No indigenous tribe/ancestral domain in Mandaue City - II

Drawing some spark from Abraham Lincoln’s “with malice towards none and charity to all”, one hopes that the insistence of the smattering few Alimaong plotters – as later disowned by the Mindanao boss Robert Palma (Datu Dimantag) – ought to cut them off the tracks pronto.

Sticking to backseat presence in SP sessions as ubiquitous and uninvited observers does not sit well with the normal odds for success. Instead, it only evolves into embarrassing situations of further becoming innocent victims of a possible hoax.

Their reliance on Section 16 of the DILG memo inre RA 8371 could be misplaced, that is, to “participate fully at all matters which may affect their rights, lives, and destinies through procedures determined by them”. This general statement is a “participatory” principle in democracy, not a “blank check” for any citizen/group to participate at any time and in any manner, in deliberative bodies, like, the LGUs. This is what Councilor Suico was driving at in his privileged speech. He could be right that for the “impostors to invade… this legislative body is for the SP to be remiss in their sworn duties in allowing misrepresentations…”

He got riled by the letter of Vicente Gonzales Jr. demanding to avail of the privileges under RA 8371 for indigenous cultural communities/indigenous people (ICC/IP), when it indorsed Dr. Milagros L. Cañete as IP representative to sit as member of the SP and her son, Dr. Paulus Mariae Cañete as IP representative to the Office of the Mayor.

Made the butt of criticism as allegedly vocal in not recognizing them, Councilor Suico’s privileged speech on January 5, 2011, explained the proper protocol of the law inre the City Council, composed of the City Vice-Mayor as presiding officer, 10 elected plus 2 ex-oficio members. Further there may be three sectoral members, one from the women sector, another from agricultural or industrial workers, and also one from other sectors including urban poor/indigenous cultural communities/ disabled persons, pursuant to RA 7160, as amended.

Councilor Suico clarified that official entry into or membership in the SP isn’t done by barging in, without going through the whole process to comply with the legal procedures.

This legal issue wasn’t fully discussed in the previous piece, because what one intentionally had chosen to impact right off is the fact of no indigenous tribe and no ancestral domain found in Mandaue City. The local Alimaong has been disowned by the main Alimaong group of Mindanao. Besides, since the facts on the ground in Mandaue City have shown that there are no indigenous tribe/ancestral domain and no ICC/IP, none could qualify under the law (RA 8371).

Section 16 of RA 8371, on the Right to Participate in Decision-Making affecting the rights, lives, and destinies, etc. is, to repeat, a general statement that can’t be implemented per se. The statute does not provide the manner of “participation”, the qualifications of the “participants”, the factual and legal bases on the existence of ICCs/IPs in LGUs where to apply, just to cite some essential factors. Can just any group without any trace or proof of ICC/IP presence and, without existing ancestral domain, qualify and demand such participation?

While the last sentence of Section 16 mentions mandatory participation in local decision-making and legislative bodies, the State has not so provided a clear and definite process or procedure. Even invoking Art. 457 of RA 7160, as amended, is still vague and incomplete, because it’s not in all LGUs that indigenous tribes/ancestral domains do exist now.

Incidentally, one did informal interviews with much elder Mandauehanons, mostly in interior barrios. Except for the then Aetas consisting of a family or two, and were merely migrants, one’s octogenarian friends are saying that no minority native tribes with ancestral domain ever lived in Mandaue.

(P.S.: Sincere greetings to Paping Sanchez on his birth anniversary today, and wishing him more blessings. Never mind the age.)

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