The date November 23, when Philippine government representatives and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) signed a joint statement for the possible resumption of peace talks, is significant, says a peace and human rights observer.
For Lumad students, she was called ‘Ino Bai’, their term for elderly or grandmother, whom they encountered over the past seven years and helped them understand their campaign to defend their Lumad schools and ancestral land.
As the first ever woman chieftain of the tribe, Bigkay was credited for uniting, empowering, and rallying the Lumad across villages to stand up to the loggers.
Only four people died from Sunday’s bombing of a gymnasium at the Mindanao State University, but some news reports and social media blogs wrongly said eleven had died.
In a rally held in Davao’s Freedom Park, the activists led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan raised sectoral issues which they say embody the struggle of Bonifacio for freedom for the people.