Who are the ‘lumad’?
In the Philippines we have IPs from Batanes down to
By: Michael L. Tan - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 01:11 AM October 28,
2015
Manilakbayan 2015 is on, with mostly lumad,
indigenous peoples (IPs) from Mindanao, coming to
town on an awareness-building campaign. Monday
evening, after a long grueling all-day caravan from
Baclaran, down Taft to Liwasang Bonifacio, on to
Mendiola, they finally arrived in UP Diliman where
they will be staying for a week with a Kampuhan.
Who are these lumad and why are they in Manila?
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I thought I should start with a global picture of IPs, a
collective term with many different definitions that
have been proposed. One of the early advocates for
IP rights, Jose Martinez Cobo, offers this definition:
“[I]ndigenous communities, peoples and nations are
those which, having a historical continuity with pre-
invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed
on their territories, consider themselves distinct from
other sectors of the societies now prevailing on
those territories, or parts of them.”
Native
To most Filipinos, the term “native” is frequently
used, sometimes said derisively. Yet, the term
“native” does capture what “indigenous” is in terms
of first populations (in Canada the term First Nations
is used), people who have long ancestral ties to their
lands.
IPs throughout the world suffered mainly from
western colonialism, pushed off their lands,
sometimes even forced to live on reservations. The
American Indians are examples—marginalized and
neglected, even as they were stigmatized, depicted
in mass media and movies (cowboys versus
Indians) as barbaric.
In 2007 after more than 30 years of preparations,
the United Nations adopted a Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with 144 countries in
favor, the Philippines included. There were four
countries that opposed the declaration: Australia,
Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The
opposition was not surprising because the four
countries were settled by Europeans who pushed
out the “native” populations. The four countries have
since expressed support for the declaration but
continue to resist signing one that is legally-binding.
Zamboanga. I didn’t use Tawi-Tawi to indicate the
southernmost IPs, because IPs in our context refer
to groups that were not Christianized or Islamized.
(This is not to say there are no Christian or Muslim
IPs; there have been IPs who did eventually
convert.)
IPs in the Philippines include many Negrito groups,
referred to with names like Aeta, Agta, Atta, with a
specific geographic name attached (e.g., Aeta of
Zambales).
There are some generic names that are used for IPs
living in particular regions. “Igorot” is used to refer to
the IPs of the Cordilleras and include the Bontoc,
Ibaloi, Kalanguya, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga and
Kankana-ey. On Mindoro Island, “Mangyan” is the
generic term used to refer to the Iraya, Alangan,
Tadawan, Taubuid (Batangan), Buhid, Hanunoo and
Ratangan.
Lumad, which is Cebuano for “native,” refers to 17
IPs in Mindanao: Atta, Bagobo, Banwaon, B’laan,
Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa,
Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka,
Tagakaolo, Tasaday, T’boli, Teduray (or Tiruray)
and Ubo.
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The other major geographical area with many IPs is
Palawan, but no collective term is used yet for them.
Wherever they are in the Philippines, IPs have
suffered as their counterparts in other parts of the
world did. Some groups have been able to fight
back, exemplified by Macli-ing Dulag (1930-1980), a
Kalinga leader who led the opposition against a
proposed Chico River dam. Macli-ing was
assassinated but the opposition continued and the
dam was never built. (Chico River today is a growing
tourist destination, known mainly for whitewater
rafting and kayaking.)
The situation of the lumad has been more
precarious than other IPs in the Philippines because
Mindanao is so rich in natural resources. For
decades now, the Philippine government
encouraged settlers from other parts of the country
to migrate to Mindanao, now a Promised Land.
In the 1970s, exploitation of lumad ancestral
domains began to accelerate as local and foreign
companies established agribusiness plantations and
logging concessions. The martial law regime
introduced low-intensity warfare, instituted Cafgus
(Citizens’ Armed Forces Geographical Units) to keep
IP communities under surveillance.
With massive deforestation, logging has declined,
but plantations continue, and, in recent years, large-
scale mining for valuable mineral resources. Civil
unrest has escalated, with the New People’s Army
increasing its influence in the area. In 2008,
President Gloria Arroyo ordered the establishment of
an Investment Defense Force (IDF) to guard
business interests and infrastructure.
the whole day, the Kampuhan, which is on the
grounds of the College of Human Kinetics, will be
the site for cultural interactions. The closing
ceremonies will be on Saturday, when the lumad
move on to Liwasang Bonifacio for another three
weeks, before heading back home to Mindanao.
There are no easy answers to many of the issues
around development and IPs, but I will spend the
week listening to the lumad, and sharing back
thoughts with readers.

Save our schools

NOTES:
That IDF has backfired, alienating the lumad as well
as, ironically, becoming a potential deterrent to
bringing in business investments. A 2014 US State
Department report notes human rights violations
such as “extrajudicial killings and enforced
disappearances undertaken by security forces; a
dysfunctional criminal justice system notable for
poor cooperation between police and investigators,
few prosecutions, and lengthy procedural delays;
and widespread official corruption and abuse of
power.”

The report goes on to note that these abuses are

reported in the “extractive industries, power
generation, agribusiness, real estate and tourism,
especially in areas where untrained paramilitary
groups have been deployed by the government as
part of its Investment Defense Force.”

The Manilakbayan 2015 has a special “Save our

Schools” focus, because military and paramilitary
forces have been targeting lumad schools, on the
suspicion that these are New People’s Army-
influenced. The schools are alternatives to
mainstream institutions, which tend to downgrade IP
culture.

Schools have been raided and in September, three

of the leaders of one lumad organization, Alternative
Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood
Development (Alcadev) were assassinated.
Ironically, Alcadev members were visiting UP
Diliman at that time, and the killings have galvanized
the university’s communities to action, from student
groups to the Fighting Maroons varsity players, to
the barangay. 

Visit UP Diliman this week to learn more about the

lumad.   Among the highlights will be a College of
Music benefit concert for the lumad schools on
Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. at the GT-Toyota. Thursday