T’bolis People Decry Government Inaction, Harassment By Consunji Guards In Philippines

Indigenous Peoples belonging to the T’boli tribe in Brgy. Ned. Lake Sebu, South Cotabato decry resent government inaction of their almost two decade-long that they (will) be allowed to live peacefully inside their ancestral territories.

Datu Victor Danyan, Chairperson of the T’boli-Manubo Sdaf Claimants Organization (TAMASCO) speaking in the dialect said that “the government is hurting us more by not listening and by not respecting our decisions not to allow mining or any other so-called development projects in our ancestral land”.

Tension gripped anew in sitio Datal Bonlangon, Brgy. Ned, when armed men with high powered rifles believed to be company guards of the Consunji-owned Silvicultural Industries (SII) were seen frequenting their village, fearing that violence will erupt soon as the lumads vowed to defend their land by all possible means.

SII operates the Dawang Coffee Plantation by virtue of its Industrial Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) awarded by the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in 1992. The permit will expire on 2016.

Danyan laments that “for 18 years, we have been respectful of various government programs like appropriating our ancestral lands into an Agrarian Reform area despite our objection.”

“We accepted DAR’s program in order for us to acquire a tenurial instrument just so we may have peace in our ancestral territories. But the government through its agencies, the DENR and NCIP, has allowed Consunji to incessantly intrude in our lands”.

For Danyan, 18 years of waiting for the government to do something about the intrusion is more than long enough but they have continued to hope for appropriate government interventions.

“And now comes these drilling activities of another Consunji-owned company for coal mining. This government is ramming their version of development into our throat despite our opposition, this is already too much” Danyan added speaking in a local dialect.

Government hurting them

Indigenous peoples rights’ advocates echoed Danyan’s sentiments saying that the government has continued to turn a blind eye on the plight of the Tbolis in Barangay Ned.

“It seems that the government finds it difficult to respect the decision of the community not to allow the Consunjis and San Miguel Corporation to mine their ancestral domains” said Sister Susan Bolanio, OND of HESED Foundation.

HESED and the Legal Rights and Natural Resources (LRC-KsK/FoE Phils) as well as the Social Action Center of Marbel have been assisting TAMASCO in its campaign to reclaim and devloped their ancestral lands. TAMASCO has already filed an application for CADT in 2002.

“We appeal to the new administration to respect the decision of TAMASCO. For the T’bolis the coal mining projects are unacceptable and detrimental to their lives and livelihoods. We are saddened by the fact that the government is quick at fast tracking large-scale extractive projects but is attending to the needs of the indigenous peoples at a snail pace. ” said Rosalinda Latonio of LRC-KsK/FoE Phils.

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Map location of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, Philippines