From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 18): Tribal leaders ask Congress to address militarization, land use conversion of ancestral lands
Leaders of various national minority groups called on the House of Representatives on Tuesday to help them in the fight against land-grabbing and the militarization of their communities under the continuing implementation of Oplan Bayanihan.
Leaders include Matigsalog woman chieftain Bai Bibyaon Ligkayan Bigkay, Datu Cho Monico, Jerome Aba of Suara Bangsamoro, Minda Dalinan of the Kahugpungan ng mga Lumad sa Halayong Habagatang Mindanao, and Nenita Condez of the Salabukan Nok G’Taw Subanen.
The tribal leaders, who are part of the ongoing “Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya para sa Sariling Pagpapasya at Makatarungang Kapayapaan,” decried the continued militarization of ancestral lands through Oplan Bayanihan.
In a news briefing Tuesday, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Sarah Elago said Oplan Bayanihan, which she described as a “counterinsurgency scheme”, continues to terrorize tribal communities.
The tribal leaders also called on Congress to support the proposed two-year ban on land use conversion, saying that land use conversion has also affected ancestral lands, which are being turned into agro-industrial plantations, especially in Mindanao.
“Even our national minorities attest to the fact that land use conversion of agricultural lands is a monster that must be reined in. In this light, we urge Congress to support the 2-year land use conversion moratorium of agricultural lands, which addresses the longstanding ploy of unscrupulous landowners and real estate developers to convert prime agricultural lands for industrial, residential, and commercial purposes to escape coverage from the agrarian reform law,” Elago said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=932387
The lumad groups mentioned above appear to be Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) front organizations who are participating in the CPP propaganda/disinformation effort under the cover of the Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya para sa Sariling Pagpapasya at Makatarungang Kapayapaan” (Journey of the National Minorities for Self-Determination and Just Peace). A major objective of this propaganda campaign is to discredit the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and its OPLAN Bayanihan counterinsurgency/economic development program in order gain the support of political leaders for the complete withdrawal of military units from AFP-NPA contested lumad areas of Northern and Eastern Mindanao.
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