Family and close friends of Herme Alegre attend his burial on Sunday, July 24 in Sitio Kahusayan, Barangay Manuel Guianga, Tugbok district, Davao City. Alegre is the second tribal leader who was killed by unidentified armed men in the village. The first victim was Datu Dominador Diarog who was killed in April 29, 2008. (Contributed photo)
DAVAO CITY — More than a hundred residents of Barangay Manuel Guianga here attended the burial of Herme Alegre, a tribal school officer who was killed in an attack by armed men on their way home from a meeting last July 15.
Alegre, 32, a resident of Sitio Diolo, was buried Sunday, July 24 in Sitio Kahusayan, Barangay Manuel Guianga, Tugbok District here. Alegre died after they were shot at by unidentified persons on their way home from a meeting called by the National Commission on the Indigenous People in Barangay Tagakpan on July 15.
His companion, Danny Diarog, 31 survived the attack, but the human rights group, Karapatan, said he is still in critical condition. They were boarding a motorcycle when they were fired at by armed men riding in tandem.
Jay Apiag, spokesperson of Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of Human Rights told Davao Today in an interview, that Alegre attended the meeting with the NCIP as a substitute for his brother in law, tribal chieftain Marcelo Guillego, Sr., of Barangay Diolo.
In 2014, the entire village members of Sitio Diolo evacuated to Sitio Kahusayan after the members of a local religious group allegedly took their land. After a year of staying in Sitio Kahusayan, residents of Sitio Diolo were able to regain their land.
Alegre, who is fondly called as Gaga in the community, is one of the leaders in Sitio Diolo. His friends and family remember him as someone who always reminded them to defend their ancestral domain.
Alegre is also the Parent-Teachers-Community Association of the Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanugon Learning Center in the community, while Diarog is the vice chairperson of the Kahugpungan sa Lumad and the tribal chieftain of Sitio Kahusayan.
Alegre’s wife, Rubelyn Guillego said he is a Lumad from Davao del Norte. In 2007, he went to Barangay Tamayong in Calinan District, to work in a banana plantation. Guillego is a Klata from Sitio Diolo.
Alegre is survived by his wife and their young children, the eldest is 4 years old and the youngest is 7 months old.(davaotoday.com)
Datu Marcelo Guillego, the tribal leader of Sitio Diolo, speaks during the burial of Herme Alegre. Guillego was supposed to be attending the meeting called by the NCIP, but he was sick during the time and Alegre attended on his behalf.
Some foreign delegates of the International Conference for People’s Rights in the Philippines attended the tribute program held for Lumad leader Herme Alegre in Sitio Kahusayan, Barangay Manuel Guianga, Tugbok district in Davao City. The conference supported the call for the end in the attacks against the Lumad who are defending their ancestral lands.
Relatives and friends of Herme Alegre pay their last respect before he is buried in Sitio Kahusayan, Barangay Manuel Guianga, Tugbok district in Davao City on Sunday, July 24.
Mourners walk towards the cemetery in Sitio Kahusayan in Barangay Manuel Guianga, Tugbok district in Davao City where Lumad leader Herme Alegre will be buried. A portion of the land with galvanized iron and pine trees is the former ancestral domain of the Klata tribe in the area which is now owned by a religious sect.
