Cavite State University

Don Severino De Las Alas Campus, Main

Indang, Cavite

“A Descriptive Analysis of the Killings of

Datu Victor Dayan and the Lumad People”

A Term Paper
Presented to Faculty and Staff of
College of Arts and Sciences
And to
Mr. Vertine Paul Beler

In Partial Fulfilment of the Course

Int’l Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (POSC55)
And for the Degree
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

Abelardo C. Cordenete
November 2018
 Table of Contents

Chapter I

I. Historical Background

II. Lumad in Mindano

III. Political Culture

Chapter II

I. Killing of Datu Victor Dayan and the Lumad People

Chapter III

I. Conclusion
 Acknowledgement

The researcher would like to thanks the Almighty Father who

is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and omniscience in the

process of making this paper.

The researcher would like to extend his gratitude to Mr.

Vertine Paul Beler for the wise teaching methods imposed towards

his student in order for the practical application of the

lessons.

To the classmates of the researcher who had contributed for

the development of the term paper.

 Abstract

The paper wishes to analyze the case of Datu Victor Dayan

through a descriptive case analysis, the head of tribe called

Lumads. An example of violation of Human Rights in the

Philippines involving Indigenous People.

 Chapter I

I. Historical Background

About the 11th century, called the “emergent period” by

the anthropologist, F. Landa Jocano, the dynamic

interactions between the indigenous cultural elements and

that of the migrants brought about the eventual narrowing

down into distinct ethnic groups. Pigafetta, Magellan’s

chronicler in 1521, mentioned four Mindanao groups as:

Caragan, Mandanaos, Lutaos, Subanus and Dapitans.

Apparently, the Caragans were found in the Misamis Oriental,

Agusan, Bukidnon area. The Mandanaos in Central Mindanao;

Lutaos in Zamboanga del Sur and Basilan; Subanus and

Dapitans in Zamboanga del Sur and del Norte; and the

Dapitans in Zamboanga del Norte provinces as these are

called today.

Called ” infieles” during the Spanish regime, the

subjugation of the Lumads was equally important as that of

the Muslims. Thus, Jesuit missions were established near

infieles territories. They were found among the Tiruray in

Cotabato; among the Subanons in Dapitan; among the Manuvus

and Caragans in Misamis and Surigao; and among the Bilaans

in Davao.
 Economically, Lumads practiced swidden agriculture

depending on the land’s productivity. Communal sharing of

resources based on the belief of the sacredness of land and

nature as divine endowments define their relationship with

their environment. Their socio-political arrangements were

varied. The Mandaya were led by their bagani or warrior

while the Bagobos, Manuvu as well as most of the Lumads by

their datu. The Datu’s subjects were his sacops. The Lumad

remained isolated and withdrawn from the hills and forest

that were difficult to penetrate. The Spanish colonial

strategy was to begin colonization along the coast towards

the plains for purposes of trade and political

consolidation. During the Revolution of 1896, Lumads joined

a band of deportados and boluntarios who started a mutiny in

Marawi City against their Spanish superiors. They roamed the

Misamis Oriental area, harrassing and wrecking havoc on

Chinese and Spanish-owned business establishments. They were

fully armed and looked “healthy”. They were led by an armed

Lumad named Suba who had his own trumpeteers announce their

coming. They were later known to have joined a group of

rebels on the Agusan area who left to join the Katipuneros

of Luzon1.

1
http://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca-3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-
cultural-heritagesch/historical-research/lumad-in-mindanao/
II. Lumad in Mindano

The Lumads in Mindanao resisted against American

colonization. In 1906, Gov. Bolton of Davao was murdered by

the Bagobos in the area. Between 1906-1908 the Tungud Movement

of the Lumads in Davao spread through Agusan and Bukidnon. A

Subanon uprising against the Americans occurred between 1926-

27. The coming of the Japanese in Davao was resisted by the

Bagobos between 1918 to 1935 as the latter threatened to

displace them from their homelands for business purposes. When

American rule was consolidated, a systematic policy to

integrate Mindanao and Sulu began. Lumads and the Muslims were

grouped under a tribal system. In Davao there were 6 (Ata,

Guiangga, Mandaya, Manobos, Tagakaolo); 18 in Cotabato, 13 in

Lanao; 9 in Sulu; 5 in Zamboanga; 56 in subdistricts. The

District Governor who headed the wards had a deputy in the

person of the Lumad datu. Moreover, American rule and later

during the Commonwealth, the Lumad landscape changed. For

instance in the plains of Tupi and Polomolok in South

Cotabato, Blaan Lumads gave way to the Dole pineapple

plantations; Higaonons and Talaandigs who thrived by the

plains of Bukidnon were neighbors to the Del Monte

plantations. By the 1960’s bulldozers, cranes and giant trucks

were ubiquitous in the area of the Banwaons. Foreign

agribusiness covered a thousand to 3,000 ha. of Lumad lands in

Bukidnon-Davao area. Thus, concern for the Lumads in Mindanao

during the contemporary times focused on the development

projects that threaten to displace the Lumads from their

homeland. An example of this is the hydroelectric project of

the PNOC based in Mt. Apo which is being resisted by the

Bagobo in Davao. Legislations for the protection of ancestral

lands by the cultural communities had been passed by Congress.

Senate Bill 1728, sponsored by Juan Flavier entitled,

Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 seeks to

“recognize, protect and promote the rights of indigenous

cultural communities and to appropriate funds for the purpose.

III. Political Culture

Lumad is a Filipino-Bisaya term meaning "native" or

"indigenous," and is the self-ascription and collective

identity of the non-Islamized peoples who are said to be the

original habitants of the island of Mindanao.1 The term is

short for Katawhang Lumad (literally, "indigenous peoples"),

the autonym officially adopted on 26 June 1986 by delegates to

the Lumad Mindanaw People's Federation (LMPF) founding

assembly. The Lumad groups are a minority in the southern

Philippines, distinct from the majority Moro Islam people of

Mindanao. Not coincidentally, the places where the Lumads live

are also the country's last frontier in the hunt for natural
resources. Because they have so far remained protected from

mining and logging, the ancestral Lumad lands are said to have

the highest mining potential of all the islands and include

the last remaining uncut forests on Mindanao. Of the 23

priority mining projects under a government mining

revitalization program in Mindanao, most lie within the

ancestral lands of the Lumads. Aside from state-run mining and

logging, and despite laws like the Indigenous People's Rights

Act, big plantations and big corporations still manage to

encroach on this ancestral domain.

Chapter II

I. Killing of Datu Victor Dayan and the Lumad People

Datu Victor and the TAMASCO communities are long time

partners of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources

Center/Friends of the Earth Philippines in their struggle

against human rights violations by Consunji owned companies

encroaching on ancestral territory for coffee plantations and

coal operations. We send our heartfelt sympathies to their

families, friends and all those who support the struggles of

the T’boli–Manubo Sdaf Claimants Organization (TAMASCO)

communities.
 The killing of Datu Victor was perpetrated a year after the

Consunji company was granted an extension to their twenty

five year coffee plantation permit that expired in 2016, An

extension granted through legal manipulation, without free

prior and informed consent from T’boli-Manobo communties. No

one gains from the death of Datu Victor and the T’boli-

Manobos other than Consunji’s corporate interests.

These murders came only a month after the commemoration of

the Philippine congress’ enactment of the Indigenous Peoples

Rights Act (IPRA) 20 years ago. Their deaths serve as an

indictment of the Philippine legal system, which remains

uncaring, irresponsive and ineffectual in upholding the

rights of indigenous peoples over corporate interests.

Chapter III

I. Conclusion

The Lumads have a great number of followers, including

independent organizations, scholars, religious groups, and

government agencies, which respect indigenous people's rights

and have shown support for the principle, "Leave them alone."

Some key Lumad leaders are renewing the call to respect their

rights as indigenous people of Mindanao. They describe how

tired they are of conflicts in which the strategy of "divide

and rule" is used against them, not only by the military and

the NPA but also by miners and local politicians. These

leaders say the Lumads are being treated as give-aways by

these powerful forces and have always been used as propaganda

for others' self-advancement.8 Although the military has

played a large role in empowering the Lumads to oppose the

communist rebels in recent times, the stigma of the time when

both the military and government officials exploited the

ancestral communities, lands, and natural resources of the

Lumads still lingers. But the Lumads in Mindanao generally

recognize that the Philippine military has changed to a

professional institution in recent years. The government's

strategy for peace and development has empowered the local

people to reject the NPA insurgency and oppose its influence.

The Philippine government has the duty to uphold the rule of

law equally for all citizens, especially if it hopes to have

their support against the violent communist insurgency. The

government's legitimacy should be reinforced in all parts of

the Philippines, including within the Lumads' ancestral lands,

not only by the security forces but also by all local

government agencies concerned with providing government

services. The Lumad communities must be empowered not only

with military training and arms but also with sufficient

social services, including education, jobs, roads, and basic

infrastructure to support their communities and tribes. For

their part, the security forces—both military and police—and

local politicians must avoid the culture of bribes and

personal advantages that lead to unequal treatment for the

indigenous people, including the exploitation of their lands

and natural resources2.

2
https://globalecco.org/the-lumads