DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Indigenous peoples (IPs) organizations in Mindanao insists the term “Lumad” remains a valid collective identity for their communities that choose to use it.
This comes after the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and its leadership have repeatedly argued against the use of “Lumad” as a blanket term for IPs in Mindanao.
Nancy Catamco, NCIP Chairperson, said communities should instead be identified by their respective ethnolinguistic affiliations rather than using “Lumad” to refer to all IPs in Mindanao. But IP groups and advocates argue that recognizing distinct identities should not mean rejecting a collective identity indigenous communities themselves adopted.
This disagreement raises a central question: Who holds the authority to define Indigenous identity, and can a collective identity exist alongside the distinct names and cultures of individual communities?
Catamco’s position on ‘Lumad’
In a Facebook post on Oct. 22, Catamco said IPs in Mindanao have distinct histories, languages, traditions, customary laws and governance systems.
“I recognize that some Indigenous communities and organizations have embraced the term ‘Lumad’ as their collective identity. But their choice cannot automatically become the identity of every Indigenous People in Mindanao,” she wrote.
In a follow-up post on Oct. 24, Catamco urged schools, universities, media organizations and other institutions to identify specific Indigenous communities rather than assume that “Lumad” represents everyone.
She identified herself as Bagobo-Tagabawa and Ubu Monuvu of North Cotabato.
READ: Congresswoman insulted, deceived us — Lumads
Her position echoes NCIP’s 2021 Resolution No. 08-009-2021, which denounced the use of “Lumad” and encouraged the public to refer to Indigenous peoples through their respective ethnolinguistic affiliations.
This distinction matters. The question isn’t if every Indigenous community identifies as Lumad. It’s about government policy recognizing communities that still claim the term for themselves.
Indigenous groups push back
Kat Dalon, an Obo Manobo and member of Sabokahan Unity of Lumad Women, said Indigenous communities can identify through their specific ethnolinguistic affiliations while also embracing “Lumad” as a collective identity.
“Mga Manobo mi, mga Lumad mi,” Dalon told Davao Today.
(We are Manobo, we are Lumad.)
The identities are not mutually exclusive. She said Indigenous communities themselves adopted the collective term and criticized attempts to discredit it by associating it with the communist movement.
Dalon doubted that the dispute over terminology addresses the more urgent concerns facing Indigenous communities, including the effects of El Niño, threats to ancestral lands and the need to protect self-determination.
She said the NCIP should focus on concrete measures addressing them.
Not a replacement for distinct identities
Former Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat also defended “Lumad” as a collective identity that does not erase the differences among Indigenous peoples.
In her statement, Cullamat argued the term reflects solidarity among Indigenous groups facing shared struggles, including land grabbing, resource exploitation and violations of their rights.
“Unity does not mean erasing our differences,” she said in Filipino.
Cullamat said Indigenous communities retain their distinct names, languages, cultures and histories even when they use a collective identity.
She also stressed the importance of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in decisions affecting Indigenous peoples and their ancestral domains.
READ: Woman tribal leader nixes North Cotabato solon
The Indigenous peoples’ alliance Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas has raised a related concern about the NCIP’s role in government counterinsurgency efforts.
In an April 2026 statement, the group criticized the commission’s membership in the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and raised concerns about its 2021 resolution against the use of “Lumad.”
Katribu argued that associating Indigenous identity and advocacy with insurgency risks undermining legitimate assertions of Indigenous rights.
It also called for the abolition of the NCIP.
Rooted in Indigenous organizing
Ian Christian Zerrudo, a researcher at the National Museum of the Philippines, said “Lumad” gained collective political significance in 1986, when representatives of 15 Indigenous ethnolinguistic groups in Mindanao adopted it as a shared identity at a gathering in Cotabato on June 26, 1986.
The term became a way to express solidarity in struggles for ancestral land, cultural recognition and self-determination without erasing distinct ethnolinguistic identities.
Zerrudo said the term’s history cannot be reduced to the political affiliations of some groups that use it, but stressed that it should not be compulsory for every Indigenous person.
“The point is not to defend the term at all costs. Rather, it is to recognize that a collective identity can be meaningful to some communities without becoming compulsory for others,” he said.
NCIP resolution and self-identification
The debate predates Catamco’s appointment as NCIP chairperson. In 2021, the previously mentioned resolution denouncing the use of “Lumad,” Resolution No. 08-009-2021, drew criticism from Indigenous advocates who argued that “Lumad” was not simply a label outsiders imposed on communities.
“An institution cannot meaningfully defend the right of Indigenous Peoples to determine their futures while disregarding their right to determine how they identify themselves,” Zerrudo said.
He also said that consultation must not merely mean asking communities for their opinions; it must also mean allowing their expressed choices to have real consequences for institutional policy.”
For Zerrudo, Indigenous peoples should be able to define themselves through their specific ethnolinguistic affiliations, the broader identity of Lumad, or both.
The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 recognizes Indigenous peoples’ rights to their ancestral domains, cultural integrity and self-governance. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples also recognizes their right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions.(davaotoday.com)
