Lumads, or indigenous peoples of Mindanao, want the New People’s Army (NPA) to leave them alone.
This was the stand made by Lumad leaders at a recent dialogue with local government officials on the occasion of the “Peace Walk” held at the Provincial Capitol of Sarangani province last week.
According to the organizers, the Lumad leaders “demanded that the communist NPAs be driven out of their ancestral lands.”
The Lumads also said the NPA and other organizations should even be made to ask their permission before they enter their ancestral land.
They also condemned the recent attack staged by NPAs at Sitio Akbual, Barangay Upper Suyan when they disrupted the construction of a school building donated by Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao by assaulting troopers of the 73th Infantry Battalion and barangay officials who were guarding the project.
In a separate statement, 102nd Brigade Commander Colonel Ronald Villanueva said that the communist insurgents did not want a school building to be built in the area because they wanted the Lumads to remain uneducated.
“They can be easily recruited if they are uneducated,” Villanueva pointed out.
But this was very much against the wishes of the elderly Lumads, he added, saying that they wanted their children to have access to quality education that is duly recognized and accredited with the Department of Education (DepEd).
Villanueva said that the construction of the school building must continue without the distraction from the NPA.
Tenth Infantry Division (10th ID) commander Maj. Gen. Rafael Villanueva also expressed his support for the Lumads in Sarangani.
“Our Lumad brothers and sisters want their voices heard. They are the ones truly affected by the attacks of the NPAs. We want them to benefit from the services that the government can provide them. Thus, we cannot allow the NPAs to terrorize the Lumads,” he said.
B’laan tribesmen joined the “Peace Walk” and came from their villages located in Upper Suyan in Malapatan town and from sitios Lower Kilotong, Balataan, Basyawan of Barangay Pagasa in Alabel.
“The Lumad walk started from the sitios until they reached the covered court of Brgy. Tuyan, Malapatan, Sarangani Province,” said Capt. Ryan Batchar, Army spokesman in the region.
http://www.mb.com.ph/lumads-tell-npa-to-leave-them-alone/
This was the stand made by Lumad leaders at a recent dialogue with local government officials on the occasion of the “Peace Walk” held at the Provincial Capitol of Sarangani province last week.
According to the organizers, the Lumad leaders “demanded that the communist NPAs be driven out of their ancestral lands.”
The Lumads also said the NPA and other organizations should even be made to ask their permission before they enter their ancestral land.
They also condemned the recent attack staged by NPAs at Sitio Akbual, Barangay Upper Suyan when they disrupted the construction of a school building donated by Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao by assaulting troopers of the 73th Infantry Battalion and barangay officials who were guarding the project.
In a separate statement, 102nd Brigade Commander Colonel Ronald Villanueva said that the communist insurgents did not want a school building to be built in the area because they wanted the Lumads to remain uneducated.
“They can be easily recruited if they are uneducated,” Villanueva pointed out.
But this was very much against the wishes of the elderly Lumads, he added, saying that they wanted their children to have access to quality education that is duly recognized and accredited with the Department of Education (DepEd).
Villanueva said that the construction of the school building must continue without the distraction from the NPA.
Tenth Infantry Division (10th ID) commander Maj. Gen. Rafael Villanueva also expressed his support for the Lumads in Sarangani.
“Our Lumad brothers and sisters want their voices heard. They are the ones truly affected by the attacks of the NPAs. We want them to benefit from the services that the government can provide them. Thus, we cannot allow the NPAs to terrorize the Lumads,” he said.
B’laan tribesmen joined the “Peace Walk” and came from their villages located in Upper Suyan in Malapatan town and from sitios Lower Kilotong, Balataan, Basyawan of Barangay Pagasa in Alabel.
“The Lumad walk started from the sitios until they reached the covered court of Brgy. Tuyan, Malapatan, Sarangani Province,” said Capt. Ryan Batchar, Army spokesman in the region.
http://www.mb.com.ph/lumads-tell-npa-to-leave-them-alone/
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