#manilakbayan2015

[1872ph]

#Manilakbayan2015 Welcoming Ceremony (AS Steps, UP Diliman)

I was at the lumad welcoming ceremony earlier today after my class in UP, and I learned a whole lot of new things about the situation in Mindanao. There were a lot of speakers, including the chancellor Michael Tan, the vice-chancellor for community affairs Nestor Castro, the datu Jonorito Guaynon, National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, convenor for Stop Lumad Killings Network Bryle Leano, and many others. They spoke generally about the theme of pursuing and continuing the fight for equal rights for our fellow Filipinos, the lumad, as well as pleas against the internationalization and globalization to be deepend by the APEC and the forthcoming summit in November.

I got there a bit after the initial introductions but I caught the beginning of Dr. Nestor Castro’s words. He mentioned that a lot of people asked, “Bakit ninyo pinapapasok ang mga yan sa campus ninyo? Hindi niyo ba alam na mga komunista sila? Hindi naman sila mag-aaral ng unibersidad!” (“Why are you letting these people into your campus? Don’t you know that they are communists? They’re not even students of the university!”) or something to this effect. He said, “Wala kaming pakialam, ano mang ideolohiya…pwedeng pumasok sa unibersidad, basta ginagawa ninyo sa hindi marahas na pamamaraan.” (”We don’t care. Whatever ideologies…can enter the university, so long as they are practiced in nonviolent means.”) (NV)

After the vice chancellor was the lumad datu Jonorito Guaynon. He mentioned that there are now 144 lumad dead in their district, and 150-250 have been filed with fake cases due to their resolve to reject mining companies in Mindanao. He mentioned that they were offered royalty tax by these private companies, but they refused because they did not want to sell their ancestral land because they believe that this is the heritage and inheritance of the people unto the next generation.

Military operations, he also stated, are the ones carrying out Noynoy’s Oplan Bayanihan "for peace and development"–but these military do not respect the rights and culture and lives of the citizens, of the lumad. Many of their fellow lumad have been forced to enter and join the paramilitary, to chase away and kill the lumad who reject the mining companies lest they (those who have been forced to join the paramilitary) be killed or filed cases against. 

I did not catch the name of the female speaker, but there has been word, she said, that Noynoy Aquino promised 500,000 hectares of land to be mined without the permission nor even the consultation of lumad. You know with whom he exchanged words with? The investors, of course. Those who will benefit from the land and the resources of the people.

According to National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, who took the perspective of the importance of culture, we in the city often forget that we have undergone different cultures as a nation. Philippine ancestral culture is important, he said, which can be found inside the epics and songs and stories of the lumad. Our lives here in the city is not separate from the lives of the lumad, and our education–or learning–is not complete if we do not study the cultures of our brothers and sisters in Mindanao. It is important that we learn of our ancestors. It is important to have a grasp and understanding of who we used to be, and who we still are today.

Bryle Leano followed, saying that if we in the University of the Philippines only ever dreamt of a free education, the lumad, on the other hand, have already achieved and made true these sentiments, these dreams. The lesson of collective action is important and should be picked up by everyone. Living in the lumad context of politics, economy, and culture is important, unique, and must be studied and valued. Despite the violence and massacre, the lumad still continue to take a stand for their rights by traveling from Mindanao, some 1,100 kilometers away, to make their pleas heard.

The lumad performed a sacrificial ritual in between, what they said was asking permission for the land to allow them to tread the earth they are standing on. They killed a live chicken and spilled its blood on the AS steps, and the speaker elaborated on how important this ritual was and how important it is for the lumad to ask permission before they do anything to new land.

They also danced and played the budyong, and let people join them in the festive dance. I missed a little bit of what happened before this as I got hungry and bought lunch a bit away.

I guess, this is my plea to anyone reading this: 

Let us stand beside our lumad brothers and sisters in their fight for equality and  justice from, and recognition by, the government. A government should be taking care of its own people, not fostering the interest of other countries. Globalization and internationalization are inevitable, yes, however, there is a limit to this and if that desire for “progress and development” tramples the rights and lives of the minority, then it is no true way to achieve progress and development. Progress and development do not solely lie on globalization and internationalization, and these two processes entail destruction in this instance–destruction and desecration of ancestral land, of the environment, of peaceful lives, of culture, of an entire country. 

If a government cannot even play its first and most important role of protecting and serving its people, then of what use is it? Noynoy Aquino has done nothing but put the interests of foreigners–of the West, of the United States–above everything else, above the rights of the Filipino people most of all, the very people he was supposed to be putting first. His term is nearing its end and we have heard of no claims of acknowledgement, much less accountability, from him–not from the tragedy of the SAF44, not from the first few waves of the extrajudicial killings that occurred during his term. We have heard more about the so-called martyrdom of his parents in the past six years than we have the death of the Filipino under his rule. 

STAND WITH THE LUMAD IN THEIR FIGHT TO BE HEARD! WE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS SUFFERING ALL THE SAME UNDER THIS CORRUPT SYSTEM. HOW IS THEIR VOICE ANY LESS THAN YOURS? 

We also currently need donations for the lumad residing in the kampuhan in UP Diliman for the week. Blankets, clothes, food, drink, slippers, any form of donation will be welcomed. The kampuhan can be found near the College of Human Kinetics, near the Vanguard. Please help our fellow Filipino. Let’s not ignore the murders and injustices happening right under our very noses.

[silahis]

upcoming and ongoing activities

sources: 

Manilakbayan 2015 Brochure

this post

handouts i got from Manilakbayan sa UST

[ruscano]

Photos from #Manilakbayan2015 (October 29, Kampuhan, UP Diliman)

“For us, nature is like our mother and father who provide us with everything we need: life, food, and other things essential for us to survive, that is why we will defend with our blood, with our lives, our land. If defending our land, our life, is a crime then call me a criminal. I will never surrender because surrendering means giving up the struggle of our tribe, our people, the struggle to defend our rights, our life."

-- Datu Guibang Apoga-Ata (Manobo tribal chieftain in Talaingod, Davao del Norte and 2009 Gawad Bayani ng Kalikasan Awardee)

[vladgonzales-blog]

[emaboles]

Di lang gwapo, may pinaglalaban pa! Alex Medina (@alexvmedina) is one with the Lumad and the different sectors of our society in calling for peace and justice in Mindanao! #StopLumadKillings #SaveOurSchools #Manilakbayan2015 (at UP College Of Human Kinetics)

[1872ph]

#MANILAKBAYAN2015

The lumad are now currently in UP Diliman. I wasn’t there but I will be passing through sometime this week.

It was raining earlier today in Marikina, so I’m not sure about the situation there right now but please if you can:

bring food, clothing, maybe umbrellas, slippers, and other donations in kind for our brothers and sisters

visit them to know more about their story

if you cannot be physically present, use the hashtags #StopLumadKillings and #Manilakbayan2015 to raise awareness, share messages or news articles, anything, for our lumad brethren

We need you now more than ever. Let’s fight alongside the lumad for justice and accountability. Let’s fight with our brothers and sisters for the government to stop the murders and massacre of our fellow Filipinos in Mindanao!

[ruscano]

mga awit ng hinanakit na kami lamang ang nakaririnig. mga sigaw na umaagaw sa'yong pansin na kami lamang ang nakatatanaw. pinuno ka ba? o hamak na bulag, bingi, at tatanga-tanga?

an open poem to the Aquino administration

[abagat]

PHOTOS by D.Ayroso/Bulatlat.com: 1 - CLOSURE NOTICE 2 - Lumad leaders in front of the NCIP office, after posting a closure sign on its door 3 - ‘BENTADOR NG KATUTUBO.’ Protesters scoffed at the NCIP sign about a mini-trade fair. Lumád protesters ‘shut down’ NCIP

By DEE AYROSO | Bulatlat.com MANILA – Hundreds of Lumád stormed the office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in Quezon City on Oct. 29, calling for the abolition of the agency and repeal of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (Ipra) which created the agency 18 years ago. The protesters, led by the Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu) and the #Manilakbayan2015, said the NCIP had only served government counterinsurgency programs that attack the indigenous peoples who defend their ancestral territories. “Far from protecting the Lumad, the NCIP is the primary arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in depriving indigenous peoples of their rights,” said Jomorito Goaynon, or Datu Imbanwag, Kalumbay chairperson and first nominee of the Sulong Katribu partylist. In a symbolic shutting down of the agency, a group of Lumád leaders posted a notice of closure at the NCIP office door on the 2nd floor of the N.Dela Merced building along West Avenue. “Let it be known here today that the Lumád is closing this office, on charges that it has been the Aquino administration’s tool to legitimize militarization, Lumád killings and the formation of paramilitaries that commit human rights violations,” said Goaynon. A brief commotion ensued when a security guard at the ground floor reached for his sidearm to stop the Lumád leaders from coming in. This angered the protesters, and the guard tried to run away, but was pursued. He eventually raised his arms to yield, and the heated protesters then subsided. “We only want to talk, because we are being killed in our communities, and you will try to pull out a gun on us?” said Aida Seisa, Bagobo leader of Southern Mindanao. Kakay Tolentino of Katribu scoffed at the sign outside the NCIP office, about a mini-fair and “showcase” of indigenous products. “Bentador ng katutubo (traitor to the indigenous), that’s what NCIP is, selling us out to foreign, mining and power companies,” she said. ‘Tool vs indigenous peoples’ During the program outside the NCIP, Lumád leaders from various Mindanao regions spoke about how the NCIP had tried to bribe, threaten and coerce Lumad tribes to manipulate the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) process in favor of projects of big foreign companies in mining, energy, and agribusiness. Minda Dalinaw, Kaluhhamin secretary general, said the NCIP officials in Sultan Kudarat branded Lumád leaders as New People’s Army supporters because they refused to give FPIC on a mining project. The Lumad leaders said not only has the NCIP kept silent on the human rights violations, in many cases, NCIP offcials are complicit with the AFP and some local officials in the formation of Lumád paramilitary groups which conduct terror operations in communities opposed to such projects. A total of 72 indigenous peoples have been killed under President Aquino’s term, 58 of them Lumád. In its enactment, Ipra was hailed as a landmark legislation that will recognize the ancestral domains of indigenous tribes. Under the Ipra, the NCIP is mandated to facilitate the FPIC process to ensure that the will of the indigenous peoples are followed in a project that is intended to be implemented in ancestral domains. “Its (Ipra’s) very existence is an insult, for the Lumad owned their ancestral lands from the beginning, and have no obligation to comply with expensive state-imposed procedures that give bogus recognition to the rights of the Lumád,” Goaynon said.

[silahis]

Kapag namulat ka sa katotohanan, mapapaisip ka kung nag-iisip ba talaga sila.

Bato-bato sa langit. 

[kattt-c]

“Hindi sila papayag na matuto ang mga Lumad dahil hindi na nila ito maloloko.”

Nakipag kwentuhan kami sa mga Lumad kahapon sa Kampuhan, Liwasang Bonifacio. Nakakalungkot at ganito tinatrato ng gobyerno ni Aquino ang mga katutubong taga-Mindanao para lang sa mga dayuhan na minero.

Ito ba ang tuwid na daan na pinangako mo?

[abagat]

PHOTOS: 1 - (Photo courtesy of Manila Today) 2 - BUSY HUB. Different Lumad organizations hold group discussions inside makeshift classrooms. (Photo by D.Ayroso/Bulatlat.com) 3 - Inside the Museo Lumad (Photo by D.Ayroso/Bulatlat.com) 4 - LESSONS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM. UP students discuss with a Lumad leader (Photo by D.Ayroso/Bulatlat.com) 5 - UP Chancellor Michael Tan joins the community dancing at the cultural thanksgiving night on Oct. 30 (Photo courtesy of K.Artiaga/Philippine Collegian) 6 - Visitors take pictures in Manobo standees (Photo by D.Ayroso/Bulatlat.com) 7 - Beauty queen Venus Raj at the Kampuhan (Photo by Kilab Multimedia) #Manilakbayan2015 turns UP grounds into cultural, political hub

By DEE AYROSO | Bulatlat.com MANILA – What used to be an area for running and other PE classes in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in Quezon City has been converted into a cultural plaza for indigenous peoples, Moro, activists, youths and the general public. The “Kampuhang Bayan” of the Manilakbayan ng Mindanao turned the grounds of the College of Human Kinetics into a buzzing hub where the 18 Lumád tribes, Moros, peasants, workers, rights defenders, artists, UP students and the common folk came together to share stories, songs, and dances. More than just listening to the shocking stories of human rights violations of Mindanaoans, most visitors also expressed support to the struggle to defend ancestral lands and right to self-determined development. The Kampuhan was set up on Oct. 26 as base for the Manilakbayan, courtesy of the UP community. Blue laminated sacks formed the walls and roofs of makeshift huts. These are sleeping areas for the “lakbayanis” during the night, but are transformed into informal classrooms during the day, where students and other folks gather and discuss with the Lumád and Mindanao activists. On Oct. 30 alone, some 2,000 visitors went to the Kampuhan. Although many of the UP students were sent there as class requirement by their professors, many find the eyeballing with the Lumád a new experience, as they walk out of the camp, feeling more informed, more inspired to act on problems that afflict the country. One UP student who visited the camp said, “In my one-hour stay there, I learned more than what I did during a whole semester of classes.” Unity plaza A Manobo higante stood near the entrance, greeting visitors. The Museo Lumád showcased several indigenous items, such as the musical instruments kudlong and agong, and weapons such as the pana and kampil. Various workshops led by sectoral groups – in paralegal work, dance, music, even parcour – took place during the day, in which UP students, Lumád and visitors joined in. Inside the UP Gym, members of UP’s pride, the Fighting Maroons gave time to teach Lumad kids basketball basics. Showbiz personalities were among the visitors, such as Venus Raj, Dong Abay, Lolita Carbon and Manobo musician Bayang Barrios, who all expressed solidarity with the call to #StopLumadKillings, pull out soldiers from communities and disband paramilitary groups. For two nights, on Oct 29 and 30, cultural solidarity nights turned the Kampuhan into a variety show of OPM-tribal-alternative music, with speeches, songs and skits performed by leaders, Lumád children, and Manila-based musicians. Progressive UP students groups were also present to lend a hand in camp management, security and hosting of cultural programs. Sticking to its activist tradition, the UP community had earlier welcomed the protest caravan in its different campuses in Tacloban, Leyte and Los Baños, Laguna, and finally, hosting the Kampuhan in Diliman. Where the activists are, so are the state forces. The Philippine Collegian reported that two Quezon City police men were seen at Quezon Hall on Oct. 28, during a candle-lighting activity of UP students with Manilakbayan. On Oct. 23, while the protest caravan was en route to Manila, six military agents were also seen tailing activists making the preparations for the Kampuhan. The Kampuhang Bayan is set to be dismantled tomorrow, Oct.31. It will transfer to Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila where it will stay until Nov. 22.

[silahis]

Manilakbayan ng Mindanao is a people’s caravan and mobilization from the rural communities of Mindanao to the heart of Manila to seek immediate action on the killings of Lumad in the name of militarization and plunder by big mining and plantations.

You are invited to be one with us in the MANILAKBAYAN NG MINDANAO 2015.

Download the Manilakbayan Brochure