Lumad women
DAVAO CITY – More than 100 tribeswomen have gathered in Davao City in southern Philippines to dramatize their longtime demand for ancestral rights and domain and called on the Aquino government to stop military harassments and respect their human rights.
The gathering coincided with the first general assembly of Sabokahan to mo Lumad Kamalitanan Confederation of Lumad Women where they raised various issues affecting the tribal communities in the region.
Among the issues discussed during the assembly was the plight of the tribal women who were victims of threats, harassments and various forms of abuses allegedly committed by government soldiers. They also raised the continued presence of troops and military encampments in schools which puts students at grave risk if rebels attack the soldiers.
Bai Bibyoon Ligkayan Bigkay, a Matigsalog woman leader from Natulingan town in Bukidnon province, urged tribal women to defend their rights and ancestral domain for their children’s future.
“Violations of our human rights in our own land perpetrated by the military are rampant,” she said. “We demand the pull-out of military troops from the community, especially in schools and farms so that civilians will not be living in constant fear. This struggle is for our children and for their children as well.”
The “Save Our Schools Network” also reported that 39 schools, mostly in the countryside, have been used as military encampment. It also recorded more than 200 cases of human rights violations by military against civilians and students in southern Mindanao.
It said the number of human violations by soldiers is alarmingly increasing because of the military’s refusal to follow the law. It said the Department of Education and Commission on Human Rights have not acted on these reports.
There was no immediate statement from the Eastern Mindanao Command and 10thInfantry Division about the allegations. (Mindanao Examiner)
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