Development Aggression: The Ulterior Motive
(from the newsletter of the Solidarity Action Group for
Indigenous Peoples (SAGIP))
A cursory look at the massive military operations in Marilog
would easily lend credence to the fact that the Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP) continues to resort to indiscriminate
bombings and massive ground operations to wipe out communist
insurgents over whom it has supposedly gained "strategic victory"
as early as 1993. And this, it is willing to do at the expense
of endangering the lives and causing the dislocation of hapless
civilians in Marilog, most of whom are Lumads.
The mission believes that it is all too apparent that the AFP, in
its counter-insurgency drive, has gone beyond the bounds of
international laws in its conduct of war. For how can bombs
discriminate armed insurgents from the unarmed, the combatants
from the civilians?
What is also appalling is the military's disproportionate use of
force versus the apparently overpowered guerrillas. In the
process, the military has consciously and effectively maneuvered
the displacement of the Lumads.
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK
And for what purpose, we ask?
Beyond the question of propriety in the conduct of war, the
Marilog bombing sorties certainly warrant a closer look if only
to answer lingering questions from Lumads and advocates alike
about the real motives of the military in the conduct of such
massive operations.
As Matigsalog Datu Cerano Lamanta puts it, "Unsa man gyud ang naa
sa among lugar nga ila man mi'ng bombahan? Wala man gyu'y NPA nga
nagapuyo dinha, apan ngano man gyud nga bombahan mi sa military?
(What is it in our place that they have become bent on bombing
us? There are no NPA rebels in our place, so why would the
military want to bomb us?)"
INCURSION OF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
These fresh military campaigns once again rouse long time and
recent memories. It was not so long ago, in 1993, that Matigsalog
tribals from Marilog and neighboring barrios in the Davao-
Bukidnon boundary precariously lived in makeshift houses along
the Bukidnon highway after being driven away by similarly-intense
military operations. Later, Industrial Forest Management
Agreement (IFMA) plantations started sprouting all over Marilog,
specially in those communities who have conceded to surveys of
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and
those who have put up the weakest resistance. The conquest of
Marilog was tagged in 1993 as a form of "highway robbery,"
alluding to the give away rates at which land was "sold" to
prominent Davao politicians and business families for purposes of
their eco-tourism and IFMA ventures.
Lino Oris, a community leader, recalls that back in 1993, right
after the bombings in Marilog, DENR agents visited Toruyan three
times. These agents persuaded tribal datus to sign contracts for
IFMA and accomplish "attendance sheets." (IFMA contracts, before
they are approved, require the submission of proofs consultation
with the affected communities).
In 1994, canvassers from the DENR led by a certain Arnel de Leon,
persuaded some tribal leaders in Toruyan to open their lands for
an lFMA plantation. DeLeon reportedly explained to the leaders
about the govemment's programs on ancestral domain. Canvassing
for IFMA areas were also conducted in Malakiba were, Lumads
claim, the land had been surveyed with gadgets and markers set up
to identify boundaries.
Where the recent bombings were made, the mission found out that
so-called development projects have started to enter these areas.
These include the Integrated Social Forestry Program (ISF) of the
DENR, the Southern Mindanao Agricultural Project (SMAP), and IFMA
project.
LUMAD OPPOSITION
Toruyan and Togas residents have opposed such moves. 'Dili mi
gusto nga bahin-bahinon ang yuta. Gusto mi finibuok ang yuta, kay
ang kinaiya namong mga Lumad magbalhin-balhin mi sa pagpananom
aron marnintina ang katabunok sa yuta. (We do not want our land
to be subdivided. We want it to remain intact because it is our
nature to grow crops from one place to another in order to
maintain the fertility of the soil)," Oriss aid.
Beleaguered by resistance from other tribal communities, IFMA has
now also become unpopular among residents in Togas. Atuan
Mainulay, 30, a Lumad from Togas says "Ang IFMA ang makapasamok
sa amoa, parehas sa nahitabo sa Talaingod, mao nga supak mi
niini. (IFMA will sow chaos among us, like what happened in
Talaingod that is why we are opposing it)."
Oris surmises there is a deeper motive in the operations, "Subay
sa among kasinatian, kung hadlukon kami sa pagpabuto-buto,
mubalhin dayon kaming mga Lumad Basin pinaagi niini karon (nga
pagpamomba) musibog na usab kami niining dapita. (Based on our
experience in the past, we easily moved from our place everytime
we were harassed with gunfire. It may be that through these
(bombings), we will again move from this place," he said.
Oris bewails that projects of big companies such as IFMA and SMAP
will displace them. "If we must die, so be it. If we must live,
so be it also. Rather than be perennially displaced. If we are to
move from this place, where will we go?," he says.
Write letters of protest to:
Lt.Benedict Baluga Gen. Arturo Enrile
CO, 73rd IB, Philippine Army Chief of Staff, AFP
Camp Malagos, Calinan Camp Crame
Davao City, Philippines Quezon City, Philippines
Secretary Renato de Villa Pres. Fidel V. Ramos
Department of National Defense Malacanang
Camp Aguinaldo, EDSA Manila, Philippines
Quezon City, Philippines