Nearly 2,500 Manobo and some Visayan settlers returned to their homes in twelve communities of Surigao Sur on Wednesday after living for a month in overcrowded evacuation centers.
“We are so happy to be able to celebrate Christmas in our homes and not in the incomprehensible situation of the evacuation centers,” declared a community representative during a short program in Diatagon Gym before they rode dump trucks back to their respective villages in Lianga, Tago, San Augustin, and San Miguel.
However, upon return, the lumads found their homes had been forcibly entered and ransacked, their belongings scattered anywhere like a storm had passed through, and garbage left behind. Their rice and animals were gone, their cooperative stores had been looted, and their tribal schools desecrated.
Looted. This is what remains of a cooperative store in Diatagon that was allegedly ransacked by soldiers. (Contributed photo)
“This military operation has pushed us back to zero. People from the mountains are seen as nothing but monkeys!” said one tribal elder. “We are shown no respect, as if we are not human!”
The evacuees were escorted by representatives of NGOs and religious congregations, including Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao (KALUMARAN), who were likewise dismayed by the destruction the lumads found upon return to their communities.
Among the ransacked school buildings were the nationally awarded primary schools of Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao Sur and Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development in Han-ayan, Diatagon, Lianga. These schools were developed by the community organization Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang sa Sumusunod (MAPASU) with NGO assistance. Chairs and tables were tipped over; mud, dirt, school papers, and garbage was strewn across the floors.
None of the 150 chickens left behind in the school’s brooding house remained, yet chicken feathers were found scattered near makeshift cooking areas. Goats and pigs belonging to the school and residents are believed to have been butchered by military elements. A fish pond filled with tilapia was also found empty upon return.
“This Manobo tribe’s livelihood has been deliberately destroyed by elements of the 58th IB that occupied this place for weeks. The schools and the program for sustainable agriculture the community had built up over the years was part of the tribe’s effort and expression of self-determination for their ancestral domain,” said Dulphing Ogan, Secretary General of Kalumaran. “This same scenario is repeated again and again. It is inhuman. Is the military trying to impede our right to develop our communities? Is this how the government respects the rights of indigenous peoples?”
The military operation that was conducted in Andap Valley is believed to be a clearing operation for coal and gold mining operations which are slated for the area in the future. Residents had spoken of seeing unknown individuals entering their areas, as well as being called to meetings with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples encouraging them to agree to the entrance of large-scale mining firms. Residents, however, remain overwhelmingly opposed to mining.
Kalumaran called for the cease of military operations in lumad communities saying that such operations are a pre-cursor to large-scale development projects like mining and agri-business which violate their right to self-determination. The group of indigenous peoples organizations also called for the indemnification of damages in the 12 communities of Surigao del Sur.
“We must rebuild here in Surigao del Sur and in so many other communities affected by massive militarization. We must move forward in our efforts toward sustainable agriculture, and strengthen our defense of the ancestral domain from large-scale mining,” Ogan concluded.
