The leaders and
elders of various indigenous peoples’ tribes in Davao del Norte are calling for
the immediate release of their fellow tribesmen who are being held in the Haran compound of the United Church of Christ in the
Philippines (UCCP) in Davao
City
In its Resolution
No. 2, series of 2015, the Office of the Tribal Assembly of Elders/Leaders of
the Langilan Manobo tribe aired its concern about the “miserable situation” of
their constituents who, it said, were deceived by militant organizations into going
to the Haran compound on Father Selga
Street ,
Davao City
The notarized
resolution, which bears the signatures and thumbprints of 60 tribal leaders and
elders, strongly condemned these militant organizations for bringing and
padlocking the IPs in Haran
Specifically
mentioned in the resolution were the following organizations: National
Democratic Front (NDF), Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s
Army (NPA), Karadyawan-Kapalong, Karapatan, Pasaka Regional Lumad
Confederation, Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), Gabriela, Alliance
of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Salugpungan Ta Tanu Community Learning Center,
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas-Southern Mindanao Region (KMP-SMR), Mindanao
InterFaith Services Foundation Inc. (MISFI) and Exodus.
Pointing out that
it is the responsibility of the entire tribe to look after the safety and
welfare of its members who are being oppressed, the tribal leaders and elders
said their call for their tribesmen’s immediate release was in response to the
complaints of their relatives.
In its
resolution, the Manobo tribal council said “innocent families were deceitfully
brought” to Haran by militant groups “who
promised them some remuneration for their attendance in Davao City
According to
earlier reports, various IP tribes in Davao del Norte and other provinces were
asked to go to Davao
City
“Instead they
were used as marchers during the rallies instigated by the militant
organizations,” the tribal council said in its resolution.
The council
unanimously decided to send the resolution to the office of the Haran-UCCP
compound, with copies provided the Committee on Indigenous Peoples of Congress,
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Department of Justice (DOJ),
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Commission on Human
Rights.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/08/26/tribal-leaders-elders-call-for-release-of-detained-ips/
And so the propaganda/psychological warfare between the military and communist front organizations continues unabated over the status of the IPs in the UCCP Haran Compound in Davao City. Best guess is that the Philippine military is behind this "Resolution No. 2" of the Office of the Tribal Assembly of Elders/Leaders of the Langilan Manobo tribe. If it's not the military then a good alternate guess would be that Rep. Nancy Catamoco might be behind this move. She confronted and called out the CPP front leaders/organizations for holding the IPs against their will.
ReplyDelete