The forgotten citizens

“United we stand, divided we fall.” These words should remind us of our country’s destiny if we continue to attack, deny, dispute, resist and protest the actions made by our newly installed president.

We must welcome the advent of the new government. The previous administrations were given their fair share of time they deserved after they were voted into the highest office of the land. Their time is up, this is President Duterte’s time. Give him the chance to prove himself and make the changes we dream of – even in his seemingly bold ways.

We hear our countrymen’s expression of gloomy forebodings. The fear that at the end of the present transition period we may not be prepared for the changes that are coming our way – that of ‘true’ independence and that if, left to ourselves we may fall prey to the rapacity of powerful conquering nations.

As the President strives to make the wrong things right and redirect our spirits, a demoralizing defeatism seems to clutch at the hearts and to enshroud the minds of many Filipinos today. We have been used to what was ‘then.’ We need to accept and adjust to the colossal paradigm shift he is creating for the country.

It is unfortunate however, that those lulled by influence and those who have a sense of security, are so satisfied with the present day conditions that they would like things to go on the way they are. Clearly, we know who they are in the country, they are the few elite, the oligarchs, the powerful, the “new” rich and many politicians. But the President is more concerned about the rights of the ‘forgotten’ citizens (the majority of the Filipinos) and so has launch a political re-examination of the Philippines. This is his new governance. It is an advocacy and we must join him and support him in his quest.

We must not fight for popularity. We must not fight for a political party. We must fight for the right of every Filipino. A Filipino is a native of the islands, the Pinoys who work in the bustling areas of the metro, the indigenous people who live and protect the arid land and lush green mountains, and the overseas workers abroad.

At long last, we feel small changes happening around us coming our way. And as the days continue we pray that more changes will come to be until they are sustained to protect each of us. Since the 1940s, a strong sentiment created by foreign policy sort of ‘enslaved’ our people. And if President Duterte does not change this, we will continue to be enslaved by foreign dominion.

October was Indigenous People’s month in our country. In Manila, we see Filipinos fashioning indigenous costumes not knowing what tribe the costume is from. Some even mix-match the costumes lacking knowledge of culture and heritage. Why? Because we have not paid attention to our people who hold the story of our land, our culture, our traditions, our art and our religion. They are the keepers of our country’s past and yet politicians and public officials used them and exploit them. Worst is that they have abandoned them.

There are more than 40 different ethnic groups in the country. Several of them are called ‘tribal groups’. They are indigenous groups who up to the present time still live in traditional ways. They are all over Luzon, in some islands in the Visayas and in Mindanao.

There are 18 tribal Filipino groups in Mindanao. The most popular are the T’boli and the B’laan. Other groups are the Ata, Bagobo, Banwaon, Bukindon, Dibabawon, Higaunon, Kalagan, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Mangguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Subanen, Tagakaolo, Teduray and the Ubo. The collective name for these indigenous groups in Mindanao is “Lumad.” This is actually just another name for ‘indigenous.’

Forest laws and Public Land Acts from Spanish time up to the Americans have provided “legal shields” for big foreign and local businesses to extract whatever resources that can be found within the indigenous peoples’ ancestral lands. These have resulted in the massive displacement of indigenous communities.

When the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) was passed in 1997 by the legislature with the purpose of helping ensure the self-determination of indigenous peoples, it was met with so much hope. The IPs thought of it as a groundbreaking law that will serve as a template for laws on indigenous rights that other governments could follow. Unfortunately, after several years, hope turned to disillusionment.

The IPRA created the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the government agency responsible for implementing the provisions of the IPRA. Sadly, this agency failed to fulfill its mandate. Instead of standing for the rights and interests of IPs, it has benefitted more the government and big companies.

In 2012, former president Benigno Aquino III issued Executive Order 79 (EO 79). EO 79 gave the executive branch the power to approve mining applications even without the benefit of consultations with concerned indigenous communities or even local government units. It can even override decisions of local government units and indigenous communities opposing the entry of companies into their territories. Sanamagan!

Apart from IPRA, there is the Mining Act of 1995 that did not only encourage large-scale foreign investment in the mining industry but also had provisions that included 100% foreign ownership of up to 81,000 hectares of land for 50 years. The operation of large-scale mining companies has destroyed forests and watersheds and affected the lives of the IPs. Human rights violations are rampant in these areas, thus, intense militarization was noted in IP communities that strongly opposed the existence of these mining companies.

Should we support the continued destruction of our land by the ‘powerful’, the ‘rich’, the mighty conglomerates who do not care at all for the people of our land? Ask yourself, what are they actually fighting for?

A nation should have a common destiny, a solidarity of interests and aspirations; traditions and ideals that are the bottom-rock of its existence: a soul. Without such unifying principle, without such traditions and ideals that unite the past with the present, a people is but an aggregate of individuals who live for the day and are guided by their particular interests and convenience. That is not the status of our people, for our nationalism, is firmly welded by the epic struggles and sacrifices of our ancestors, and it has been consecrated by their patriotism and their ideals.

Because of the grave import of the situation we now face, it is necessary that we pause in earnest and serious reflection. We do not put in doubt the sincerity of any Filipino. But we must think in terms, not of individuals, but of the nation.

In times of national crisis, when a nation is divided, or when problems that profoundly affect our people demand a decision, it is proper that we submit our judgment to the test of our national ideology. To this end, it is necessary that we bear in mind the high ideals of the nation and keep ever burning in our hearts that flame of patriotism that gave to our ancestors that courage to dare all dangers, and to our heroes and martyrs the strength to make the supreme sacrifice for their country.