Name: Wilianne Hannah A.

Gabucan
Course & Sec: MMA 201
Full name of Course: Bachelor of Multimedia Arts
Professor: Sir Jumel Estrañero

Lumads' Condition and Globalization Issues in Mindanao

I. Introduction
In the Southern Philippines, the Lumad are a tribe of Austronesian indigenous people. It
is a word from Cebuano that means "native" or "indigenous" The term is short for Katawhang
Lumad, an autonymous assembly which was formally adopted by the delegates of the Lumad
Mindanao Peoples Federation (LMPF) at the Guadalupe Forming Centre, Balindog, Kidapawan,
Cotabato, Philippines, on 26 June 1986. It is the self-ascription and collective identity of
Mindanao's indigenous peoples. During President Ferdinand Marcos' martial law regime, the
name Lumad grew out of the political awakening among tribes. The members and affiliates of
Lumad-Mindanao, a coalition of all-Lumad local and regional organizations that formalized
itself as such in June 1986 but began as a multi-sectoral group in 1983, advocated and
propagated it. The key goal of Lumad-Mindanao was to achieve self-determination in
accordance with their culture and customary laws for their member tribes or, more concretely,
self-governance within their ancestral realm. In the past, no other Lumad organization had an
express target.
The Lumad are the Austronesian people of Mindanao who are un-Islamized and un-
Christianized. Groups such as Erumanen ne Menuvu ', Matidsalug Manobo, Agusanon Manobo,
Dulangan Manobo, Dabaw Manobo, Ata Manobo, B'laan, Kaulo, Banwaon, Bukidnon, Teduray,
Lambangian, Higaunon, Dibabawon, Mangguwangan, Mansaka, Mandaya, K'lagan, Subanen,
Tasaday, Tboli, Mamanuwa, Tagakaolo, Talaandig, Tagabawa, Ubu, Tinenanen, Kuwemanen,
K'lata, Diyangan are included. They live in hinterlands, forests, lowlands, and coastal areas as
"vulnerable groups". Even though these two groups are both indigenous to Mindanao, the word
lumad excludes the Butuanons and Surigaonons. This is because of their ethnicity in Visayan and
their lack of near affinity with the Lumad. The Moros, such as the Maranao, Tausug, Sama-
Bajau, Yakan, etc., are also excluded, although they are also native to Mindanao and are closely
related ethnolinguistically to the Lumad by some groups.
Once again, the Lumads in Mindanao are caught not only in the armed struggle, but also
in the conflict of different interests between the Communist Party of the Philippines - the New
Peoples' Army (CPP-NPA), the Philippine Armed Forces (AFP), and with the special
involvement of the MagahatBagani para-military faction. The spate of violence affecting various
Lumad regions, not only in Surigao Del Sur but also in nearby provinces, was triggered by
dispute over who should take possession of their ancestral territories that are rich in wealth.
According to the Philippine military, when the communist New People's Army (NPA) entered
the fray by threatening and assaulting Lumad tribes opposing their involvement, this struggle for
dominance by competing tribal groups became a full-blown armed conflict.
II. Body (facts and figures)
The tri-people of Mindanao are made up of the Lumads or indigenous peoples; the
settlers of Bangsa Moro and Mindanao or a group of people historically from the islands of
Luzon and the Visayas who today permanently settled in Mindanao. Each community of people
is associated with their own cultural beliefs and customs, such as that of the Lumads, recognized
to this day as the holder and practitioner of the traditional and primitive way of life; the Bangsa
Moro people with their Islamic faith and their own traditional way of life; and the settlers with
their traditionally inherited Christian faith and beliefs from their colonial masters. The Lumads
are tagged as backward among the three classes of people in Mindanao by the majority of the
Filipino people. Their basis for naming the Lumads as such is the non-total submission to the
latest types of civilizations of the Lumad people. Their interpretation of this situation is that the
Lumad people's non-submission has now led them to under-development. And with globalization
now coming our way, the tri-people in the development process will certainly face more conflicts
of ideas and interests. The current case is the attack of globalization on nature and on the
Mindanao side of the world. To the Lumads, this is an intrusion on their lives and livelihoods,
while others see this as work placement and job opportunities.
As established in the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines East Asia Growth
Areas or BIMP-EAGA and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC, Assault to Nature
is actually the Philippine Government's globalization integration program. This program relies
primarily on the exploitation of the rich human and natural resources of Mindanao, with the
Lumad areas as the primary operational object. To date, the traditional territories or ancestral
territory claims of the people of the Lumad in Mindanao are now divided by the government into
various regional industrial centers or RICs. In reality, projects such as the construction of
transport routes are now underway; the creation of tourist spots in the area; the construction and
repair of seas and airports; the establishment of communication facilities; the operation of agro-
industrial plantations; mining operations, power stations and the conversion of agricultural land
into crop and pasture areas for export production and other projects. These growth ventures are
now dispersed to almost the last square centimeter of the ancestral domain claims of the Lumads
and are continually destroying the ecosystem and all natural resources therein to a greater extent.
The government is now primarily granting the ancestral territory claims of the Lumads to
Multinational and Transnational Companies operating in Mindanao.
The explanation why the Lumads felt it so badly is that, by providing jobs and
employment opportunities to the Lumad people in the old days, nature being the source of
wisdom, power and life is now deformed and dominated by economic chieftains with global
trading capabilities. "This is a part of history where the Lumad peoples are placed in place of
wild games in early history when farm-lots are harvested in animal-kingdoms where these
animals pose as merely on-lookers on products taken from their kingdom," according to Lumad
elders. As a result, the Lumad people sing the same tune with the working class in hunting jobs
and career opportunities in an uncomfortable way. But they also turned urban and rural poor with
their traditional skills, as the unemployed working class do today, and those who remained
faithful in typical Lumad villages found themselves absolutely slaves to the command of the cash
economy.
 There is no way back for the Lumad people from these sorrows. Nowhere is the
subsistence economy that the Lumads have enjoyed working with nature for millennia.

III. Analysis
In terms of inequality, the study of the political economy of conflict has also been
identified. In terms of the paradigm of greed and complaints over the causes of intrastate
conflict, divisions between individuals and groups are frequently pitted against each other.
Despite the argument of Collier and Hoeffler (2004) that the causes of most internal conflicts
inevitably turn from grievances to greed, this assertion provides an oversimplification in the
perception of the various conflicts around the world (Keen, 2000, 2012). It is also important to
recognize that in the evolution of disputes, both "greed" and "grievances" interact and there is a
need to have good case studies that will prove it. The model of greed and grievance offers a
rational structure to understand the causes of conflict in Mindanao, as seen in the Lumad war.
However, caution must be taken to assume that, in the long run, the Lumad struggle in Mindanao
will inevitably turn into greed because of convincing statistical tests that prove such a claim. The
following points can be inferred from Keen's (2012) analysis of the paradigm of greed and
grievance in offering an alternate description of the causes and evolution of the conflict in
Lumad.
First, the Lumad struggle, based on qualitative evidence, proves to be a promising case
study in studying the evolution of intrastate disputes. The history of the conflict itself is clearly a
result of the conquest of the ancestral lands of the non-Moro indigenous people in Mindanao by
outsiders. For example, Rodil (1993) argues that the Lumad's concerns have been legitimized by
systematic oppression of the arrival of Western colonizers and Christian migrants in Mindanao,
such as the development of new land laws and the deprivation of the indigenous people to exploit
the resources found in their ancestral lands. It is therefore difficult to distinguish the hopes of the
Lumads to finally claim their lost lands from the Christian settlers who have plundered and
abused their lands.
Second, it is also important to notice that the' greed' discourse has the effect of
delegitimizing different types of grievances from insurgents, such as demonstrations and social
movements, despite the traditional notion that economic greed is fueled by insurgents who want
to obtain economic benefits during the duration of the war (Duffield, 2001). Keen (2000, 2012)
notes that since the rhetoric of "greed" offers a powerful justification in justifying conflicts, then
it seems that there is no more space for listening to rebel groups' grievances, thereby creating a
dangerous presumption that all conflicts are economic in nature. This is evidently not the case of
the Lumad conflict in Mindanao. Over its long history, different Lumad groups have not only
asserted their ethnic and political grievances through violent means, but also through
demonstrations and other types of social platforms, such as the Lakbayan movements where
Lumad leaders travel to Manila to protest their concerns to the Philippine government (Paluga &
Ragragio, 2016)
Third, the discourse of economic greed takes the emphasis away from abusive
governments (Keen, 2012). The Philippines offers a good example of an abusive regime in
Mindanao against the Lumad minority. As reported by Alamon (2017), through the exploitation
of natural resources in Lumad lands such as mining and logging activities through the
deployment of paramilitary forces, the Philippine government is backing extractive business
interests in Mindanao. Lumad rebels and unarmed civilians are not separated by these militant
groups, triggering a killing spree in the rural areas where most Lumad communities are located
(Paluga & Ragragio, 2016).

IV. Recommendation
The researchers make the following recommendations for future researchers, students,
teachers, and others. In spite of all the limitations, the conclusions do suggest that people should
also do this kind of research. The modern people may value Lumads more after they have done
reading this research.
The lesson learned from this study leads to formulation of three recommendation. First,
students must take this kind of research for them to wake up to what’s really happening in
Mindanao, especially to Lumads. Second is for them to realize that it’s not just people in modern
experience should experience and abundant life but also to the Lumads out there. Lastly it is
recommended to share the importance of it regards to the globalization and issues of the Lumads
and what it is for.

V. Conclusion
Are vertical or horizontal disparities in the Mindanao dispute, or a mixture of both,
causing the Lumad war to endure? Based on the initial findings of the report, we argue that the
Lumad struggle is prolonged within the greater Mindanao conflict by a combination of both
greed and grievance as reflected in the interaction of both ethnic and economic disparities. Using
these two main discourses in describing intrastate wars emphasizes that due to a variety of
factors such as the interaction of state and non-state armed groups, certain conflicts appear to
persist. The interaction of many political and economic factors, as manifested in the Lumad
struggle, aggravates the conditions of war, such as the Philippine government launching counter-
insurgency initiatives, Moro armed groups that regard the Lumads as second-class people,
business interests that exploit resource-rich lands and the Lumad tribes themselves, who suffer
most through systematic description. In addition, in notable events such as the current peace
process between the Philippine government and the MILF, where the interests of Lumad are
sidelined in the future of a stable Mindanao, the interaction between ethnic and economic
grievances is manifested.
The contributions of this research, in general, are twofold. For one thing, the model of
greed and grievances has yet to be tested in conflicts outside sub-Saharan Africa and Latin
America, in which this study seeks to understand the causes of conflict in Mindanao's Lumad
war. Second, the study provides practical and academic significance, as there is an obvious gap
in detailing the literature of the Lumad struggle in the Philippines, enabling us to establish better
explanations for understanding the causes and evolution of the Mindanao conflict.
To conclude, the research presents two problems for further studies in the war against
Lumad. One is the development of a more advanced model that will completely clarify conflicts
with causes that interact. Finally, as a conflict between greed and grievances, there is a need for a
more qualitative approach that will detail other conflicts in the Philippines. Only then can we
truly comprehend in the future the essence and evolution of intrastate conflicts.

VI. Way Ahead

There are vast untapped mineral deposits below the ancestral lands of the Lumad that are
currently estimated at $1 trillion. Davao del Norte is adjacent to the Eastern Mineral Belt, a term
used by the Bureau of Mines and Geosciences to refer to Mindanao's eastern provinces, which
have rich gold, copper and nickel deposits. The entire island of Mindanao is also an agricultural
region and is considered the food basket of the nation. Notwithstanding these untapped
resources, the population of Lumad remains profoundly in poverty. The remoteness of their
settlements, the unproductive practices of crude cultivation and the prohibitive cost of
transporting goods and the inaccessibility of their areas have inhibited the provision of public
services, including education.
In 1997, the Philippine government adopted the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) and
signed the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the United Nations (UNDRIP).
Both laws require the government to be responsible for protecting the rights of indigenous
peoples, including the right to education. A number of indigenous groups, however, do not have
schools. The kids and their parents often complain about the hazards and high costs of travelling
to public schools through hills and rivers, and often they face prejudice from non-Lumad
schoolmates. According to the 2014 study conducted by EED-TFIP Evangelischer
Entwicklungsdienst e., one out of three indigenous children entering primary school would most
probable drop out and fail to graduate. Germany V- Philippine Partners Indigenous Peoples
Rights Task Force. The research was carried out throughout the country in eight indigenous
communities. The probability for these children to hit the stage of high school is just about 27
percent and a mere 11 percent complete it. For most of them, higher education seems out of
control, with only about a 6 percent chance. It would also be an accomplishment to graduate
from college, with just 2 per cent of the population having the ability to do so.

VII. Reference

Perez, J. (n.d.). Greed and Grievances: A Discursive Study on the Evolution of the Lumad
Struggle in Mindanao, 2010-2019. Retrieved January 14, 2021, from
https://www.academia.edu/42902075/Greed_and_Grievances_A_Discursive_Study_on_th
e_Evolution_of_the_Lumad_Struggle_in_Mindanao_2010_2019

A BRIEFING PAPER ON LUMAD ISSUES. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2021, from
https://www.dlsu.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/palaso-oct2015-lumad-hq.pdf
Bandara, A. M. (n.d.). Threats and Challenges of Globalization to the Lumad People of
Mindanao Alim. Retrieved January 14, 2021, from
https://www.asienhaus.de/public/archiv/1-3AlimM.BandaraLumadpeopleMindanao.PDF