“We have made a decision. We will continue our education, even if we die.”- A Salugpungan datu
In a Grade 5 classroom in Sitio Dulyan, 37 datus have arranged themselves to start the convention. Many of them have arrived days before, braving not only the difficult terrain, but threat of the military men who have been restricting their movements since June this year. In an ordinary day, numeracy and literacy would have been the topic in this room, but something more important has been set for today: the next steps of the Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanugon, conceived and agreed upon by the representatives of its member communities in its 20th anniversary.
Formed in Defense of the Land
Founded in 1994, the Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanugon (Unity in Defense of the Ancestral Land) has been at the frontlines of defending the ancestral lands of the Talaingod Manobos, the Pantaron Range in particular, against the encroachment of large corporations, notably the logging company Alcantara & Sons (Alsons). It is an alliance of over 70 communities who have united 20 years ago to assert their rights to their homeland. With this, they have borne the brunt of violence of the military, who have served as the clearing force of the said corporation against the resistance to the economic exploits of the latter in the past.
Over the years, Salugpungan schools were built in Talaingod to address the educational needs of the children there. With aid from the support groups flowing in, basic and secondary educations are now available in Sitio Dulyan and 11 other communities. Classrooms were constructed along with vegetable gardens to serve as food resources for the students. Generators and hoses were produced for electricity and water. Volunteer teachers were also gathered for the teaching posts, along with books and writing materials for the classes.
But even with all these preparations in mind, nothing could have prepared the Talaingod Manobos for the intensified occupations of the military that have threatened not just the physical structures they worked so hard to build, but their lives as well.
Schools Under Attack
Since June of this year, the 68TH Infantry Battalion have occupied civilian homes, imposed regulations on the allowable hours in the planting fields of the IPs, and indiscriminately fired at the school structures, causing trauma and fear among the community members. Walls of the schools are bullet-riddled, and with lack of will from the government to investigate these matters, the undisciplined soldiers remain unpunished. Furthermore, psychological operations of state forces include labeling the Salugpungan schools as schools of the NPA’s and that parents who will continue to send their children to these schools as supporters of the rebel movement.
These military operations have forced the closing of some schools, with teachers either fleeing for their safety or the students also fearing for their lives, thus returning to the planting fields at ages when they should be leafing through books than handling farm tools. Despite the opportunities presented for development, with the government acting against its supposed mandate to help the Talaingod Manobos by allowing them to educate themselves, the future of the Lumad youth remain in the darkness the same way it was decades ago.
Despite the great need for education for the youth of Talaingod, which only had 10% literacy rate years ago, the government has failed to prevent the military from putting down the fruits of hard labor by the Talaingod Manobos, which was born out of the lack of government aid in the first place.
“Before, we asked aid from the government, and nothing came from them. Now that we have built schools from our own efforts, the soldiers come down and destroy all that we’ve worked for these years. We don’t know why they are doing this. Is to be educated such an evil thing, that the government would pay armed people to stop us from doing all these?” asked Datu Doloman Dausay, spokesperson of the Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanugon, the alliance of the many communities of the Talaingod Manobos.
But more than just the closing of the schools, it is the economic activities in the area that is first affected, one that has caused the ire of the people.
“They destroy our crops. Then they close our schools. This is worse than death. We live like there is nothing we can do but watch these people accuse us of being NPA’s. They seem to actually enjoy it,” said one datu.
The Greatest Pest
Ever since the entry of the logging corporation Alcantara & Sons (Alsons) 20 years ago, the indigenous people of Talaingod, Davao del Norte have yet to experience a year without soldiers stepping on their cornfields, or soldiers holding them from bringing the food they purchased from the town to their homes in the countryside.
“Back then, only storms and insects could destroy our livelihood. Now, the soldiers have come, and they are by far the worst problems we’ve had in planting. They are pests that attack without warning, and leave death lingering,” said one Talaingod Manobo.
The 68th Infantry Battalion has been greatly restricting the livelihood of these people, pushing them to hunger to the verge of death with the logic that as the Talaingod Manobos live in the mountains, and that the communist New People’s Army (NPA) are hiding in the dense jungles, then the Talaingod Manobos are sympathizers of the NPA. Contrary to the mutually agreed rules on the conduct of war and adherence to the international humanitarian law, state forces have not discriminated between civilians and combatants in their war against the NPA, thus becoming more of a threat to the lumads in the area rather than being their protector.
“Do we look like NPA’s? Do we carry guns? Do we look like we are enemies of the soldiers? What we want is to live peacefully. But the soldiers prevent us from doing that. No one sensible would damage crops that are our food sources. Why can’t the soldiers see that?” one datu asked.
“They destroy our crops. Then they close our schools. This is worse than death. We live like there is nothing we can do but watch these people accuse us of being NPA’s. They seem to actually enjoy it,” said another datu.
Most Talaingod Manobos are farmers, growing root crops, corn and a few fruit trees. Some also grow bananas and abaca. Without advanced tools and modern farming training, they find their work exhausting and not rewarding enough for the needs of their families. Difficulty in growing crops is one thing, transporting them is another. Growers of abaca and corn have to walk for kilometers in steep terrain, cross deep and strong rivers, bear the brunt of the heat of the sun on cleared areas in the mountains, before they can get close to the nearest town.
There they are frequently swindled by dealers, who take advantage of the innumeracy of the lumads, paying them little for their products and labor. With the little profit that they have, they buy clothes, canned goods, and sometimes rice. But as they go back to their homes in the mountains, soldiers stand waiting in the streets to hold these precious items for the lumads, sometimes even confiscating and consuming these goods for themselves as the farmers go back home empty handed, after months of hard work. “We plant, they destroy. We buy, they hold them. How are we supposed to eat then?”
Military operations have also resulted to the destruction of cornfields of the Talaingod Manobos. Long lines of soldiers carelessly cross cornfields when in pursuit of the rebels, trampling the livelihood of the people in the process. These damages go unpaid, as the victims are either fearful of retaliation, or simply do not expect the soldiers to realize the damage they have done.
“We do not understand. Does it look like we are harboring rebels? Does it look like the rebels would hide in our cornfields? Does it look like ears of corn could provide shelter for them? Are the soldiers really thinking about these, or do they just want to destroy our plants? It is hard to understand,” an elderly woman from a far-flung area said.
Tales of Resistance
Numerous times the people of Talaingod have fought for their rights. Their mass evacuations to Davao City to seek sanctuary have turned to massive mobilizations for their issues to be heard by the current government. But these calls have fallen to deaf ears, and the problem persists till now. Which makes it no surprise that the option of arms struggle, taken by the Salugpungan founder Datu Guibang Apoga 20 years ago in a fierce pangayaw (tribal war) against the logging corporation Alsons and the military a recurring thought in the words of the datus in the meeting?
“Guibang said before we must strike with arrows and spears to drive these busaws (monsters) away. We have succeeded before. Now that they are here again, Guibang’s actions remain relevant as before,” one datu recalls.
True enough, the pangayaw of Datu Guibang 20 years ago succeeded in pushing military forces away for some time, but not for long. The soldiers came back, now in greater numbers. They would be surprised, however, that they would not just be confronting Guibang’s forces, but of the New People’s Army as well, who have taken a stand in the mountains of Talaingod, defending the forests against any intrusion by foreign companies.
The people of Talaingod are not living without hope. Years of militarization have made them strong, and now that they are standing on what they have built from scratch, they would not give up so easily letting go of what they have built. Through groups who show support by helping expose the situation in the countryside, more and more people are becoming aware of the bigger problem of state fascism and foreign economic exploitation, and have been giving more than financial and material support but contribute in forcing the local and international forces to take action in the situation in Talaingod.
The ongoing Manilakbayan ng Mindanao which stated from November 14 to December 14 is just one of the many activities ongoing and in store for showing to the world the atrocities committed by the state forces who are posing dangers to the people rather than protecting them. The wishes of the Talaingod Manobo are clear and simple: they want the immediate pull-out of state troops from their areas in order for them to live peaceful lives.
For the soldiers to say that they are there to bring peace and development goes to show that they are blind to the situation that they have created in Talaingod. The datus know this, and they understand that the only thing that can be done is to unite in the assertion that only the recognition of their rights to land and not the pretentious, violent intrusion of the state into their communities will be the rightful way to peace and development.
The datus speeches are long, but they echo the same sentiment: they want immediate removal of the soldiers away from their communities. They want their children to be educated, without having to transport abaca fibers by foot for a day, only to be swindled by dealers in towns. They want to grow crops and livestock for their families. No Manobo aspires for trouble, but only wishes for their well-being and of their neighbors.
But with the problem of militarization paralyzing the efforts of the lumads to lead a peaceful life, those dreams may prove to be beyond reach, until their rights to land and self-determination are fully realized. (The author is a researcher for Panalipdan-SMR, is a progressive environmental rights group conducting grassroots organizing in calling for ecological justice. The author was able to document the proceedings of the 20th Salugpungan Annual Meeting held on November 30, 2014 at Sitio Dulyan, Talaingod, Davao del Norte. mdddecastro@gmail.com)
Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindanaoexaminer
Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindanaoExamine
Read Our News on: http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com/ and http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/
20