Manobos seek justice in land dispute over Bukidnon ancestral domain
MANILA, Philippines — The Manobo-Pulangiyon community in Bukidnon is calling for help as they seek justice following the shooting incident on Tuesday.
The group was met with gunshots when they took Partido Lakas ng Masa candidates Leody De Guzman, Roy Cabonegro, and David D’Angelo to visit their ancestral domain, which is subject to a land dispute.
"Ang panawagan namin ay maibalik sa amin ang aming ancestral domain at panagutan ang nangyayari sa amin. Kahit anong ahensya ng gobyerno ang makatulong sa amin ay hinihingi namin ang kanilang tulong," Datu Tigis Liwanan, a village elder and “Bagani” (warrior), said during their press conference on Thursday.
(We want to get our ancestral domain back and we want people to be held accountable for what is happening to our community. We are asking for help from whatever government agency that can extend assistance.)
On Tuesday, they wanted to reoccupy four hectares of their 900-hectare land. Members of the Manobo community have been sleeping in make-shift houses by the side of the road and children have been hit by passing vehicles.
Five individuals ended up getting hit by bullets, although none of them sustained fatal injuries, on Tuesday.
Datu Didilusan Arroyo, a village elder and one of those wounded in the incident, said that more people were also hit by the gunshots but their wounds were not as bad.
After the incident, they said, some members of their community sought shelter elsewhere in fear that the guards would go after them.
Laban ng Masa, meanwhile, said they will start a fundraising campaign for the community to help with their needs.
The Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-determination on Thursday said what happened was “all too reminiscent of the late Datu Renato Anglao,” who was killed as he tried to reclaim the lands owned by the Manobo-Pulangiyon people in January 2017.
On filing cases, paperwork
The group blamed Bukidnon Mayor Pablo Lorenzo III, who they claimed the so-called “blue guards” involved in the shooting worked for. The lease of Kiantig Development Corp., which has been linked to Lorenzo, on the Manobo community’s land allegedly expired in 2018.
Lorenzo, in an interview with the ABS-CBN, said he does not know details of what happened and said he is no longer affiliated with the company.
The Manobo community said they had tried to assert their rights over their ancestral domain by filing papers, but authorities made them go around in circles.
“Lahat ng mga ni-recommend, ginawa namin ang legal na proseso,” Supreme Datu Rolando Anglao said. (Everything that was recommended, we did the legal process.)
“Ayaw namin sa kaso kasi wala kaming pera. Pero nangyari na ‘yan, kailangan din naman tayo na mag-file ng kaso para malalaman rin ‘yung krimen na ginawa niya sa amin,” Datu Maalamon said, claiming that the Bukidnon mayor does not care about indigenous peoples.
(We want to avoid filing a case because we don’t have money. But since that has already happened, we also need to file a case so everyone knows about the crime he committed against us.)
The community said they already reported the incident to the Philippine National Police. The PNP on Wednesday said it is still conducting an investigation, but clarified that it is “premature to say that the motive is election-related.”
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