Padilla wants Senate probe into Teduray ‘forced relocation’ to landslide prone site
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Robinhood Padilla is pushing for a Senate investigation into the alleged “forced relocation” of the Teduray people to a site hit by a landslide during the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng.”
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Citing a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Padilla said Teduray chieftain Timuay Alim Bandara alleged that a “powerful person” forced them out of their coastal homes and relocated them to Sitio Tabunon, Barangay Kusiong in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte in 2020 despite protests.
“Such forced relocation was allegedly caused by a ‘powerful person’ who wanted to convert the place into a resort,” Padilla said in Senate Resolution No. 280. “He further belied the reports stating that the Teduray community relocated to Sitio Tabunon because of fear of the tsunami.”
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Citing a source quoted in the Inquirer report, Padilla said the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples did not respond to requests for it to intervene and also did not conduct any investigation prior to the relocation.
“There is a need to examine and review the IPRA (Indigenous Peoples Rights Act) as well as the mandate of the NCIP of protecting the rights and welfare of the IPs (Indigenous peoples) with the end in view of amending the provisions of the IPRA,” Padilla said.
Earlier reports indicated that the families in Kusiong were relocated there from coastal areas in Datu Odin Sinsuat following the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and a resulting tsunami that killed at least 5,000 people.
Kusiong, home to the Teduray and Maguindanaoan peoples, is one of the areas hardest hit by Paeng. Mud, rocks and boulders buried the relocation site and killed 24 members of the Teduray community and injured more than 30 others.
READ: 20 Maguindanao del Norte landslide fatalities buried
According to the government’s geohazard assessment, Kusiong is a hazard-prone area susceptible to landslides and flooding. — Xave Gregorio with a report from Gaea Katreena Cabico
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