By DANILDA L. FUSILERO
Davao Today
“Ours was a prenda-arendo contract and we have agreed to plant organic rice only. Now, why are they forcing us to plant bananas?”– Gil Piquero, Chairperson of Kahugpungan sa mga Mag-uuma sa San Isidro
By MARILOU AGUIRRE-TUBURAN
Davao Today
“They insisted we are NPAs because we live in the mountains. But I told them that we lumads don’t live in urban areas, rather in the hinterlands because it is where we get our source of living” — Datu Tinoy Noa
By DANILDA L. FUSILERO
Davao Today
The Mindanao Lumad Alliance, Kalumaran, urges Aquino to “put an end to the killings, abuses, and military recruitment of Lumad paramilitaries in our communities that failed to bring peace and development” as it called to “stop this deception that mines, dams, and agribusiness will bring in development.”
By ALEX D. LOPEZ
Davao Today
Data from the provincial Department of Social Welfare and Development reveals that 309 families or 1,108 individuals fled and are now seeking temporary refuge in the different evacuation sites in Batulawan village and in Poblacion Pikit.
By JOHN RIZLE L. SALIGUMBA
Davao Today
“Our tribal chieftain arrived and confirmed that Totong was killed because he was mistaken for an NPA guide. He said they believed him to be in the company of seven other men and was armed with a 12-gauge shotgun” – Manuel Mabinsi, victim’s brother
By JOHN RIZLE L. SALIGUMBA
Davao Today
Dagok blocked the backhoe operator’s view as she finds this the only way she could stop the machine from gnashing its teeth on the land — the land where they have lived and tilled for years; the land they call home in Bariquit Compound, Purok 13, Bugac in Maa village.
By DANILDA L. FUSILERO
Davao Today
“Karon, bisan bugas maglisod nami palit, dili pud mi kapanguha og lagutmon sa bukid kay mahadlok mi nga masakpan sa mga sundalo (Now, we can hardly buy rice, we can’t even gather root crops for fear that soldiers might caught us)” — George, a lumad peasant in Magpet
By ALEX D. LOPEZ
Davao Today
Dubbed “Our River, Our Life,” (Orol) the campaign focuses on the two main river systems in Mindanao Island, the Agusan and the Rio Grande, which support and sustain the more than eight million inhabitants or a third of Mindanao population.
By DANILDA L. FUSILERO
Davao Today
From the statements e-mailed to the media, Communist rebels admitted killing Ansabu in Sitio Kiapat, Ganatay village in Arakan town; and Ogaw in Sitio Lumondao, Marilog village in Davao City.
By JOHN RIZLE L SALIGUMBA
Davao Today
“We couldn’t resist anymore. We were hoping that the city will help us and fight for us but we were proven wrong. Way before the demolition attempt last year though, the Mayor already told us that we lost the case and that we should self-demolish. She also never said she punched the sheriff to save us from being demolished, she was only there because she wanted the demolition to be peaceful.” — Marlene Compacino, a resident of Soliman
