The Continuing Struggle of the Cordillera Peoples
Joshua Angelo Bata | Maria Sheena Betito | Paula Bianca Luna
According to Mao Tse Tung, the people, and the people alone, are the motive force in making the world history. This was translated in the 30th Cordillera Day last April 24-25 in Guinaang, Pasil, Kalinga with the theme: Resist Imperialist Plunder of our Lands and Resources! Assert our Right to Self Determination!
This celebration, as previously called Macliing Day, is held as a memorial to his martyrdom and heroism in defence of their ancestral domain from development aggression during Marcos regime.
Presently, it does not only serve as a memorial of Macliing Dulag's opposition to anti-people programs and projects such as the supposed Chico dam but it was transformed to a definitive goal of uniting the indigenous peoples of Cordillera, including other IPs in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and the International IPs to have a strong and militant stand against policies that threaten ancestral domain of IPs.
Cordi Day stood as a strong political statement of the victimized and soon-to-be victimized communities against the so-called 'development' projects of transnational and multinational companies and of the state itself such as large-scale mining, mega dams, energy projects and agricultural liberalization that often leads to community displacement, militarization and several other human rights violation.
As the rich natural resources of the Cordillera region are incessantly plundered, resistance by affected communities is called upon by the need to defend their lands. This has become a resource-curse because instead of being a benefit, it has become a jewel that wants to be held by every imperialist thief. Even the government that must represent the interest of the people in a truly democratic country has allowed itself to be an instrument of corporations in clearing the way for an unhampered access. To equate this resistance as anti-development is false and misleading because any form of development that is against the people is no development at all.
Cordi Day has showed the struggles of the region against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism. It helped communities in raising their consciousness with various issues through workshops that even featured sharing of experiences from different communities that is a vital tool in the realization that their problem is not an isolated case but interconnected with the others. There were workshops on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC); Human Rights and Peace; Regional Autonomy; Mining; Energy; Agricultural Liberalization; Elders; Pork Barrel; and International Solidarity. It is highly commendable how the celebration ended these workshops with resolutions and a multi-lateral peace pact to be adopted in communities.
Although these workshops were in Ilocano, there were interpreters and translators for the non-speakers of the language.
The 24th of April started out as a simple day for others living outside the Cordillera region. But for people of Cordillera, April 24 for this year is a date one should not forget.
It would always be a surprise (or maybe a shame) for someone like us who haven’t even heard of the Cordillera Day. Such momentous event in the lives of the Cordillera peoples is something that should be celebrated and treasured by any individual who takes part in the festivities.
A bright sunny Thursday morning was enough to compliment the energy and enthusiasm of all delegates who are eager enough to take part in all workshops set by the organizers. While others were prepared to start their first day in the festivities, first timers such as our group from the metro were still overwhelmed by the fact that hundreds of people have travelled a very long way just to ensure that they could be part of the two-day celebration of the Cordillera Day.
Energy
Choosing a workshop to attend to was filled with an ounce of difficulty. Issues being highlighted by each workshop were all important but somehow our group came up with a consensus to participate in any discussion of different topic and there it was with the Energy Workshop since the Cordillera peoples have long been struggling with issues on renewable energy particularly on hydro and geothermal energy source.
Overall, it was a job well done for the workshop on Energy. The make-shift tent was suddenly filled with individuals coming from different provinces in the region. They were all loaded with stories worth sharing to the entire workshop participants. Even the language barrier between the majority of the Cordillera peoples and for our very small group of Tagalogs and international delegates did not show any sign of complexity.
What made the workshop something to look forward to was being able to hear first-hand the stories of every individual who had taken part in struggles in their own communities against the local and foreign companies trying to extract natural resources found in the region. Stories vary from different provinces, municipalities, barangays and tribes yet one thing is for sure, these private companies will try all means possible in order to at least get a glimpse of what is underneath the mountains of the Cordillera.
Take for example the use and process of the Free, Prior and Informed consent (FPIC) through facilitations by the National Commissions on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). It has long been given that there should be an appropriate way of facilitating discussions among the stakeholders in an issue especially communities of indigenous peoples. There is a democratic way of finding out their opinions and position on development programs. And there is a humane way of treating the people who have been safeguarding the rich natural resources in their lands since the start of time.
Yes, these things are clearly stated regarding the FPIC however, it seemed to be so unclear for the rich and powerful with eyes shrouded with too much greed and quest for wealth. Accounts coming from workshop participants tell their own tales of how energy developers and companies have tried and continue to invade into the very heart of indigenous peoples’ communities. Instead of coming up with a democratic way of finding the consensus of residents in the area, these huge and powerful energy companies have been devising ways in order to come up with a very deceptive and doubtful way of knowing the opinions of people in the community. Only the officials of the barangay and a handful of people concerned are subjected into consultations crafted by these companies. If they want to talk with the people in the community, they’ve made it possible only through these concerned officials with a streak of deception and bribery.
Various types of offers and promises are made by companies to communities who will be affected by their huge development projects. Who would not be surprised and overwhelmed by projects such as school buildings, hospitals, road-widening projects and job offers being packaged by these companies to the most depressed communities in rural areas subjected to their proposed projects? Who would not be attracted to food graces being offered in community meetings? Of course, communities in the most depressed areas witnessing only a slight ray of development once or twice a year would always have a greater pull to give in into gifts provided to them by these companies.
What was very striking was a tale shared by a delegate coming from the Mountain Province narrating their experience against their very own mayor and a local geologist who had formed a sort of tribe declaring to be one of the tribes in the province just to make sure that this tribe would represent the community who should propose an IP-initiated project in order to pursue a certain hydro project in the area.
Likewise, having the existence of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples or NCIP for almost 17 years seemed to be too insignificant for the country’s indigenous peoples. Instead of promoting the welfare of indigenous communities and addressing their issues and concerns, the NCIP has been continuously advancing the interest of multinational companies. In reality the NCIP visits to the community as representatives of multinational companies and most of the times they themselves choose elders who are in favour of their proposed huge projects, paving the way for the disunity among communities of indigenous peoples. Isn’t this a very concrete example of how foreign and local powers who are too wealth and power-hungry violate the very rights of the indigenous peoples in the country? The Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) has recommended abolishing the NCIP as this is not functioning in actual according to its mandate and purpose.
Aside from stories of people coming from different parts of the Cordillera region and the country, highlights of the workshop still include the fundamentals of both hydropower and geothermal power. It was clear as crystal that with the basics on both the renewable energy source being explained, there will be a much greater understanding on the uses, applications and consequences brought by energy projects to the lives of the people in the community and the ecosystem in which they live in. regardless of the design and type of hydropower and geothermal structures being proposed for each indigenous community so long as it benefit only those who earn profits from these structures, it would still remain useless and not beneficial to the community.
For years of existence and struggle, indigenous peoples have explicitly stated that development should address the NEED of the people and the community not the kind of development that answers only the GREED of some. The celebration of Cordillera Day did not end in dying hopes for the people of the whole Cordillera region and the indigenous groups around the world. In every tale shared by delegates, they were all filled with the will to fight back for their right, for their community and for their land. With every struggle crafted, there is a force that will continue to defend the right to self-determination of every indigenous people.
Agricultural Liberalization
The workshop discussion revolved on how the World Trade Organization and its trade agreements have been a disadvantage to the Philippine agriculture in general and in other countries such as Kenya. Instead of achieving modernization of agriculture, and ensuring food security, it pushed these countries in producing cash crops, planting terminator seeds or GMOs which are highly dependent on fertilizer and other chemical inputs, making unnecessary importations, and others. This was concretized by experiences of the Cordillera people and other farmers and indigenous peoples of the Philippines and even in other countries. Gradually, farmers are losing control over their production and being largely dependent on the market. This liberalization has made the irony of the producers of food being hungry and poor even starker.
We have known that the type of change the government is pushing in the agriculture sector does not meet the needs of the people but rather the needs of the market which was further proven by narratives and anecdotes of the people experiencing these types of changes.
Human Rights and Peace
Along with FPIC, Agri Liberalization, Renewable energy and mining, Human Rights and Peace is one of the workshops conducted during the Cordillera Day. Because the wounds are still fresh and the people of Cordillera will never forget, the story how the alleged AFP members mercilessly killed three members of the Ligiw family and the recent murder of William Buggati are the highlights of the whole workshop. Because of the recent killings of advocates and organization members, Abra held their provincial Cordillera Day on April 23-24, 2014, their programs emphasizing and concentrating on human rights.
In the workshop, the speaker, Mr. Jude Baggo, explained human rights in general, its principles, special sectors and the different rights that every human being should be getting. Principles of Human Rights can be summed up into 5 words: Universal, Inalienable, Absolute, Indivisible and Non- discriminatory. All applicable and included for all aspects in a person’s life: cultural, political, economic and civil. These five words are the written rules that everybody, every race, whatever gender you have or religion or political stand you believe in, no one gets left behind when it comes to human rights.
But some people put the law and decisions in their hands. Some people end lives while demons order and let these uniformed people do such horrible things. Many Filipinos, Indigenous Peoples, journalists, peasants, human rights advocates and development workers are silenced under PNoy’s Oplan Bayanihan, which started during Marcos’ regime. This is patterned from US counterinsurgency guide; in this program, the uniformed forces will try to enter an area in a creative subtle way, through medical and dental missions. This is their way of making the people feel and think that they are there to protect them and serve them. But that’s not really the case. This is their way in and no, they are not leaving.
The presence of the military in a community not only creates tension and build fear in the air but disturbs the harmony the community once had before their arrival. There are many cases where the values of ‘the community are corrupted because of the overstaying of the military. There are instances of rape along the Chico River that results to separation of married couples and cases where they randomly beat up teenagers for no valid reason at all. These are clear examples of the abuse and power tripping of the military to the community, they damage things that can’t be whole again and destroy the most important to the community.
PNoy’s current goal is to end and eradicate fully counterinsurgency by 2016. Clearly, deploying military troops to consolidated places and ending lives of the leaders of various organizations who are against PNoy’s version of “development” is his way of “eradicating fully” counterinsurgency. Violation of multiple human rights and threatening by tagging, branding and torturing genuine development advocates will continue under PNoy’s administration.
However, what we are experiencing under the Yellow Regime is also happening in various countries around the world. In the Human Rights and Peace workshop, international delegates shared their version of what PNoy has been doing to us. One Bangladeshi shared that militarization and “fascification” is also happening in their country and ended by encouraging the crowd to not stop fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples especially the right to self-determination.
Another international delegate joined the discussion through citation of their situation in the Northeast part of India. She shared that in their country the armed revolution started seventy (70) years ago, still strong and fighting, and that their problem is people are starting to fight each other. This is one tactic of the military to divide the people making the power and influence of the advocates weaker. She worries that someday this may happen also in the Philippines.
It is unfortunate to know that what’s happening in our country is similar to other parts of the world but with support of these foreigners through international solidarity is boosting the fight to another level. The backing of international delegates makes the fight and influence more powerful. It is good to know that we are not alone in this fight.
The theme of Cordillera Day 2014 is all about resisting imperialist forces and fighting for right to self-determination. It is a continuous fight, the fight passed from one generation to another, not giving up nor backing down. RA 8371 or the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997 may be flawed and lacking in numerous sections so we should not just be deceived and contented by this tokenism.
The rights of every human being are not something you can just take away from someone. The 30th celebration of Cordillera Day shows that the people of Cordillera do not let others control of what they originally have: their land and their lives. The unceasing efforts of different groups of indigenous peoples are the greatest accomplishments of the continued fight of the people of Cordillera.
The Cordillera Day 2014 has achieved its goals in reuniting the different tribes from the provinces of Cordillera to participate in a unity pact and be one in the struggle for the right to self-determination. The workshops have reached not only those who believe but also those who do not before. Its effectiveness in contributing to the awareness of the delegates of the Cordillera Day can be seen in the transformation of how anti-Cordillera Day people now support the struggle and effort of the CPA or the Cordillera Peoples Alliance.