Opinion: A study of resource-based conflict in Western Mindanao

Opinion piece from the Sun Star-Davao (Nov 28): A study of resource-based conflict in Western Mindanao

BARANGAY Lumbac is a mountainous area and most of the residents are relying on farming as a major source of livelihood. The area is also largely planted to coconuts as a major crop. Of the 901 hectares comprising the total land area of Lumbac, about 200 hectares of these are now being contested.

Involved in the conflict are two identified parties composed of the Maranao Muslim families.

In an effort to come up with a conflict analysis that would aid endeavors in conflict transformation, the Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits (EcoWeb) undertook a case study of Mr. Felizardo Laborte’s story in Lumbac.

The case study took into consideration the historical information surrounding Laborte’s claims and his eventual incarceration.

Prior to the land conflict in Lumbac, there had been instances of armed conflict in the area characterized by isolated skirmishes and small incidents of armed encounter in the remote areas of the municipality in early 1970s and in year 2000.

 It was only in 2008 that widespread discontent among the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kulambogan occurred following the breakdown of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) and led to a political conflict that have caused massive evacuation among residents in Kolambugan.

The Resource Conflict Triangle. It has been said that the land conflict in Lumbac has started back in time. In a Case Study that was aimed at illustrating EcoWeb's Framework for conflict analysis and transformation “The resource conflict Triangle”, the land conflict in Lumbac was highlighted. This framework was adopted to understand the conflict dynamics toward Peace-Building.

In a brief historical background given in the case study, it was noted that the Muslims of Mindanao have already exercised political economy and economic prosperity way before the Spaniards colonization of the Philippines in1521. The Sultans ruled during that time, their political mandate emanated from their Islamic faith.

Some years later however, the displaced Maranaos returned through forceful re-entry and re-claim their lands. They discovered however that the lands were already titled by Visayan claimants.

Hence, two decades of relative peace, the Lumbac community henceforth saw a Bisayan armed group emerged and harassed the Maranao inhabitants.

A conflict over more than 200 hectares coconut lands started, involving a number of families having land titles versus actual occupants whose claim is based on ancestral, historical, traditional and actual development of the lands that they believed to own.

According to Ms. Precious of EcoWeb, after Felizardo Laborte’s release, the Provincial Governor Angging Dimaporo gave him fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) to help him start anew with his livelihood. Purportedly he used it to finance his family’s seaweeds production and is currently doing well.

Moreover, he is presently supporting the conflict transformation activities in Lumbac and had hosted twice in his home some international peace practitioners attending the annual Mindanao Peace-building Institute training.

The Resource-Based Conflict Transformation Initiatives: A Community Perspective (RCTI) is a field-based course facilitated by EcoWeb showcasing the local initiatives in resolving and transforming the violent land conflict.

EcoWEB’s case study illustrates the kind of resource-based conflict that commonly happen elsewhere in Mindanao and all over the Philippines, recognizing that the “discrimination against the Muslim and the Indigenous People emanate directly from government policies” over the centuries, and that “identity and religious differences are important markers in the conflict.”

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/opinion/2014/11/28/lumbac-study-resource-based-conflict-western-mindanao-379155