DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Lumad group Pasaka said that Duterte’s cancelation of the peace talks and the all-out militarist solution and warmongering with the establishment of death squads is expected after he sought the help of paramilitary tribal leader Joel Unad.
“His recent pronouncement seeking the help of paramilitary tribal leader Joel Unad to finish the insurgency is translatable to a bloody state policy and murderous plan against indigenous people’s communities,” Jong Monzon, Pasaka secretary-general said.
“Duterte recognizes that he could not end the insurgency, yet he pushes for a futile militaristic plan with Unad which only vividly exposes Duterte’s role as the patron of environmental and economic plunderers in IP communities especially in surrounding areas in the Pantaron range,” Monzon added.
Tribal dealer
Joel Unad serves as the Chairman of the Mindanao Indigenous People’s Conference for Peace and Development (MIPCPD) who was accused by Pasaka as “a fake tribal leader who claims thousands of hectares through the faulty Certificate of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADT).”
Formed in 2016 during the Arroyo administration, the MIPCPD was part of the security program Oplan Bantay Laya 2 in the same year the 10th Infranty Division (10th ID) was established under the supervision of the Eastern Mindanao Command. Its office is located inside the Eastern Mindanao Command in Camp Panacan here.
“These ancestral domains at present are under threat of big-business plantations, mining, and logging among other forms of plunder. While the vast marginalized Lumads suffer the worsening economic conditions and gross neglect of government, Unad enjoys the millions of bribe coming from big-companies,” Monzon said.
Monzon said that Duterte’s formation of death squad would pave way to the entry of companies in “lumad’s rich ancestral domain for mining, logging and expansion of trans-national plantations.”
“Unad, afterall has a long history of being a tribal-dealer (not a leader) bringing and defending the interest of the military and big companies,” he added. (davaotoday.com)
