MANILA, Philippines - The indigenous communities of the entire Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) stand behind the Balatoc tribe of Pasil, Kalinga that is currently waging a relentless campaign to protect their ancestral land.
“A socio-political heritage of the Cordilleras is the inter-tribe peace pact system invariably called in the local tongue among its practitioners as bodong, podon, (and) pechen. Its elements are people, territory, law and governance,†leaders of the BAMIKBA Inc. said in an open letter dated Feb. 14.
BAMIKBA is an acronym for Benguet, Apayao, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Kalinga, Baguio, and Abra which comprise CAR.
BAMIKBA is a non-stock, non-profit association registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission meant to promote the well-being of the inhabitants of CAR, among other objectives.
According to the BAMIKBA letter, signed by its president Henry Aliten, the peace pacts continue to exist and are strongly practiced by the indigenous peoples of the region.
“As such, they have rights, including obligations, relative to resources within their domain which are recognized, promoted and protected under the Constitution, national laws, and other international declarations (or) treaties,†the letter said.
It added that it is also the right of the indigenous people, locally called “binodngan,†to have priority in the exploration and exploitation of natural resources within their respective domain.