.


During the consultation's solidarity ritual, youth leaders gave soil, seedlings, musical instrument, ballpens and liyang (lumad basket) to the lumad leaders.##





For Reference:


Russ Angelo Ybanez

Spokesperson

Kadumahan Youth

LUMADS: The fight against HEDCOR’s hydro-powerplant is never over

Tagabawa Lumads under the Sinūb-badan ka mga Lumad Bagobo Mekatanod (SILUBAME) are not giving up the fight against the Tudaya Hydro-Powerplant, a multi-million project of the Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEDCOR) in Sitio Tudaya, Brgy. Sibulan, Sta. Cruz Davao del Sur.

“We have brought our opposition against HEDCOR’s hydro-power plant before the local government of Davao del Sur. We hope that they would heed our just demands. All we want is for our inherent rights over our ancestral lands to be respected,” said Roger Limokon, SILUBAME Chairperson.

On February 2, 2008, the Peoples’ Consultation, a dialogue with the provincial board of Davao Del Sur was initiated by SILUBAME. Provincial Board Members Molina and Bello of the province’s Committee on Environmental Concerns and Committee on Tribal Affairs attended the consultation. Strangely, the military soldiers also showed interest in joining the event, in fact together with more than a hundred military soldiers, a certain Lt. Renin of the 39^th Infantry Battalion actively participated in the consultation.

In the said consultation Hon. Bello promised that committee hearings will be aptly conducted based on SILUBAME’s complaint that HEDCOR violated genuine consultation processes when it did not disclose to the whole community the adverse impacts of the project. The local officials also said they will review the memorandum of agreement between the community and HEDCOR.

The board members were toured around the almost 10- hectare head-pond being constructed above the Tudaya Elementary School . They cited the experience of Ormoc, Marinduque among others as tragedies wrought by private companies’ interest for profit.

According to the PASAKA Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao , the construction of a hydro-power plant, within Tudaya falls, a sacred ground for the Bagobo -Tagabawa lumads violates their cultural and ancestral land rights. The project also violates environmental preservation since it is located in Mt. Apo , a declared protected area.

Mel Elio, PASAKA Chairperson said that according to the Technical Working Group which initiated the feasibility study of the project, water shortage after 20 years may arise. Other environmental impacts include the possibility of flash floods, endangering the school children and the communities below. The hydro-power plant will also affect land and water biodiversity and resources, contributed by the wastes from the plant.

During the consultation, more than 100 military elements from the 39^th and 72^nd Infantry Battalion have assembled in Sitio Tudaya. Lt. Renin of the 39^th IB said a detachment of the 72^nd IB will be built a kilometer away from the Tudaya Falls . According to local residents, additional elements of military soldiers were deployed and arrive in their area the day before the scheduled consultation. SILUBAME strongly believe the soldiers’ presence in the area was deliberately done to intimidate the people.

“The militarization of Tudaya at the height of the Tagabawa lumads’ assertion of their ancestral land rights over capitalist interests shows clearly which master the military serves. Instead of siding with the people, they are used as instruments of violence in order to protect the profits of capitalists,” Elio said.

Board Member Bello also challenged the presence of the AFP, saying it should not get in the way of the people’s political affairs. He encouraged the people to report instances of military abuse in the area.*

For Reference:

ROGER LIMOKON MEL ELIO

SILUBAME Chairperson PASAKA Chairperson

Media Officer: 0929-265-8967