Gov’t assures Cordilleran IPs to bring in their issues in CASER draft with NDF

Gov’t assures Cordilleran IPs to bring in their issues in CASER draft with NDF

Lacub, Abra, Apr. 30
– Peace panel member Ednar Dayanghirang on Wednesday assured the indigenous peoples (IP) of the Cordillera that the government will take account of the issues and recommendations they have aired in drafting the Comprehensive Agreement on the Socio-economic Reforms (CASER) with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP).

In a joint peace consultation with NDFP panel member Rafael Baylosis during the 27thCordillera Day held in Barangay Buneg here, Dayanghirang urged the IP representatives of Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province to continue articulating their concrete proposals to the Government of the Philippines (GPH).

Also present were Fr. Albert Alejo, member of the GPH Reciprocal Working Committee (RWC) on CASER, and Jimmid Mansayag, government consultant on IP concerns. Beverly Longid, IP resource person from the NDFP side, likewise joined the dialogue.

Dayanghirang　stressed that the GPH-NDFP talks　now focus　on CASER　to "address the roots of armed conflict and help lead to reforms that the people seek." CASER is one of three key agreements that the government and the CPP-NPA-NDFP have agreed to complete within a period of 18 months to three years.

Dayanghirang, an IP from the Mandaya tribe of Davao Oriental and chair of the GPH Reciprocal Working Committee (RWC) on CASER, cited six roots of the armed conflict which the CASER draft proposal must confront. These include poverty, poor delivery of basic services, marginalization of IPs, inequitable distribution of wealth and resources, unemployment and underemployment, and environmental degradation.

Noting that a lot still needs to be done to address IP issues, Dayanghirang said that poverty and underdevelopment have grown as reflected in statistics.

Immediate measures

The secluded, landlocked town of Lacub is among many areas in the Cordillera region richly endowed with gold ore deposits and other mineral resources but remains underdeveloped, Dayanghirang underscored.

There has been decades-old opposition to large-scale mining which has caused damage to the environment and local agriculture, economic and physical displacement of IP communities, and worsening impacts of climate change.

In the manifestos read by provincial IP representatives, issues on ancestral domain claims, alleged human rights violations of the military, poor delivery of basic services, corruption among local officials, and others were highlighted as barriers to development.

On this, Dayanghirang said that the GPH panel will consider recommending immediate measures to address the problems. "The panel has the moral ascendancy to tell the President (Benigno Aquino III) what the people want," he said.

Among these are revisiting and evaluating conflicting policies regarding ancestral domain claims; considering a legal framework where Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) holders can defend their ancestral lands; and proposing to include public lands in the distribution to peasants.

Dayanghirang also asked the IPs to "educate us on your stand regarding the bills or the laws that you are proposing," expressing hopes that more IPs will represent them on the legislative level.

On the NDFP part, Baylosis called for a moratorium on mining in the region. He added that the NPA can be given the responsibility "to guard the forests as well as the ancestral domains from capitalists."

"We can also create a joint political authority that would implement the reforms that have been agreed," he suggested.

IP support

Dayanghirang appealed to the IPs to push both parties to finally come to a peace agreement. "We have to continue persuading each other," he stated.

He also urged them to continue these dialogues because "the masses are critical to the success of the negotiations."

"Peace talks would be useless if the people are not involved," stressed Dayanghirang.

Further, he encouraged them to help the government and the NDFP solicit inputs from the people by holding their own consultations. "Let us pool our efforts in bridging the gap between the people and the government so that the government will understand the issues of the basic sectors."

The GPH-NDF joint peace consultation was organized by the Cordillera People’s Alliance and Katribu Partylist. #