The Lumads Are Our People, Too!

•
By Rudy B. Rodil

Introduction

The Lumad are the indigenous peoples of Mindanao. They constitute

approximately five percent, clearly the minority, of the total Mindanao population in the
1990 census. The rest of the inhabitants in the region are Muslims, also indigenous,
estimated at 20 percent; settlers and their descendants roughly make up the balance of 75
percent. It should be pointed out that a good portion of or assimilated into the latter
segment are descendants of native inhabitants who were converted to Christianity during
the Spanish period, mostly from northern and eastern Mindanao.

How they became minorities is the story of this paper. Not only have they been
reduced to a numerical minority in their own lands they have also been marginalized in
other aspects of our national life. Their minoritization involved, mainly the state
machinery, with unwitting participation from the major segments of the population. It is
not our intention to find fault, merely to lay down the facts in the hope that we may be
able to help secure for them a well-deserved social space in the Filipino nation. Their
situation is not beyond help.

This presentation is divided into four parts. Part I is on the Lumad communities
and their ancestral domains in Mindanao. Part II focuses on the process of
marginalization. Part III discusses the actual process of dispossession. Part IV explores
the tri-people approach to peace and development in the region.
PART I

The Lumad Communities and Their Ancestral Domains in Mindanao

The Lumad are the Indigenous Cultural Communities of Mindanao, namely, in

alphabetical order: the Ata, Bagobo, Banwaon, Blaan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaunon,
Mamanwa, Mandaya, Mangguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Matigsalug, Subanen,
Tagakaolo, Talaandig, T'boli, Teduray and Ubo.

We have 20 in the list but there can be more because aside from distinguishing
themselves by their ethno-linguistic identity, they also, and more commonly, refer to each
other by their geographic names or their place of habitation.

•
Presented at Bishops-Ulama Forum, February 22-23, 1999, Davao City. Slightly revised version of the
paper written earlier for the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR).

1
Origin of the Name Lumad
and its Significance

The name Lumad grew out of the political awakening among them during the
martial law regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. In June 1986, representatives from 15
tribes agreed to adopt a common name in a congress which also established Lumad
Mindanao. This is the first time in their history that these tribes have agreed to a
common name for themselves, distinct from the Moros and from the migrant majority.

Lumad is a Cebuano word meaning indigenous. The choice of a Cebuano word

may be a bit ironic -- Cebuano is the language of the natives of Cebu in the Visayas -- but
they deemed it to be most appropriate considering that the various tribes do not have any
other common language among themselves except Cebuano. Lumad Mindanao, the
organization, is no longer intact, but the name remains and is, from all indications,
gaining more adherents.

Lumad-Mindanao's main objective was to achieve self-determination for their

member tribes, meaning self-government within their ancestral domains and in
accordance with their customary laws under the sovereignty of the Republic. The
decision to have a common name was crucial and historic. This was a first in Lumad
history.

Earlier, they were called by various names by outsiders which they shared with
other indigenous groups all over the country. They were labeled paganos by the
Spaniards or referred to simply by their tribal identities. They were tagged Wild Tribes or
Uncivilized Tribes or non-Christian Tribes by the Americans. They were officially named
the National Cultural Minorities or just Cultural minorities or simply Minorities by the
Philippine Government. They were renamed Cultural Communities in the 1973
Constitution; this was revised to Indigenous Cultural Communities in the 1987 Charter.
Visayans call them nitibo; Tagalogs call them taga-bundok or katutubo. Christian
churches used to prefer the name Tribal Filipinos but today they are among the more
active users of the name Lumad, and in a more respectful tone. Except for paganos, all
these denominations also included the Moros.

Commonality Among Lumad Communities

and Other Inhabitants of Mindanao

Although the different Lumad communities do not have a common language, they
actually have so much in common among themselves and with the other indigenous
inhabitants of the region as well. Firstly, like the rest of the Philippine population, they
share a common origin in the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages. Secondly, among
themselves, according to a recent linguistic study, a large segment or fully 17 groups
belong to the Manobo subfamily of languages, thus pointing convincingly to a common
origin among them.1
1
Richard E. Elkins, “Root of a Language,” in Filipino Heritage, Volume 2, p. 524.

2
 Thirdly, this similarity of origin is acknowledged, each in its own way, among the
Moro people and the Lumad by their folk tradition. For example, among the Kalibugan of
Titay, they speak of two brothers as their ancestors, both Subanen. Dumalandalan was
converted to Islam while Gumabon-gabon was not. Among the Subanen of Lapuyan,
Zamboanga del Sur, they talk of four brothers as their ancestors. Tabunaway was the
ancestor of the Magindanao; Dumalandalan the Maranao; Mili-rilid of the Teduray, and
Gumabon-gabon of the Subanen.

The Manobo of Cotabato and the Magindanao say that brothers Tabunaway and
Mamalu are their common ancestors, although they differ on which of the two was
converted to Islam. In the Manobo version, it was Mamalu who became Muslim; in the
Magindanao version, it was Tabunaway.2 The Manobo version further states that they
share the same ancestor with the Ilyanun, the Matigsalug, the Talaandig, and the
Maranao.3

In the Teduray tradition, the same brothers Tabunaway and Mamalu are
acknowledged as their ancestors.4

The Higaunon communities recognize a common ancestry with the Maranao in

their folklore especially in the border areas of Bukidnon and Lanao. They also believe
that the Talaandig belong to their same ethnolinguistic group. Common Higaunon-
Maranao ancestry is pronounced in the Bukidnon folklore where they speak of two
brothers Bowan and Bala-oy, one of whom is said to be the ancestor of the Maranao.5

Among the Talaandig of Bukidnon, their great ancestor Apu Agbibilin is

acknowledged as the common ancestor of the Talaandig, Magindanao, Malanao (their
pronunciation) and Manobo tribes who were saved at the highest peak of Mt. Kitanglad
during the great flood.6

Among the Blaan (pronounced by them as two syllables, accent on the second
syllable) of Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao and Cotabato,

2
Dr. Najeeb M. Saleeby, Studies in Moro History, Law and Religion in Notre Dame Journal, Vol.6,
No. 1 (April) 1975, pp. 10, 14, 16, 33,35, 36.
3
Elena Maquiso, Prologue to the Ulahingan (Manobo Epic) Dumaguete City: Silliman University, 1965).
Mimeo Edition, pp. 1-6. “Teduray-Maguindanao Ethnic Relations: An Ethnohistorical Puzzle,” Solidarity,
Vol VII, No. 4 (April) 1972, p. 25; Also, Appendix B4 - Fernando C. Trecero, Teduray Tales (Manila:
Bookman, Inc., 1977), pp. 135-140.
4
See Dr. Stuart Schlegel, “Teduray-Maguindanao Ethnic Relations: An Ethnohistorical Puzzle,”
Solidarity, Vol VII, No. 4 (April) 1972, p. 25; Also, Appendix B4 - Fernando C. Trecero, Teduray Tales
(Manila: Bookman, Inc., 1977), pp. 135-140.
5
Mardonio M. Lao, Bukidnon in Historical Perspective (Musuan, Bukidnon: Publications Office, Central
Mindanao University, 1985, Volume I, Appendix K, pp. 256-264. Translation of the original by Dr.
Victorino T. Cruzado. Lao’s “Oral Tradition or Bukidnon Pre-history: The Kalikat hu mga Etaw dini ta
Mindanao,” Kinaadman IX (1987), pp. 23-31 is a less complex version of the Bukidnon origin story.
6
From the genealogy of Datu Migketay Victorino L. Saway, the present tribal Chieftain of the Talaandig in
Bukidnon who took over the position from his father Datu Kinulintang who died in 1992.

3
they speak of common ancestry with other ethnolinguistic groups. In an interview with a
Blaan tribal leader of Danlag, Tampakan, South Cotabato, this author got the following
account which should be quoted here lengthily:

“It was Almabet, their creator, who gave them that name. Almabet
created eight people, first the Blaan, then the others, namely, Tabali
(T'boli), Ubo (Manobo), Alnawen (Maguindanao Muslim), Teduray,
Klagan, Matigsalug, and Mandaya. He called them by these names. They
would later be the ancestors of ethnic groups of the same names. Lands
were assigned to them. Kolon Nadal (Koronadal) was given to the Blaan.
Almabet ascended from Melbel (Marbel). From here they (Blaan) went to
Kolon Bia-o (Columbio), to Buluan which they partly share with the
Alnawen (Maguindanao Muslim), to other parts of the present South
Cotabato, and to Datal Pitak in Matanao in the present Davao del Sur. The
Tabali went to Lake Sebu. The rest went to their respective places.
Although they claim common ancestry with these other groups, their
languages are not mutually intelligible.”7

The Kalagan and the Tagakaolo belong to the same ethno-linguistic group.8

Ancestral Domains
of the Lumad of Mindanao

Traditionally, the Subanen have inhabited the Zamboanga peninsula, with larger
concentrations in the following specific areas: Dapitan or Illaya Valley, Dipolog Valley
specifically in Diwan, Punta and Sinaman, Manukan Valley, Sindangan, Panganuran in
the present town of Gutalac, Coronado in the present town of Baliguian, Siocon, Kipit in
the present town of Labason, Malayal and Patalun (now Lintangan) both in the present
town of Sibuco, Bolong Valley, Tupilak and Bakalan Valleys in the town of Ipil, Lei-
Batu Valley, Sibugai-Sei Valley, Dumankilas Bay, Dipolo Valley, Lubukan Valley,
Labangan Valley and Mipangi Valley. Other concentrations are also found in the present
towns of Katipunan, Roxas, Sergio Osmeña, Sr., Leon Postigo, Salug, Godod and Siayan.

The Higaunon, also known as the Bukidnon, traditionally speak of their

territories as the Walu Ha Talugan, the eight territories named after big rivers: Odiongan
(Gingoog), Agusan, Kabulig (Claveria), Tagoloan, Lanao, Cagayan, Pulangi (Bukidnon)
and Balatukan (Balingasag). Roughly, these would be from the Agusan del Norte and
Agusan del Sur west of Agusan river across Misamis Oriental and northern Bukidnon as
far as Rogongon in Iligan City.

7
Field interview by this author with Lawon Tokaydo, 68, former Bong Fulong (tribal chieftain) of Danlag,
Tampakan, South Cotabato, April 1996.
8
Fay Cooper-Cole, The Wild Tribes of the Davao District. Field Museum of Natural History. Publication
No. 170. Anthropological Series, Volume XII, No. 1 (Chicago, U.S.A.: 1913), p. 158.

4
 Sharing a common ancestry with the Higaunon, the Talaandig are concentrated
mainly around the Mt. Kitanglad area in the province of Bukidnon. Their chieftain lives
in Songco, Lantapan, Bukidnon. In their tradition, their great ancestor Apu Aliga, was
recognized as the keeper of the territorial boundaries of the ancestral domains of the early
Talaandig, Magindanao, Manobo and Malanao tribes.

The Manobo are traditional inhabitants of several portions of Mindanao: at the

east side of Agusan river in the Agusan river valley as far as the region below Tago river
in Surigao del Norte down to Surigao del Sur; in Bukidnon south; in Sigaboy north of the
Cape of San Agustin in Davao Oriental; along the coastal stretch from Padada in Davao
del Sur down to Sarangani Bay in South Cotabato; in Sultan Kudarat, and in Cotabato.

The Banwaon also live in the Agusan del Sur south of the Higaunon territory.

The Mamanwa have been living in the area around Lake Mainit at the Agusan del
Norte-Surigao del Norte down to Tago river in Surigao del Norte.

The Mandaya have traditionally occupied the stretch of territory from Tandag in
Surigao del Norte down to Mati in Davao Oriental and in the area of Salug river valley in
the interior of Davao del Norte. Within the Davao Oriental-Davao del Norte are also to be
found the Mansaka, Dibabawon and Mangguwangan populations.

Starting from that part of Davao City bordering Davao del Norte down to Davao
del Sur, we have in succession the Ata, the Bagobo, the Tagakaolo-Kalagan, and the
Blaan.

As we move into Cotabato from Davao del Sur, we run into the Blaan again, then
the Ubo, then the T'boli, then the Dulangan in Sultan Kudarat, and the Teduray in the
province of Maguindanao.

On the whole, using the territorial jurisdictions of the present -- prior to the
creation of Sarangani, namely, the 22 provinces and 16 cities that constitute the entirety
of Mindanao and Sulu, there is incontrovertible evidence that from 1596-1898, at least,
the Lumad traditional habitat encompassed 17 provinces and 14 cities.9 Today, however,
mainly because of the massive influx of settlers from Luzon and the Visayas and the
corresponding displacement of the local population, determining the exact boundaries of
Lumad tribal territories has become extremely difficult, especially in areas where Lumad
population is heavily intermixed with or dominated by the settler population. This is the
case in most parts of the above 17 provinces and 14 cities. We shall see more of this
below.

9
Rudy B. Rodil, Kasaysayan ng mga Pamayanan ng Mindanao at Arkipelago ng Sulu, 1596-1898. MA
Tesis. Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, 14 Pebrero 1992, p. 245.

5
Lumad Concept of Ancestral Domain

Certain key elements in the indigenous concept of ancestral domain are shared by
all Lumad communities. First, although communal ownership is exercised by a clan, not
by a whole tribe, territories of clans of the same tribal group tend to be contiguous.
Second, the domain, clearly bounded by natural markers, includes the land actually
occupied and used by each family, the forests in which they hunt and gather wild fruits,
and the bodies of water in which they fish, and so on. Third, land use within the domain
is regulated by clan authorities. Fourth, members of the clan exercise the right of
usufruct, not private ownership of the land within the territory. Fifth, the territory is
jealously guarded against trespass from without, and outsiders generally respect these
natural boundaries. Sixth, the domain is a gift from God and is held in trust by the
community. Seventh, the domain is viewed as a source of life to the community.

PART II
The Process of Marginalization

The forces that were responsible for the marginalization of the minority peoples
of the Philippines were the same forces that minoritized the Lumad and Moro
communities of Mindanao. First, it was the Spaniards, then the Americans and, finally, by
its adoption of the same policies and programs implemented by the colonizers, the
government of the Republic of the Philippines.

Minoritization was a long process and to understand it in context, we shall

examine how these three governments employed the three-fold elements of colonial
practice: (a) official labeling, (b) creating the administrative structures within which these
labels became operative terms of reference, and (c) the actual dispossession of the
indigenous peoples of their traditional lands, not necessarily in that order.

To fully appreciate the process, we need to at least to quickly proceed from one
regime to the next.

Spanish contribution
in the realm of official labeling

The main contribution of the Spaniards to the minoritization process was

colonization, also known as Christianization -- though not necessarily Hispanization. To
make a very long story short, let us do a quick leap forward and view the matter from
hindsight at the end of the Spanish colonial regime.

In 1898, at the collapse of the colonial regime, the entire population of the
Philippine archipelago could be divided into two broad categories, those who were
colonized and those who were not. Once belonging to independent small barangays, the
conquered became the Christians. Indirectly they all acquired a new common identity,
that of being subject to a centralized colonial order. When they felt abused, it was they,
too, who repeatedly rebelled, independently of one another, as they were wont to do in

6
the barangay days -- more than two hundred cases were recorded in 333 years -- until
their struggles ripened into a common cause. They acquired a common Filipino identity,
and they gave birth to the Filipino nation and the Republic of the Philippines.

Those who were not conquered may be further subdivided into two groups. Those
who fought back and were successful in maintaining their independence throughout the
period of Spanish presence were the proud Moros of Mindanao and Sulu and the
indigenous inhabitants of the Cordillera. The others were those who kept out of Spanish
reach, thereby remaining free. The Moro people at present are popularly known today to
be classified into the thirteen ethnolinguistic groups, as follows: Maranao, Maguindanao,
Tausug, Sama, Yakan, Sangil, Badjao, Jama Mapun, Palawani, Kalagan, Molbog, Iranun
and Kalibugan.

Where then is the Spanish contribution? This may have been unintended; it was
in creating the conditions for the various barangay communities to discover a common
collective identity in being Christians and subjects of Spanish colonialism and find a
common cause in their struggles to eliminate the unjust colonial order. The result was the
Filipino nation and the Republic of the Philippines in 1898 whose centennial we are now
proudly celebrating. Their population was estimated to be nearly seven million,10 thus
making them the majority population as a political aggrupation. They are, as enumerated
by the American colonial officials in 1903: Bicol, Cagayan, Ilocano, Pampangan,
Pangasinan, Tagalog, Visayan and Zambalan.

The non-Christians, on the other hand, who were not identified as Filipinos,
neither by the Americans nor by themselves, were placed at approximately one-eighth of
the total population.11
American Labels

The first labeling done to us by the Americans was to call the Philippine
archipalago their Insular Possessions, acquired, they claimed, through the Treaty of Paris
on 10 December 1898 whereby Spain ceded the entire Philippine Archipelago to the
American government. Spain included in the cession those lands and people who were
never colonized! This treaty legalized the first act of wholesale land grabbing.

American authorities refused to acknowledge the legitimate existence of the six-

month old Republic of the Philippines, the Magindanao Sultanate and the Sulu Sultanate
which were states in their own right. Their propaganda line was that there was no such
thing as a Filipino nation, only scattered and disunited tribal groups. Armed oppositions
were neatly labeled as cases of insurrection against legitimate American government, or
plain piracy or simple banditry.

10
David P. Barrows, "History of the Population," Census of the Philippines Islands (Washington: United
States Bureau of the Census, 1905) Volume I, pp. 441, 447.
11
Dean C. Worcester, The Philippines Past and Present (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1914).
Volume II, p. 533.

7
Packaging and Tagging the People

Mr. Dean Worcester, member of the Philippine Commission, was placed in

charge of the non-Christian tribes. He popularized two neat labels: Christian or civilized
and wild or non-Christian.12 These labels were liberally interchanged in official
documents. Within a few months after the establishment of the civil government, the
Philippine Commission created the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes under the Department
of the Interior headed by Mr. Worcester himself, thus institutionalizing the labels. 13
Within two years of its creation, the office was renamed The Ethnological Survey for the
Philippine Islands, headed by Dr. David P. Barrows.14 Dr. Barrows later published an
article entitled "History of the Population", in Volume I of the 1903 Census. The article
had two major sections, one on the "Civilized or Christian Tribes," another on "Non-
Christian Tribes".15 All tables of Volume II, the statistical portion, which had Christian
and non-Christian populations, consistently used the phrase "classified as civilized and
wild" in the titles.16 The label non-Christian later made its appearance in very important
laws, especially those affecting ownership and distribution of land and the disposition of
natural resources, and in special administrative structures which in turn further deepened
the popularization of the names. In addition, the idea of amalgamation or assimilation
was popularized. Partly, the reason for the latter was the American conclusion that "the
customary laws of the Moros and non-Christians were either non-existent or so vague and
whimsical as to be impracticable of administration in courts of justice."17
Official Labels Under the Republic

With the enactment of R.A. 1888 which also created the Commission on National
Integration (CNI) in 1957, the Philippine government decreed that "non-Christian
Filipinos … would henceforth be called the National Cultural Minorities." In order to
erase the social stigma that came with the name, the Constitutions of 1973 and 1987
introduced Cultural Communities and Indigenous Cultural Communities, respectively.
These latter changes, however, did not remove Non-Christian from the Public Land Act
which has continued to be in effect to this day.18

12
Ibid.
13
Annual Report of the Philippine Commission, 1901 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902)
Part I, p. 38. See also the first annual report of the Bureau by David Barrows, in ARPC, Part I, Appendix
Q, pp. 679-688.
14
Annual Report of the Philippine Commission, 1903 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904),
Part 2, p. 58.
15
David P. Barrows, Ibid., p. 453.
16
Census of the Philippine islands (Washington: United States Bureau of the Census, 1905), Volume II.
Table 1 is entitled "Total population, classified as civilized and wild, by provinces and comandancias." See
also Tables 2, 20-24 for other examples.
17
"Report of the Governor of the Moro Province," 22 September 1905, in the Annual Report of the
Philippine Commission, 1905 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1906), Part 1, p. 330.
18
One excellent example of this is Philippine Commission Act No. 718, enacted on April 4, 1903 - An Act
making void land grants from Moro sultans or dattos or from chiefs of non-Christian Tribes when made
without governmental authority or consent.

8
 Labels and special structures constitute only one aspect of the story of
minoritization. The more fatal aspect was that of legalized land dispossession, initiated
and nurtured in colonial times, and sustained until the present. We now go to the
discussion of the regalian doctrine and how it affects ancestral domain.

The text of Section 1 was closely paraphrased in Section 82 of Public Land Act No. 926 (as amended by
Act No. 2874 by the Senate and House of Representatives, 29 November 1919 in accordance with the
provisions of the Jones Law).
This same portion of Sec. 82 was repeated verbatim in Section 84 of Commonwealth Act No. 141, 7
November 1936, and remains an integral part of the Public Land law to the present.

9
 The Lumads Are Our People, Too!•
By Rudy B. Rodil

Part III

Actual Process of Dispossession

The regalian doctrine is at the core of the Philippine land property system. It is not
only contained in public land laws, it is in fact consistently enshrined in the Philippine
Constitutions of 1935, 1973 and 1987. The doctrine says that the state is the sole owner
of state domain and reserves the right to classify it for purposes of proper disposition to
its citizens. Thus, lands classified as alienable and disposable may be owned privately,
and titled to themselves, by individuals or corporations; and lands, forest areas, bodies of
water, and so on which are described as inalienable and non-disposable are state owned
and are not open to private ownership. They may, however, be leased for a specified
period, usually 25 years, renewable for another 25 years.

Inheritance From Colonialism

The Republic of the Philippines inherited the regalian doctrine from Spain, as it
also adopted hook, line and sinker all laws affecting land and other natural resources
enacted and implemented by the American colonizers. These constitute one of the biggest
chunks of institutions carried over from colonial times.

It is said that Spain's discovery of the Philippine archipelago gave the Spanish
crown, as was the practice among European expansionists in the l5th and l6th centuries,
possessory rights over the islands. Since the King stood for the Spanish State, it was
understood that his dominion was also state dominion, and the King or the State reserves
the right and the authority to dispose of lands therein to its subjects and in accordance
with its laws.

It was on the basis of this authority that the Spanish crown handed down a law in
l894 commanding its subjects in the Philippine colony to register their lands.
The American Title

To the United States government, the Treaty of Paris and the subsequent treaty of
7 November l900, which added portions of Philippine territory overlooked earlier,
effected a transfer of title of ownership, or of sovereign rights over the entirety of the
Philippine archipelago. This fact explains why the Philippine Islands along with other
Pacific Islands have been referred to in American textbooks as their Insular Possessions.
This was unmistakably contained in the Philippine Bill of l902 the organic law, which
served as the fundamental law of the Philippine Islands until the enactment of the Jones
Law of l9l6.
•
Presented at Bishops-Ulama Forum, February 22-23, 1999, Davao City. Slightly revised version of the
paper written earlier for the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR).

10
How much of the Archipelago
was Uncolonized?

This question must be asked because the answer will give us a clear idea of the
extent of marginalization or displacement in terms of land area. An early assessment
made by Mr. Worcester about the extent of Philippine territory inhabited by the so-called
non-Christian tribes states that

"there today remains a very extensive territory amounting to about one-

half of the total land area, which is populated by non-Christian peoples so
far as it is populated at all. Such peoples make up approximately an eighth
of the entire population. (Italics supplied)19

Customary Land Grants

Declared Null And Void

To ensure unchallenged exercise of the state authority to dispose of state domain

or public lands, the Philippine Commission enacted a law in 1903, six months after the
passage of the land registration act, which took away from indigenous leaders, datus or
chiefs their authority to dispose of lands within their respective jurisdictions. The title of
the law says it all: “An Act making void land grants from Moro sultans or dattos or from
chiefs of non-Christian Tribes when made without governmental authority or consent". It
was now illegal for any indigenous leader to dispose of lands to any member of his
community, regardless of whether or not this had been their practice since time
immemorial.

Torrens System Introduced

With the passage of the Land Registration Act No. 496 by the Philippine
Commission on 6 November l902, the American colonial government also
institutionalized the Torrens system, adopted from South Australia,20 in the country. This
law provided for the guidelines for the registration and titling of privately owned lands,
whether by individual persons or by corporations. The word "corporation" leaves no
room for the indigenous concept of private communal property. Forest lands, bodies of
water and so on which used to be sources of daily food and other needs for the
indigenous communities were no longer indigenous territories; they have become state
owned and could only be made use of with the consent of the government.

The strength of the Torrens system is further reinforced by the provisions of the
public land laws which happen to be patently discriminatory against the indigenous

19
Worcester, Ibid., p. 533.
20
From "The Interface Between National Land law and Kalinga Land law" by Maria Lourdes Aranal-
Sereno and Roan Libarios, excerpted in pp. 289-303 of Human Rights and Ancestral land: A Source
Book, p. 391.

11
communities -- the same accentuate the contradiction between regalian doctrine and
ancestral domain concepts -- as the next section will show.

Discriminatory Provisions
of Public Land Laws

We must reiterate, for emphasis, that the US acquisition of sovereignty over the
Philippine archipelago did not carry with it the recognition of the communal ancestral
domains of the indigenous communities. We now proceed to the provisions of the laws
themselves which are discriminatory.

First, the Philippine Commission passed a law (Act No. 718) on 4 April l903, six
months after the passage of the land registration act, as we have noted earlier, making
void "land grants from Moro sultans or dattos or from chiefs of Non-Christian tribes
when made without governmental authority or consent." It is interesting to note that later
versions of the public land law continues to carry the almost exact wordings of said law,
reiterating further the legitimacy of the transfer of sovereign authority from Spain to the
United States, and the illegality of indigenous claims. This same provision is still in effect
to this day (1998).21

Second, the Land Registration Act No. 496 of 6 November l902 requires the
registration of lands occupied by private persons or corporations, and the application for
registration of title, says Sec. 2l, "shall be in writing, signed and sworn to by the
applicant." The very matter of registration was not only totally alien to the indigenous
communities, most of them would have been unable to comply, illiterate that they were,
even if by some miracle they acquired the desire to register. Also, what would they
register? There was no room for registration of communal lands. As a young Filipino
lawyer recently pointed out, "under our present property law, communal ownership is a
mere fiction of the mind; it is unregistrable and deserves no legal protection."22

Third, the Public Land Act No. 926 of 7 October l903, passed by the Philippine
Commission allowed individuals to acquire homesteads not exceeding l6 hectares each,
and corporations l,024 hectares each of, "unoccupied, unreserved, unappropriated
agricultural public lands" as stated by Sec. 1. Nothing was said about the unique customs
of the indigenous communities.

Fourth, Public Land Act No. 926, amended through Act No.2874 by the Senate
and the House of Representatives on 29 November l9l9 in accordance with the provisions
of the Jones Law, provided that the l6 hectares allowed earlier to individuals was
increased to 24, but the non-Christian was allowed an area (Sec. 22) "which shall not
exceed ten (l0) hectares."

21
Public Land Act No. 926 (as amended by Act No. 2874, enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives, 29 November 1919), latter part of Sec. 82.
22
Land is Life. Proceedings of the 2nd Ancestral Land Congress, UGAT, 23-24 March 1987, University of
San Carlos, Cebu City. P. 16.

12
 Fifth, Commonwealth Act No. 14l, as amended on 7 November l936, withdrew
the privilege earlier granted to the settlers of owning more than one homestead at 24
hectares each and reverted to only one not exceeding l6 hectares. But the “non-
Christians” who were earlier allowed a maximum of ten hectares were now permitted
only four (4) hectares!

A Quick Historical Overview of the

Resettlement Process in Mindanao

The resettlement of Mindanao was initiated by the American colonial government

as early as l9l3. It was sustained and intensified during the Commonwealth period, and
picked up momentum in the post-World War II years. Altogether, there were a number
of resettlement programs.

A severe drought in Sulu and Zamboanga and grasshopper infestation in Davao in

1911-1912 adversely affected rice supply in the Moro Province and this gave General
John Pershing, who was then Governor of the Moro Province, the excuse to call "for the
importation of homesteaders from the overpopulated Philippine areas."23 The campaign
for settlers into the first agricultural colony in the Cotabato Valley started in earnest in
Cebu where fondness for corn among the population is legend. The American colonial
government paraded around Cebu a cornstalk, thirteen feet tall, propped up with a
bamboo stick, to convince the people of the fertility and productivity of the soil in
Cotabato. But in addition to being farmers, the volunteers had also to be skilled in arnis,
an indigenous form of martial arts. Fifty persons responded. The government provided
the initial capital and some farm tools on loan basis. They were also assured of eventually
owning homesteads. Thus was born the first agricultural colony at the Cotabato Valley.
Its specific aim was to produce cereals or rice and corn.24

The year 1913 saw the passage by the Philippine Commission of Act No. 2254
creating agricultural colonies aimed, officially, at enhancing the rice production effort
already started in the Cotabato Valley. Specific sites selected were Pikit, Silik, Ginatilan,
Peidu Pulangi and Pagalungan, the very heart of Magindanao dominion in the upper
Cotabato Valley – the site of several armed skirmishes last year between the MILF and
the armed forces, and Glan at the southernmost coast of the present South Cotabato
province. In its supposed attempt to integrate the various sectors of the population,
distinct population groups were purposely mixed in the colonial sites. In Colony No. 2,
for example, composed of Manaulana, Pamalian, Silik, Tapodok and Langayen, Cebuano
settlers and Maguindanao natives lived together. Strangely, the settlers were allotted 16
hectares each while the Maguindanaons were given only eight hectares each.25
Altogether, six agricultural colonies were established in 1913.

23
Rad D. Silva, Two Hills of the Same Land. Mindanao-Sulu Critical Studies & Research Group,
September 1979. Revised Edition. Silva is B. R. Rodil in real life.
24
Ibid., p. 41.
25
Ibid.

13
 Unable to further finance the opening of more colonies, the Manila government
passed Act 2206 in 1919 which authorized Provincial Boards to manage colonies
themselves at their expense. Lamitan in Basilan was thus opened by the Zamboanga
province, Tawi-Tawi by Sulu, Marilog by Bukidnon, and Salunayan and Maganoy by
Cotabato between 1919 and 1926.26

No significant government resettlements were organized until 1935. Settlers

nevertheless migrated either on their own or through the Inter-island Migration Division
of the Bureau of Labor. As a result, aside from already existing settlement areas like that
in the Cotabato Valley, or in Lamitan in Basilan and Labangan in Zamboanga, and
Momungan in Lanao, we also see several in Davao, specifically in the towns of
Kapalong, Guiangga, Tagum, Lupon and Baganga; also, in Cabadbaran, Butuan and
Buenavista in Agusan, and Kapatagan Valley in Lanao.27

The next big initiative was the Quirino-Recto Colonization Act or Act No. 4197
of 12 February 1935 which aimed at sending settlers into any part of the country but with
special reference to Mindanao, that is, as a solution to the Mindanao problem, as the
peace and order problem with the Moros was called.28 But before any implementation
could be attempted, the Commonwealth government came into existence and it decided
to concentrate on opening inter-provincial roads instead.29

The National Land Settlement Administration (NLSA) created by Commonwealth

Act No. 441 in 1939 introduced new dimensions into resettlement. Aside from the usual
objectives, there was one curious item providing military trainees an opportunity to own
farms upon completion of their military training. The Japanese menace was strongly felt
in the Philippines at this time and this particular offer was an attempt by the government
to strengthen national security. Under the NLSA, three major resettlement areas were
opened in the country: Mallig Plains in Isabela, and two in Cotabato, namely, Koronadal
Valley made up of Lagao, Tupi, Marbel and Polomolok and Ala (now spelled Allah)
Valley consisting of Banga, Norallah and Surallah. By the time the NLSA was abolished
in 1950, a total of 8,300 families had been resettled.30

The Rice and Corn Production Administration (RCPA) of 1949 was meant to
increase rice and corn production but was also involved in resettlement. It was
responsible for opening Buluan in Cotabato, and Maramag and Wao at the Bukidnon-
Lanao border.31

Before the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA)

came into existence in 1954, the short-lived Land Settlement Development
Administration or LASEDECO took over from NLSA and RCPA. It was able to open

26
Ibid.
27
Ibid.
28
Silva, Ibid., pp. 42-43.
29
Ibid., p. 43.
30
Ibid., p. 44.
31
Ibid.

14
Tacurong, Isulan, Bagumbayan, Part of Buluan, Sultan sa Barongis and Ampatuan, all in
Cotabato.32

NARRA administered a total of 23 resettlement areas: nine were in Mindanao;

one in Palawan; five in the Visayas; one in Mindoro; seven in mainland Luzon.33

A product of the Land Reform Code, Land Authority took over from NARRA in
1963. For the first time, resettlement became a part of the land reform program. The
creation of the Department of Agrarian Reform in 1971 also brought about the existence
of the Bureau of Resettlement whose function was to implement the program of
resettlement.34

The Economic Development Corps (EDCOR), a special program of the

government to counter the upsurge of the Huk rebellion -- a brainchild of Ramon
Magsaysay, then Secretary of National Defense under President Elpidio Quirino -- must
also be mentioned. This program was responsible for opening resettlement areas for
surrendered or captured Huks (insurgents) in such areas as Isabela and Quezon in Luzon,
and Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Maguindanao in Mindanao. Those in the latter
were carved out in the heart of Magindanao and Maranao ancestral territories.35 One of
them, the town of Buldon in Maguindanao is a battleground between the forces of the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government armed forces.

The formal resettlement programs spawned the spontaneous influx of migrants

who came on their own. It is estimated that more people came this way than through
organized channels.

To be able to appreciate how fast was the process of displacement among the
indigenous groups, one can do a comparative study of the population balance in
Mindanao over several census years.

32
Ibid.
33
Ibid., p. 45.
34
Ibid., pp. 45-47.
35
Ibid., p. 46.

15
Population Shifts in Cotabato

An examination of the population shifts, based on the censuses of 1918, 1939 and
1970, in the empire province of Cotabato, clearly indicates the process by which the
indigenous population gave way to the migrants.

Cotabato has been the traditional center of the Magindanao Sultanate. Aside from
the Magindanaon, its Moro population also include Iranun and Sangil. It is also the
traditional habitat of several Lumad tribes like the Manobo, the Teduray, the Dulangan
(Manobo), the Ubo, the T'boli and the Blaan. It is, at the same time, the focus of very
heavy streams of settlers from the north. As a matter of fact, it was no accident that the
American colonial government made it the site of the first agricultural colonies. It had all
the markings of a present day counter-insurgency operation which at that time was Moro
armed resistance to American rule.

In 1918, what used to be known as the empire province of Cotabato (now

subdivided into Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao)
had a total of 171,978 inhabitants distributed in 36 municipalities and municipal districts.
The 1939 census registered a total population of 298,935 distributed in 33 towns. The
1970 figures showed a total population of 1,602,117. The fantastic leaps in population
increase cannot be explained by natural growth, only by the rapidity of the migration
process. How did this affect the balance of population?

In 1918, the Muslims were the majority in 20 towns, the Lumad in 5, and the
settlers in none. Not much change was revealed in the 1939 census; the Muslims
continued to be the majority in 20 towns, the Lumad increased to nine as a result of
political subdivisions, and the settlers had three. The 1970 figures indicated an
unbelievable leap. Now, the Muslims had only 10 towns to their name; not a single one
was left to the Lumad -- although it showed 31 towns with Lumad population of less than
ten per cent, and the settlers now dominated in 38 towns.

Pattern of Population Change Throughout Mindanao

The history of population shift in Cotabato was reflected throughout Mindanao,

revealing a pattern consistently unfavorable to the indigenous population. Total Islamized
population was placed at 39.29 per cent in 1903; this was down to 20.17 percent in 1975.
Lumad population was 22.11 percent in 1903; it fell to 6.86 percent in 1975. Put the other
way, what particular areas had Muslim majority? Or Lumad majority? By the census of
1980, the Muslims still had only five provinces and 13 towns in other provinces to their
name. The Lumad had only seven towns.

Role of Big Business in the Displacement

Process in Mindanao

Big business have also contributed significantly to the displacement of the

indigenous inhabitants of Mindanao. We can only cite some examples here. Between

16
1905 and 1939, Japanese agri-corporations entered into big time abaca production in
Davao. Their landholdings totaled 63,765 hectares, which constituted nearly sixty percent
of the total land areas cultivated with abaca. Other planters were American;, Filipino and
Spanish. Overwhelming Japanese presence enabled them to control business in
practically all fields, such that goods sold in Davao were said to be 90 percent Japanese.
From 340 people in 1905, the Japanese population in Davao grew to 17,888 in 1939,
8,000 of whom were Japanese workers imported from Japan.36

Displaced and dispossessed indigenous inhabitants mostly belonged to the

Bagobo tribe.37 The pain these people have experienced may be reflected in the way they
reacted to Japanese presence. Between 1918 and 1938, around 600 Japanese were slain
by the Bagobos. These killings followed a periodic pattern. In times when the Japanese
aggressively needed more lands for their abaca, many were killed. But during production
lags, the killing subsided. The first boom in abaca production in Davao was in 1918-
1921. Some 100 Japanese were slain then. The next boom occurred in 1928-1930 and in
1934-35. The first boom coincided with the occurrence of the small pox and influenza
epidemics, and these conspired in accelerating the land grabbing activities of the
foreigners. But there was a cultural dimension to this explanation. Among the trees felled
by the Japanese were the big trees believed by the Bagobos to be the abode of spirits. The
epidemic for them was a manifestation of the spirit's wrath, and this was reason enough
for them to act to appease the spirits.38

The Bagobos relied on the fruits of the forest. But when the plantations expanded,
the felling of forest trees became uncontrollable. Several springs dried up. Forest animals
vanished, and the lansones, durian, betel and other fruits likewise disappeared. And so
they retaliated against the Japanese who were destroying their sources of livelihood
before their eyes.39

The combined landholdings of the two biggest fruit companies in Mindanao in the
1970s totalled more than 13,000 hectares. The more than 7,000 hectare Philippine
packing Corporation (Del Monte) in Bukidnon sits on Bukidnon ancestral land. Dole’s
(Dolefil) more than 6,000 hectare-land in Polomolok affects and is still being contested
by the Blaan tribe. Mostly engaged in rice and corn production, corporate farms spread
out all over Mindanao and owned by 22 big corporations in the Philippines, aimed to
cultivate a total of more than 63,000 hectares as of 1977. This was one big factor in the
Matisalug rebellion of 1975 in Bukidnon. Manobo inhabitants are still contesting some of
the lands being cultivated by the Bukidnon Sugar Company (BUSCO).

Quantitatively, it was logging which should be credited with having penetrated

the vast virgin territories of Mindanao to exploitation. It also opened the way for more

36
Hayase, ibid., pp. 116-142.
37
Shinzo Hayase, Tribes, Settlers, and Administrators on a Frontier: Economic Development and
Social Change in Davao, Southeastern Mindanao, The Philippines, 1899-1941. Ph.D. Dissertation,
Murdoch University, Western Australia. Also, Ernesto Corcino, "Pioneer American Entrepreneurs in
Mindanao," Mindanao Journal, Vol. VIII, Nos. 1-4 (July 1981 - June 1982),pp. 97-130.
38
Ibid., pp. 257-260.
39
Ibid., pp. 259-260.

17
settlers. Logging became widespread in the region in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Already as a result of resettlement, indigenous populations naturally receded from their
habitat in the plains upward into the forest areas. Logging caught up with them there. In
1972-73 alone, there were 156 logging concessionaires, mostly corporate, in Mindanao
with a total concession area of 4,878,895.02 hectares, virtually leaving no room in the
forest for the tribal peoples. It should be noted that the timber license assumed that there
are no inhabitants within the concession area, and that no one except the concessionaire
was authorized to cut trees within the concession area. The region's total commercial
forest was at that time estimated to be 3.92 million hectares!40 To ensure smooth
operations, logging companies were known to have hired indigenous datus as chief forest
concession guards. Still, there were a good number of uprisings triggered by Lumad
dissatisfactions over logging operations. One well publicized case was the Higaunon
rebellion in Agusan del Norte-Misamis Oriental-Bukidnon regions in the mid-1960s.
Another was the Matigsalug rebellion Bukidnon in 1975. What really happened was that
logging companies came where the Lumads already lived, they cut down the forests, the
loggers left, the settlers poured in, the original inhabitants moved further into the interior,
then the cycle was repeated when the loggers eventually caught up with them.41 Within
25 years of their first lease period, the logging operations nearly cleaned out all the forest
cover of the region.

Pasture lands, covered also by 25-year leases, come as a poor second to logging
with 296 lessees in 1972-73 for a total of 179,011.6 hectares.42 Conflict with ranchers
was the main trigger in the Matigsalug rebellion. Similar stories of conflict have been
reported in South Cotabato.

Lately, after the enactment of the Mining Act of 1995, the latest threat from big
business in the perception of the Lumad population and those who sympathize with them
have been the mining companies. As of this writing, at least six big foreign companies
have pending applications for a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAA)
with the government for large scale exploration, development and utilization of mineral
resources in Mindanao. Their combined exploration area is 2,156,000 hectares.43 The
actual mining site may just be three to five percent of this but the very thought that the
company is authorized by government to conduct exploration activities even in private
lands seems to be totally unacceptable. Objections to their presence range from
environmental destruction to displacement of the indigenous and settler communities to
nationalist considerations. What many regard to be unconscionable is the apparent
favorable treatment accorded foreign business interests and the perceived utter disregard
for the Filipino people’s interest. So far, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines have put their weight against the mining law.

40
Eduardo Tadem, Johnny Reyes & Linda Susan Magno, Showcases of Underdevelopment in
Mindanao: Fishes, Forest, And Fruits... (Davao City: Alternate Resource Center, 1984).
41
Juan R. Francisco & Angelo G. Bernardo, “Ethnographic Survey of the Higa-unon Tribe in the Border
Regions of Agusan, Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental” (ca. 1966), p. 2.
42
Ibid., p. 61.
43
Primer on Mining, a joint production of KAPWA, LRC, PBPF and KFI.

18
Rubbing Salt to Injury

Prior to the massive influx of settlers, the general observation is that the
indigenous population of Mindanao were originally lowlanders. With the arrival of the
settlers, the local inhabitants receded into the midland areas. With the coming of logging
concessions and cattle ranches, they moved further up to the uplands. While trying to
make do with was left to them, a law came into existence in 1975, Presidential Decree
705 or the Revised Forestry Code providing, among others, that lands not covered by
paper titles which are over 18% in slope or less than 250 hectares are considered
permanently public. Section 69 of the same decree declares it unlawful to do kaingin or
practice swidden agriculture without permit. Penalty is up to two years imprisonment or a
fine not to exceed 20,000 pesos.44 By virtue of this law, the Lumad who have been
pushed to the last frontiers of their ancestral lands are now illegal occupants and making
their living illegally!

Part IV
Looking Forward
To A Life Of Peace and Development

With the triumph of People Power at EDSA, the world looked brighter for the
whole country as well as for the Lumad communities. Through the joint effort of various
indigenous peoples’ organizations, among them Lumad Mindanao and some committed
members of the Constitutional Commission, the 1987 Charter incorporated vital
provisions directly addressed to the Bangsamoro and tribal communities all over the
country.

Two significant sections may be cited here as examples of legal provisions that
are considerably closer to that sought by the Lumads representing a radical departure
from similar provisions in the Constitution of l973. Article XII, Section 5 of the 1987
Constitution states:

"The State, subject to the provisions of this Constitution and national

development policies and programs, shall protect the rights of indigenous
cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social
and cultural well-being.
"The Congress may provide for the applicability of customary laws
governing property rights or relations in determining the ownership and extent
of ancestral domain".

The other provision is Article XIV Education, Science and Technology, Arts,
Culture and Sports), Section l7, as follows:

"The State shall recognize, respect, and protect the rights of

indigenous cultural communities to preserve and develop their cultures,

44
Sections 15 & 16, PD 705 or the Revised Forestry Code of 1975.

19
 traditions, and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation
of national plans and policies."

These passages would later become the constitutional basis of the Indigenous
Peoples Rights Act.

The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act

A Good Reason To Rejoice

Nurtured through the legislative process by committed and well informed

indigenous leaders-lobbyists and sympathetic legislators, the Indigenous Peoples Rights
Act (IPRA) deserves to be hailed as a strategic first in the history of Philippine
legislation. This is the long awaited ancestral domain law that is designed to protect the
interests of the indigenous peoples and uphold their identity and dignity.

A few examples will reveal the revolutionary features of this law. Native title is
now part of the laws of the land (Chapter II, Sec. 3 (l).

Ancestral lands and ancestral domains now include not only the physical
environment but also the spiritual and cultural bond to said territories (Chapter III, Sec 4).

Unlike before when the communal and private property aspects of ancestral
domains had no legal value, now the law affirms that ancestral domains are the
indigenous peoples’ private but communal property (Chapter III, Sec. 5).

Previously when the government may only issue certificates of ancestral domain
claim and reserves the right to take it back, now ancestral lands or domains may be titled
(Chapter III, Sec. 11).

Earlier during the martial law regime, lands with a slope of 18% was decreed as
inalienable and non-disposable. Now, they are classified as alienable and disposable
agricultural lands (Chapter III, Sec. 12, par. 2).

The Lumad communities have long demanded that they be able to exercise their
right to self-determination within their ancestral domain. Now, the right to self-
governance in accordance with customary laws is guaranteed. Lumad communities living
in contiguous areas where they constitute the majority population may form a separate
tribal barangay. The same guarantee is given to the exercise of their own judicial system
(Chapter IV, Sec. 13, 15, 18).

Earlier, there was grave concern over Muslim communities which would not be
included in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. This law encourages Muslims
and ICCs/IPs not included in Muslim Mindanao to establish autonomous communities
(Chapter IV, Sec 14).

Considering the Lumad communities’ anxious response to the presence of big

mining companies, this law acknowledges in black and white that the ICCs/IPs

20
communities “shall have priority rights in the harvesting, extraction, development or
exploitation of any natural resources within the ancestral domains.” Outsiders may be
allowed to tap said natural resources only with a formal and written agreement with the
concerned community, their consent having been arrived at in accordance with tribal
decision-making processes (Chapter VIII, 57).

Anticipating the possible adverse reaction from settler and other corporate
interests, the law expressly provides that in consideration for existing legitimate property
claims, those acquired prior to the effectivity of this law, “shall be recognized and
respected” (Chapter VIII, Sec 56). This is a pragmatic and timely reply to those settlers
and other corporate interests that feel threatened by Lumad assertions of their own
interests over their ancestral domain.

Guarded Moves from Mining Sector

Already, the effects of these and other strong features of the law are being felt in
the mining sector. According to DENR Secretary Victor Ramos, some provisions of said
law do not only affect the mining industry but many other important sectors such as
energy, tourism and agriculture. A total of 85 out of the original 133 Financial and
Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAA) applications registered in 1997 remain
pending in the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB); they must now be subject to
rigorous screening because majority of them are found within the ancestral domains of
indigenous communities. Also, there have been news of planned exodus among the giant
mining investors due partly to the uncertainty following the passage of IPRA.

Need for Sympathetic Cooperation

to Implement the IPRA

But like any good law designed to protect and uphold the rights of cultural
communities, numerical minorities that they are, and vulnerable to manipulation due to
their unfamiliarity with the letter of the law and its operations, the success of IPRA’s
implementation will definitely require sympathetic cooperation from the rest of the
government bureaucracy, as well as from the general population itself. There have been
recent instances of settler opposition to Lumad applications for ancestral domain claim.
The Commission on National Integration (CNI) of the past had, it should be recalled,
very grand objectives but the government never released more than fifty percent of its
budget allocation. Recently, too, there have some cases of settlers being the sources of
very strong opposition to Lumad applications for ancestral domain claim because they
felt that these might conflict with their own land claims.

The inertia of history and cultural bias are very much alive and must be viewed as
a built-in obstacle to the fulfillment of the dreams provided for in this law. Decisive effort
from all concerned must be exerted to generate a spirit of mutual acceptance and mutual
cooperation among the various peoples of Mindanao.

21
The Lumad in the
GRP-MNLF Peace Process

The MNLF-led Bangsamoro struggle have always touched the Lumad

communities in similar ways that the Moro sultanates did. In the time of the sultanates,
many of them were subjects and tributaries of the sultanates. Now, in the implementation
of the GRP-MNLF Peace Agreement, they are also bound to be affected. While it is true
that the autonomous region is designed purposely “for the Muslims of Southern
Philippines,” as stated in the Tripoli agreement, it is equally true that within the 13
provinces identified as territory of the autonomy – now 14 with the creation of Sarangani
from South Cotabato, there are at least 12 Lumad ethno-linguistic groups which
constitute 5.37 percent of the total population. The Muslims are only 26.89 percent and
the settlers make up the balance of nearly 70 percent.

As citizens of the region, they are bound by law, if they so desire, to take part in
the public hearings on the bill for the new Organic Act for the Autonomous in Southern
Philippines. During the plebiscite on the new organic act, they will be called upon to
decide whether or not they wish to be part of the autonomy. Whether or not they will
become part of the autonomous region, the Lumad will continue to coexist with the
Muslims. The same goes for the settlers.

The Oil Connection

Very early in the MNLF-led Bangsamoro struggle for independence, the MNLF
leadership succeeded not only in elevating its case to the OIC, it was also receiving
sympathetic support from select Islamic countries. Later, the OIC granted observer status
to the MNLF itself in the roster of its members. At the height of the war in Moroland in
1973, the Arab-Israeli conflict was also raging in the Middle East.

The Arabs discovered at the time that there was political power in oil. In their
desperate effort to turn the tide of the war to their side, they succeeded in influencing the
Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), which controlled more
than 80% of the world known petroleum resources, to impose an oil embargo on all
countries supportive of Israel. The Philippines was one of them.

The country had, so it was reported, only three months supply of oil; it was also
said to be 93.3% dependent on Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for its oil needs. The
government armed forces had allegedly run out of ammunitions and could not get any
immediate replenishment from the United States -- they eventually did from other
countries. How much foreign exchange they used up to obtain war materiel would have
been enormous. The country's survival was clearly at stake.

The Philippine government succeeded in negotiating with Saudi Arabia for the
lifting of the oil embargo, and, later, also agreed to face the MNLF at the negotiation
table through the mediation of the OIC. Some political analysts saw this as a
disadvantage; others felt otherwise. Perhaps, it was for the better.

22
 For one, it has made us, as a country, realized that we have to decisively
harmonize our relationships not only with our Muslim citizens in the country but also
with Muslim countries abroad. And this in a manner that is mutually acceptable, based on
the acceptance of each other's identity and dignity.

Further, the OIC had, from the very beginning to the present, consistently and
commendably taken the position that the Moro rebellion in southern Philippines was a
domestic problem and should be resolved within the realm of the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines.

Government Response to Energy Crisis

The government response to the energy crisis accentuated by the oil embargo was
to tap and harness the country’s natural energy resources, specifically hydro and
geothermal power. The search for oil was also done in earnest. The strategic end in view
was obviously to increase our domestic energy capability and reduce our dependence on
imported oil. But these moves would hit the indigenous peoples where it hurts most.
These meant further displacement in their own lands.

In the Cordillera, the Chico River Dam project, apparently launched without the
benefit of extensive consultation with the people, generated probably the biggest
opposition ever to a government development project. In Mindanao, we saw sprouting
from the land in quick succession the massive hydroelectric plants Agus I to VII along
the length of Agus river from Marawi City to Iligan City. Their combined capacity is 944
megawatts. The six dams along the Pulangi river which flows from Bukidnon to Cotabato
City will produce a total of 1,003 megawatts and service irrigation systems. Other smaller
projects will have a combined capacity of 714 megawatts. The 22 sites, excluding the
geothermal plants, in Mindanao are expected to produce a total of 3,006 Megawatts. The
biggest sources of geothermal energy is Mt. Apo, calculated to sustain 170 wells that will
provide steam to four power plants and produce 220 megawatts of electricity.45 The latter
drew enormous opposition from the Lumad inhabitants around the mountain which in
their belief and tradition is as sacred as a cathedral to Catholics. Today, as a result of
these successful tapping of hydro, geothermal and other local energy resources, we are
told that the country’s dependence on foreign oil has been reduced by at least 43
percent.46

Requirements of Peace
and Development

Industrialization is inevitable and strategic for the development of Mindanao. It is

possible only with a continuous flow of electrical energy. From the sources of energy to
the distribution of electricity, we can feel a very intimate interconnection between the
peace process and the economic development. Water, the source of power that turns the
giant generators are dependent on the integrity of the watersheds. Keeping watersheds

45
Struggle Against Development Aggression, A Tabak Publication (Quezon City: 1990), pp. 39-43.
46
Manila Bulletin, 10 March 2000.

23
alive require the nurturing care of people, people who share a common desire to keep the
water flowing for the common welfare. The most strategic watersheds are located in the
lands of the Moro land and the Lumad communities. Maintaining the watersheds will
mean not only preserving the water resources in all lakes and major river systems, it will
also mean a sustained supply of water for agriculture, another strategic component of
Mindanao economic development. The best illustrations of the latter are the cases of the
Agusan and Cotabato river basins. Sustained effort from a diverse population will only be
possible if the same is unified by a common dream.

What this all boils down to is that peace in Moroland is as vital a component as a
requirement for the restoration and preservation of the watershed areas that will, in turn,
assure us of the continuous flow of electricity. This for its part will fuel the industries.
The cycle can continue ad infinitum.

The interests of Lumad communities which are mostly occupying watershed

areas, too, where they have been driven to by population movements from the lowlands
cannot de detached from the interests of lowland rice farmers who are dependent on
irrigation systems which are in turn dependent on water flowing from these watershed
areas.

The cycle we have presented here may not be complete but the concept of the
organic whole approach to development seems worth exploring.

The Tri-People Approach: Citizens’ Participation

in Creating A Culture of Peace

The marginalization experienced by the Lumad and the Moros in the last one
hundred years are not perceived as acts of fraternal love from either government or
settlers or corporate institutions. They have reacted to this each in their own way. The
MNLF led the Bangsamoro in an armed struggle for national liberation. The Lumad
founded the Lumad Mindanao and articulated their own desire for genuine self-
determination in their own ancestral lands. Recent events and circumstances have
changed for the better. Already we have the GRP-MNLF Peace Agreement for the Moro
people and we have the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act for the Lumad. The energy of
sustained implementation must be consciously maintained by the people themselves. But
how?

Some Basic realities to Consider

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 In creating a culture of peace in Mindanao, we need to acknowledge some very
basic realities or make some fundamental assumptions. First is that Mindanao is
inhabited by a population that may be classified into three distinct segments, namely, the
Lumad, the Muslims and the settlers. Second, at this point in our history, not a single
segment of the population can claim Mindanao as theirs any longer; Mindanao is shared
territory. Third, despite their differences, the three segments of the population are
capable of working out a modus vivendi that can make Mindanao a home of peace and
harmony. There are more than enough examples of this.

What Mindanao has taught us is that we can still be Filipinos, but the basis of our
unity cannot be our differing experiences with Spanish or American colonialism. It must
be our mutual acceptance of one another as distinct peoples in one nation, sharing the
same territory. It must be our common vision crafted from present realities.

We have also learned that the major segments of the population must take part in
identifying what is common among them and working out a modus vivendi from there.
This is not something that can be the subject of negotiation between the GRP and the
MNLF.

Perhaps, this is one moment in history when we must grapple with realities in a
manner radically different from the way the colonizers did it for us. If we must unite, we
must do so as distinct entities; we must do so as equals accepting and respecting each
other's unique identity and dignity -- regardless of population size, and we must do so
because unity in diversity is mutually beneficial and best for all concerned. This is an
important first step in the creation of a culture of peace as well as in the unification of the
Filipino people in this part of the nation. Balanced with one another, ethnicity can be an
instrument for sustaining a peace culture - which, in turn, is a vital component for the
development, not only of the autonomous region but also of Mindanao and the
Philippines.

Peace Credo; the Organic Whole;

Implications to Development

At a gathering of peace advocates and educators at the South East Asia Rural
Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN), Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City, on July 4-
6, 1996, called Consultation-Workshop on Peace Education in Mindanao with the theme:
Journey to Peace and Harmony, which was jointly hosted by the Mindanao Support and
Communication Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (MINCARRD) and
the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the participants
produced, ratified and adopted a Peace Credo in Filipino. The English translation here is
mine. It is very appropriate to recall it here.

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 Kalinaw Mindanaw!!!
Lumad, Muslim, Kristiyano
Magkaiba, Magkaisa
Isang Diyos
Isang Lupain
Isang Adhikain
Kalinaw Mindanaw!

[English Translation]

Peace Mindanaw!!!
Lumad, Muslim, Christian
They are different, they can be one
One God
One land
One dream
Peace Mindanaw!!!

A Maguindanaon introduced the music. To a great extent the consciousness that

was created in that forum has found a home in the heart of all peace advocates associated
with Kalinaw Mindanaw.

What it advocates is that at the level of the people, we should encourage the tri-
people approach in peace advocacy. This means creating a stream of unifying ideal
among the Lumad, the Muslims and the migrants whose basic interests may sometimes
be conflicting. It is molding a common agenda and a common vision; it is creating unity
out of diversity. It is seeing ourselves as integral parts of an organic whole.

Following the idea of an organic whole, the same people will do well to see
themselves as one with nature and the physical environment in which they live. Then
from there, find the inter links, or the unifying thread among the various forces of nature.
With a closer look, one can easily see the interactive roles of the various resources or
forces of development in Mindanao in the overall forward movement of the region and
the country. #

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 Attachment A

ISLAMIZED AND LUMAD POPULATIONS AND OTHER IDENTIFIABLE

INDIGENOUS INHABITANTS IN MINDANAO, SULU AND PALAWAN
BASED ON MOTHER TONGUE, BY MUNICIPALITY, 1990 CENSUS@

Compiled by B.R. Rodil

PROVINCE TOTAL ISLAMIZED % LUMAD % OTHERS %

Agusan del Norte 464,789 2,729 0.59 2,673 0.58 29,757 6.40
Agusan del Sur 419,920 870 0.21 53,151 12.66 13,384 3.19
Basilan 208,006 166,110 79.86 53 0.34 34,409 16.54
Bukidnon 742,269 3,562 0.48 84,004 11.32 11,982 1.61
Camiguin 64,176 50 0.08 39 0.06 258 0.40
Cotabato 763,150 129,743 14.64 31,522 4.13 11,985 1.57
Maguindanao 756,878 484,292 63.99 2,470 0.33 117,893 15.58
South Cotabato 1,071,135 52,497 4.90 124,726 11.64 6,798 0.63
Sultan Kudarat 435,454 80,709 18.53 13,961 3.21 10,931 2.51
Davao 1,053,167 19,553 1.86 51,356 4.88 28,191 2.68
Davao Oriental 394,304 13,884 3.52 23,565 5.98 127,700 32.39
Davao del Sur 1,478,723 23,990 1.62 178,474 12.07 16,271 1.10
Lanao del Norte 613,259 134,947 22.00 628 0.10 1,195 0.19
Lanao del Sur 598,800 557,003 93.02 487 0.08 86 0.01
Misamis Occidental 423,590 443 0.10 5,030 0.19 1,990 0.47
Misamis Oriental 862,660 3,423 0.40 2,522 0.29 4,329 0.50
Sulu 468,856 457,866 97.66 867 0.18 872 0.19
Tawi-Tawi 227,731 210,063 92.24 48 0.02 2,676 1.18
Surigao del Norte 425,290 1,018 0.24 1,208 0.28 271,942 63.94
Surigao del Sur 451,287 1,997 0.44 7,553 1.67 87,836 19.46
Zamboanga del Norte 676,014 39,486 5.84 59,081 8.74 5,446 0.80
Zamboanga del Sur 1,540,299 168,800 10.96 78,080 5.07 234,070 15.20
Total 14,139,757 2,553,035 17.93 721,498 5.10 1,020,001 7.21

With Palawan:
Palawan 524,493 29,696 5.66 11,943 2.28 191,300 36.47
TOTAL 14,664,250 2,582,731 17.61 733,441 5.00 1,211,301 8.26

Note: Those in italics belong to the Special Zone of Peace and Development (Szopad) area.

@
Source: Republic of the Philippines. National Statistics Office, Manila. 1990 Census of Population and
Housing. Table 10. Household Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and City/Municipality. (Figures are
estimates based on 10% sample)

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