DAVAO CITY – Groups of indigenous peoples on Wednesday rallied in front of the North Gate of Congress to call for the dismissal of Representative Nancy Catamco as head of the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities.
Catamco earned the ire of the protesters after her role in the operation to allegedly “rescue” the evacuees housed inside a church compound in Davao City and take them back to their communities.
Most of the IPs, however decided to stay for fear of the military occupying their lands.
The protesting groups included the Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu), Sulong Katribu Partylist, Stop the Killings of Indigenous Peoples Network and Save Our Schools Network. They also filed a letter requesting for Catamco’s dismissal.
The protesters threw packs of mud at the image of Catamco with a backdrop of caricatures of the military.
Piya Malayao, secretary general of Katribu said “Catamco has proven that she does not genuinely represent us. On the contrary, she is now an emissary of death for the Manobo evacuees. She used the local police and Alamara, a vicious paramilitary group, to instigate an unwanted rescue. She is also forcing them to return to their militarized homes, which they have escaped from due to intensified harassment by the military.”
Malayao said Catamco is “not fit to head” the said committee in Congress.
“Catamco will endanger not only the Manobo evacuees in Davao but also all IP groups in the Philippines,” she said.
“We therefore urge House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to immediately remove Rep. Catamco as the chairperson of the Committee on Indigenous Peoples. Also, we call on Speaker Belmonte to order the House Ethics Committee to immediately investigate the conduct of Catamco as a legislator,” said Malayao. (davaotoday.com)
