Congress Holds Historic Consultation with IPs in Maguindanao

Cotabato City – “We hope that this time, we will be heard, and our desires as a people will actually be considered and included in the forging of a genuine peace here in Mindanao.”

This was expressed by Timuay Alim Bandara, a Teduray leader of the Timuay Justice and Governance, in the congressional hearing held in Upi, Maguindanao.

The Committee on the National Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples of the House of Representatives conducted yesterday the first ever congressional public consultation in Upi, Maguindanao on the “Hopes and Aspirations of the Indigenous Peoples in the Bangsamoro” that gathered close to 800 participants from North and South Upi.

The six members of the committee led by Rep. Nancy A. Catamco heard the various issues and concerns of the Teduray, Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo relating to their socio-cultural, economic and political future in the Bangsamoro. The committee hoped that this discourse will prepare them in deliberating the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) once it reaches Congress.

“We all agreed that we are supporting the peace process but there are several issues that we want to clarify especially on the ancestral domains in the Bangsamoro”, said Rep. Catamco.

The Teduray, Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo in the prospective Bangsamoro are more or less 122, 327 individuals in a 201, 850-hectare unified ancestral domain claim which covers the whole area of Upi, Datu Blah Sinsuat and South Upi as well as some parts of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Shariff Aguak, Datu Hofer, Talayan, Guindulungan, Ampatuan and Datu Abdullah Sangki in Maguindanao.

17 years after the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) was signed, the delineation process still remains at the initial stage despite the problems of logging, mining and other development projects that continue to plague the indigenous communities.

Timuay Alim Bandara, the head claimant shared his fear that despite their incessant efforts to peacefully struggle for its delineation, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) specifically in the Annex on Power-Sharing, placed the ancestral domain of the indigenous peoples under the exclusive power of the Bangsamoro.

“Our participation in this public consultation is a manifestation that we are already hurt and confused”, Bandara lamented. Meanwhile, Cong. Teddy Baguilat, the vice-chair of the committee assured the indigenous peoples that “the BBL is not a hindrance to the ancestral domain delineation. We encourage the NCIP to continue with the delineation.”

This long-drawn assertion of the IPs in the proposed core territory of the Bangsamoro is a product of raising the stakes in the peace process and making it more inclusive. Along this line, Timuay Labi Sannie Bello of the Timuay Justice and Governance (TJG) ended with an appeal that this politically-negotiated settlement made to address the historical injustices done to the Bangsamoro peoples will likewise correct the injustices done to the Indigenous Peoples through the passage of time.

The consultation was hosted by the local government of Upi led by Mayor Ramon Piang, Sr. The Committee will hold further public consultations in Midsayap and Davao on June 25 and 26, respectively.

Press Release
June 25, 2014

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