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Twenty-four Tigwahanon families fled their homes in Sitio Salumpikit, Barangay Bunacao, San Fernando, Bukidnon after elements of the 60th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) allegedly searched their homes violently and even bombed the house of Ugsalay Lagundong with an M203 grenade rifle. This happened immediately after an encounter between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People’s Army ensued in the area at around 7:00 am of April 23.

Datu Ungad Daysulon recounted that the said encounter between the two armed groups occurred within 50 meters from their community in Sitio Salumpukit. This caused his people great fear and panic. The 60th IB PA denied such encounter during one radio interview, but the community stands firm to their testimony of what happened afterwards.

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With their lives on the line, the community fled to the barangay center – about two kilometers away – with nothing but a few household items and the clothes on their back.

The 99 evacuees had already spent 2 nights at the barangay hall of Brgy. Bunacao before some local officials came out for them. But rather than assisting the Lumad, the officials prodded them to go back to their community, as they said their office was busy and they had no time for such a situation.

After days in hiding to evade ‘possible military retaliation’, the evacuees decided to bring their plight to the provincial government of Bukidnon and erected a camp in front of the provincial capitol building in Malaybalay City on May 1.

This has not been the first time when instead of assisting the evacuees government units force them to go back to their communities. Despite the provision for a mandatory representative of the indigenous peoples in the government units, the representative has no power to ensure the safe return of fellow Lumad, and in many cases, even echo the unconcerned discriminatory position of the government units.

Lumad evacuees are forcibly displaced from their communities, their indigenous structures no longer effective in times of conflict, their leaders not recognized by state forces in their operations in ancestral domains. This has caused the repeated scenarios of the Lumad fleeing their domains during military operations, with no lasting resolutions achieved in their recurring displacement. (katungod lumad alert)

 

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