Upholding the rights of indigenous peoples

Election is not only about the candidates. It is about the citizens. It is about the electorate. As such, it is vital for the citizens to understand their right to suffrage or the right to vote.

The Constitution says that every Filipino citizen has the right of suffrage provided they meet the requirements such as age (18 years old) and they must be registered voters. Even the illiterate and the disabled who are the usual prey of unscrupulous politicians are given the right to vote. This is why the Constitution mandates the Congress “to provide a system for securing the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot.”

The indigenous peoples (or IPs) estimated to be 14-17 million accounts for 12 percent of the country’s population. They are spread over Northern Luzon (Cordillera Administrative Region, 33%) and Mindanao (61%), with some groups in the Visayas area. Although the IPs are represented in the House of Representatives, they still have the least meaningful political representation. There is supposedly a committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples comprising of 25 members who takes care of all matters directly and principally relating to indigenous cultural communities and IPs and the development of their communities. But in reality their programs seem weak because to this day, many elements are destroying the IPs environment and their culture. And up to now they are the people with the least education. In other words, neglected and exploited.

I have worked with an IP group (aetas and unats) in Zambales for 20 years already. Our mission is to educate them but at the same time to preserve and protect their culture. I was looking for government and non-government groups in the country to educate me on how to preserve their lives as IPs. Unfortunately, there was none as I had asked around. So, my group took the task at hand. We taught them to give themselves a name and determine their ages and then we spoke to the barangay officials to help them register so that they can be identified, assisted and protected.

The IPs lack of legal documents such as birth certificates and government-issued identification cards is clearly the reason why they cannot vote. They need to be properly oriented. The problem is when our politikos round them up to exploit their vote.

In the past elections, some Mangyans of Mindoro were kept and fed in holding places before the election. They were given “literacy classes” only to teach them how to fill up the ballot and to write the name of the politician who seized them. On election day, they were brought to their precincts to vote for that candidate. This was called a case of “hamletting” where the IPs were coerced to vote for certain candidates.

In another case, some politicians took advantage of the ignorance and innocence of the IPs by keeping them away from voting because they knew that these IPs wouldn’t vote for them. So they gave them activities to keep them busy for the day until the voting precincts closed.

Political candidates take advantage of the IPs knowing that the majority are illiterate and will just follow suit. But the IPs in the Cordilleras and parts of Muslim Mindanao cannot be easily manipulated.

Comelec Resolution No. 10080 has addressed issues on accessibility, discrimination, intimidation, and the “hakot system” or hamletting experienced by selected IP voters. The Comelec will pilot IP voting in Mindoro on May 9 where 3,000 Mangyans from Oriental and Occidental Mindoro will be allowed to vote in special voting areas.

Under this new program, Comelec will set up 18 separate polling places (SPPs) and five accessible voting center (AVCs) in 21 barangays of Mindoro province. Through Comelec Resolution No. 10057, express lanes for IP voters in polling precincts will be set up. The IPs according to Comelec will be given priorities in regular voting precincts.

If this pilot project succeeds, Comelec plans to expand its coverage. After elections, they will conduct an extensive assessment in areas with substantial number of IPs to be covered by the project. Based from Comelec record, there are about 100,000 IPs who are registered voters nationwide who will benefit from these programs. Let’s hope it works!

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In 2010, during the celebration of the World’s Indigenous People’s Day in the Philippines, 65 indigenous people’s organizations and advocacy groups drafted the ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Agenda and submitted it to President Aquino. Issues raised were: National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the titling of ancestral lands and domain, Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP); Indigenous peoples and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); the peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Bangsa Moro Juridical Entity (BJE), and the National Democratic Front (NDF); Human rights abuses and violations inflicted upon indigenous peoples; Mining and other development projects; and Conflicts between the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA).

Six years have passed since the submission of the agenda and 20 years after the passage of the IPRA but the IPs continue to suffer. They have remained poor, no access to basic health and education. Lately, their suffering has grown to losing their ancestral lands due to the current administration’s program on the liberalization of mining. Not to mention various energy projects which include hydroelectric dams and geothermal and coal-fired power plants.

Election is just around the corner. Promises continue to resound throughout the campaign trail. But I have yet to hear a candidate speak about the plight of the indigenous people. They too are Filipinos. They too have rights. The right to vote, education, health care, food, security, the right to ancestral land and natural resources. Let us put a stop to the political repression, intimidation and struggles they experience.

Our leaders should know the value and importance these citizens contribute to our land. They are the keepers of our treasured past. We must protect them and give them the dignity they truly deserve.