The indigenous peoples of the Malaysian state of Sarawak have to contend with forces of tradition and development that often clash. The resultant cultural, economic and political stirrings are not unlike what the Lumads in Mindanao go through. Davao Today associate editor Germelina A. Lacorte, who spent weeks in Sarawak earlier this year as part of her journalism fellowship with the Southeast Asia Press Alliance, chronicles the struggles of our neighboring tribes.
The Bagobo-Tagabawas, a tribe in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, fear not only their displacement if an Aboitiz-owned power company succeeded in building a power plant in Tudaya. Ultimately, their leaders say, the children will pay the price. Text and photos by Davao Today?s Germelina A. Lacorte.
Related story: The Ritual at Tudaya Falls
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A giant power company plans to build a hydroelectric plant in Tudaya, a village in Davao del Sur. Proponents of the project said the plant would “not only offer solution to the power crisis in the offing, but at the same time provide livelihood opportunities and other benefits to the communities.” The Lumads in the area, however, are up in arms, claiming that the plant would desecrate Tudaya Falls, which is their worship ground, and destroy their way of life. They also accuse Hedcor, the power company, of misleading members of the tribe. They expressed their opposition to the project by holding a sacred ritual last week. Davao Today?s Cheryll D. Fiel was there.
