Maniago, Lady Francesca Nicole S.

H11-E

The Lumads and the Government

Thesis Statement: Lumads having a crisis to their ancestral lands due to our Presidents plan to

open their ancestral lands for a bid to the foreign investors. We can look this arising issue into

different perspectives to have a wide view about it.

I. Who are the Lumads ?

a. How did the Lumads was known politically.

b. Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997.

II. Symbolic Interactionism Perspective

a. The rally of the Lumad tribes as an eye-opener.

b. Improving the Human Rights of the IPs.

III. Conflict Theory Perspective

a. Why did the Lumads evacuate their lands?

b. A throwback to President Dutertes candidacy about the Lumads.

IV. Structural Functionalism Perspective

a. Lumads issues in their school institution.

b. The advantages in allowing foreign investors to develop their ancestral lands.

V. Symbolic Interactionism

Resolution: What should the government do in order to prevent this issue to happen again. As a

student what can we do to help fix this kind of dilemma.

Maniago, Lady Francesca Nicole S.

H11-E

The Lumads and the Government

With the imposition of martial law in Mindanao, the Lumads situation only got more

complicated. The spreading issue about President Duterte removing the Lumads from their

ancestral lands in order to give way for the foreign investors kept them from fighting again for

their rights, all in the name of living peace in their own land. We can look into this arising issue

in different perspectives: (Symbolic Interactionism) The rally of the Lumads for their crisis in

Mindanao made the eyes of the people open to further improve and implement more laws to

protect the IPs. (Conflict Theory) The forced evacuation of the Lumads due to the intensifying

military operations is just a cover up, so the land can be open for the foreign investors and that

the Lumads have no choice but to evacuate their ancestral lands. (Structural Functionalism)

Government plans to develop the Lumads ancestral domains to spur economic activity that will

help reduce poverty, improve their lives and have an adequate and appropriate social services.

Thus, it will also help them prevent their community from exploitation by the NPA.

With over 7,600 islands in the Philippines and three major island groups, it’s no

wonder that different cultural practices, traditions, and groups are present in the country. Among
the archipelago’s existing communities, there are indigenous tribes who have managed to keep

their cultural identity, despite the non-recognition and marginalization they’re facing. There are

two main ethnic groups comprising several upland and lowland indigenous tribes living within

the Philippines – from the northern and southern parts of the Philippines. The indigenous people

living in the northern part of the country are called the Igorots, whereas those non-Muslim

indigenous tribes living in the south are referred to as Lumad. The Lumads were named and

known by our country during the martial law regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. They

deemed appropriate the given name by the Cebuanos since the lumads do not have any other

common language. The word “Lumad” is a Visayan term which means “born of the earth.” They

are considered to be the original inhabitants of the island of Mindanao. The term is short for

Katawhang Lumad (literally “indigenous peoples”), the autonym officially adopted by the

delegates of the Lumad Mindanaw Peoples Federation (LMPF). ( Rappler, August 9, 2017 )

This grew out of a political awakening among tribes during the martial law regime of

President Marcos. The main objective on identifying the Lumads was to achieve self-

determination and governance for their member-tribes within their ancestral domain in

accordance with their culture and customary laws. In 1989, the President Corazon Aquino, used

the term "lumad" in Republic Act No. 6734 — which sets an organic act to govern the

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) — to differentiate them from the

Bangsamoro people (CNN PH, 2015). Since Lumads are found in Mindanao and it is known as

a home to the largest population of Indigineous People (IP), where there has been long-standing

armed conflict. The Philippine government passed the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997

which was signed by President Fidel Ramos, it aims to protect and recognize the rights of
indigenous peoples (Rappler, 2017). This law freely made the Lumads remain in their original

ancestral lands as they preserve their cultural practices and traditions. Despite being protected by

the law there are still issues left unsolved, including their right for inclusion. The Lumads faced

many challenges in the context of development, peace and security and human rights.

(Symbolic Interactionism) The Lumads are being discriminated, belittled and taken

advantage of politics. Because of their multitude struggles, the Lumad tribes travelled to Manila

to have a light rally. It is a call to stop alleged military attacks in their communities and taking

their land. The natural abundance of their ancestral domains make them prone to being taken

advantage of, or worse, displaced entirely. With this indigenous movement, it became an eye –

opener for the non-indigenous people to give attention to the Philippine natives. The reason why

they are now talking about demanding more rights and protection for our indigenous people.

Now, they are calling the attention of the UN for the proper implementation of IPRA and the

improvement of the social services given to IPs

(Conflict Theory) The Lumad have a traditional ancestral concept of land ownership,

for them their lands is sacred – it is the future of their children, this is where their ancestors are

buried, this is their identity, the land that their ancestors fought for. That is why it is very

questionable why they left their lands just like that. There are many comments as to why the

Lumads left their homes, it might be because of the military presence in the area, NPA threat, or

maybe because their place was known “CPP-NPA influenced area”, but the most intriguing one

is that our President threatened to bomb the Lumad communities. Well if that’s the case then the

Lumads have no choice but to evacuate their community even if it is leaving their crops they
toiled over and their animals being left behind and die in hunger. I can’t imagine how

disappointed the Lumads are when they heard President Duterte stated that he will bomb their

community, more particularly the schools. Before, they look up to the President as their “savior”,

in his candidacy he said words about protecting them and returning them to their homes at a time

when the entire Lumad communities were being displaced and under seige. It was President

Ninoy Aquinos regime when many Lumad families seek help and was killed because of the

intensified military operations in some places in Mindanao. That is why when President Duterted

had a meeting with the Lumad Leaders for his plan opening Lumad land to investors in a bid for

their sake, they rejected and said that it was just an excuse of the government to sell and plunder

their ancestral lands.

(Structural Functionalism) The Lumads are considered as the one of the poorest

minority group. They do not have access to adequate and appropriate forms of social services

like education and health. However, they construct their own schools where they discuss their

own customs and laws, although they established it in areas that are not accessible to traditional

educational institutions. These schools have been accused teaching students to rebel against the

government and having a close ties with communist rebels. Hearing this, the President threatened

to drop explosives down the schools if they continued to operate. Some local news stated that

lumads are becoming to join the NPA against the government. In solving this, the President plan

to open for investors to bid on the ancestral lands of the Lumads, the President also stated that he

will personally choose the investors. Allowing the investors to develop their ancestral lands will

protect the indigenous peoples from being exploited and influenced by communist rebels. In this

they could regulate their schools and protect the youth by ensuring they get proper education in
line with the respect for law. The investors would provide jobs for the Lumads, and hunger

would be reduced. In this kind of development, the NPA can no longer influence them nor harm

them. Any basic needs that the Lumads have struggles before can now be provided and

controlled by the government.

In order to put an end to this issue that became a cycle for years already, the

government need to come up with a framework for peace and development for the Lumad tribes.

The framework should aim to reduce poverty, improve governance and empower communities

through projects that enhance peace and socioeconomic conditions. The government should also

invite the UN office to talk about implementing more rights for the indigenous peoples and to

visit the affected areas and report on what is seen and make the appropriate recommendations.

Adding up to this, it will give a great assurance for the community of Lumads to make sure that

no further killings will happen while putting an end of this situation. As for the supporters and

campaigners of the corporate mining industries and mono-crop plantations should refuse the

offer from the government. For sure they are now aware about the current issues on Lumads.

For us students with little money, there are simple but impactful ways that we could

do. We can actively join in campaigns against these inhumane killings. We could write articles,

like this, and share it with newspaper companies, or put it on our blogs. We could organize

different forums and events to address the unacceptable actions, and to spread awareness of these

evils. We could donate any amount that could help Lumads in their daily living. We should be

volunteers to help the young Lumads achieve quality education. We could do a lot of things to

help in every little way. We just have to always believe that a bright future will come for the
Lumads and for us. If we have the heart to lend a helping hand and the guts to fight for the

Lumads, we can achieve a bright and peaceful future.

Reference…

 Displaced Lumads of Mindanao. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2015/09/displaced-lumads-mindanao-

150929074732377.html

 Rappler.com. (n.d.). What the Lumad are fighting for. Retrieved from

https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/181323-lumad-philippines-stories-photos-issues

 Lumad News and Analysis on Intercontinental Cry. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://intercontinentalcry.org/indigenous-peoples/lumad/

 Nera, P. (n.d.). Understanding the Lumad. Retrieved from

http://www.tebtebba.org/index.php/content/212-understanding-the-lumad

 Lozano, T. (2016, March 01). Toto Lozano. Retrieved from https://www.mindanews.com/photo-

of-the-day/2016/03/lumad-rally/

 Ijjasz-Vasquez, E. (2017, August 09). Three reasons why we should all care about Indigenous

Peoples. Retrieved from http://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/three-reasons-why-we-should-all-care-

about-indigenous-peoples

 (n.d.). Retrieved from http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/edumat/studyguides/indigenous.html

 PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.pressreader.com/
 GMA News Online. (1970, January 01). Lumads 'bullied' into joining NPA, says group.

Retrieved from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/71048/lumads-bullied-into-

joining-npa-says-group/story/