Mindanao tribal leaders sign pact vs. land grabbers, armed groups

From GMA News (Feb 28): Mindanao tribal leaders sign pact vs. land grabbers, armed groups

At least 500 Bagani and Alamara tribal leaders have signed an agreement to defend and fight any armed group that will harass and try to takeover their ancestral lands in any part of Mindanao.

Datu Alim Bandara, top Alamara leader, disclosed that tribal leaders from North Cotabato, Bukidnon and Davao del Norte gathered in Barangay Kibia in Matalam, Cotabato to renew their vows as members of the Alamara and Bagani tribal group.

“We will fight any armed group that wants to take away from us our ancestral domain lands using our traditional arm to ensure protection of our tribe,” Datu Bandara told dxND Radyo Bida in interview.

“We don’t want them (armed groups) in our place especially that the 'lumads' are now living peacefully and harmoniously,” the tribal leader added during the radio interview.

Bandara claimed that aside from armed groups, wealthy businessmen have been trying to illegally claim their lands for their personal gain.

He said that a totla of 102 ancestral domains all over Mindanao have been penetrated by armed groups, including the New People's Army.

He added that villages in the towns of Matalam, President Roxas, Arakan and Magpet in North COtabato province, where the Indigenous People’s own ancestral lands, are also being threatened by the presence of the NPA.

“The Alamara and Bagani leaders decided to sign a pact following the killings of some tribal leaders in Davao Del Norte and Caraga region,” Bandara said.

He said that tribal leaders present during the covenant signified their intentions to fight armed groups in their respective areas.

Bandara, however, clarified that they will not use firearms in their fight against armed groups.

“We don’t own guns but we will defend our territory using traditional arms blessed by our gods,” he said.

The tribal leaders concluded the one-day gathering with the Pakkat’kalo, a tribal ceremony of blessing of all weapons used in farming and even in fights.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/557077/news/regions/mindanao-tribal-leaders-sign-pact-vs-land-grabbers-armed-groups