State university for Lumads (1)

By Arnold Garbanzos

ILIGAN City –– Let’s accept it as a fact, our country (specially Mindanao)  is Tri-people––we have Muslims, Christians and Lumads or the Indigenous People or IPs.

As far as the national and educational needs of the Christians are concerned we have UP in Diliman. As for the Muslims we have MSU in Marawi.  What is lacking is a University for the Lumads or the IPs in the Hinterlands of our country.

UP based on 2011 DBM figures has an annual budget of P5 billion.  MSU on the other hand has a budget of P3 billion.  If we create an IPUP (Indigenous People’s University of the Philippines) in Iligan we can easily have a budget of a billion!

But what we need is the needed legislation to make this dream come true. And this is where we Iliganons must put our act together and work as one people.

I know that our national government would not neglect the needs of our IPs.  If they can give P5 billion to UP and P3 billion for MSU, giving a billion to the Lumads for their educational needs is not difficult for PNoy to do. PNoy will be back up by two very “powerful tools”–– the Ipra law and the office of the NCIP plus the almost 10,000,000 IP population of our country.

Notice that we see many prominent lawyers, judges and doctors in our midst whose surnames are either Christian or Muslim but never have we heard an IP attaining such a status in our society.

I did a Guinness in MSU-IIT in 2009-of the 10 thousand students we encourage to join the activity we did a head count––1,900 were Muslims and the rest Christians.

Guess how many IPs or Lumads were there? Only seven! Seven Lumad students coming from the Hinterlands of Iligan (which has a population of 17,000 or more). We wonder if the children of the mountains are even cared for at all?  What is happening to them?  How can they survive in this modern world with no education?

Iligan has an IRA of almost P800 million annually. If we make the IPUP bill into law, we increase our IRA by a billion-that would be P 1.8 billion! Think of the possibilities for Iligan and its constituents.

Well it is because Iligan’s land area is 80 percent the hinterlands or the mountains.  We are a city whose terrain are mountainous. And up in those mountains live our Lumad brothers and sisters.

For 62 years we have not seen much progress in the Mountains of Iligan.  The City must look for a way to hasten its development.  And there is no faster way of doing it than by putting a University up there in our Hinterlands.  This is a time honored strategy which we can see in the major cities of our country like Dumaguete and Cagayan de Oro.

What are the advantages of having a University in the Hinterlands of Iligan?  Allow me to outline its major benefits.  Kindly take note of reason number 16-it might be the only salvation for the residents of Iligan.

1. Since as a City we are more than 80% mountains then this University will be the one to spearhead the  development of all our lands in the Hinterlands.

2. A big chunk of our national budget is earmarked for education and having our own State University (created by Iliganons for Iligan) would mean a bigger budget for our City.

A new university is equal to the budget of  one whole city and even more.

Iligan has an IRA of P 798 million annually, UP has a budget of P 5B annually,

MSU in Marawi has  P 3B, MSU-IIT has a budget of no less than P 370 million a year-it is not bad that our Hinterlands through the IPUP might be able to get a budget of P 1B! That could do wonders for our Hinterlands!

3. It brings in grants, foundations, scholarships etc.––local and international aid.

4. It allows us to develop the Hinterlands with less budget strains on our City.

We can focus our present IRA of P798 million on the 31 barangays of the lowlands of Iligan and focus the P1 billion on the 31 hinterland barangays of our City. Think of the multiplier effect in terms of progress for all of us in Iligan!

5. This will also up or appreciate the values of our properties in the Hinterlands.

6. We can practically create a “New Iligan” in the Mountains-just like Baguio and decongest our present city.

7. It will bring peace to our City-since the rebels will be compelled to put down their arms once their children are going to school.

8. It completes the cycle of development  for the Tri-people of Mindanao-Christians, Muslims and Lumads. If the Christians have  the UP system, the Muslims the MSU system, then the IPUP system will  secure the future of all IPs/ Lumads  all over our country.

It seems that the Lumads are in hiding and have lost their identity among us.

9. This will create jobs, employment, new businesses for the Mountains and more opportunities for growth and progress.

10. This will be a University that will be applied all over the country and is not limited to Iligan only. Iligan  will only be the originator. Meaning the main Campus will be in Iligan but there  will satellite campuses all over the country since 52%  of our land mass of our country are the   mountains-just think what  an IPUP system can do for all the Hinterlands of  our country. This will allow Iligan to earn “revenues” all over the country.  Its an enterprise that will allow Iligan   to earn all over.

Think of an  IPUP Multi-Purpose Coop (just like the MSU-IIT MPC) and you will see the potential open to Iligan because of this proposed university.

11. This will increase our City area or space-since we will be able to develop 100% of our lands.

12. This will release the potentials of the Hinterlands-the ore, the water, the rich culture, the fruits, the farm produce etc.

13. By creating the IPUP we will be obeying Allah/God and fulfill the declaration of His Word in the Holy Books-The Quran and the Bible.

14. Be able to serve the educational needs of no less than 10,000,000 IPs or Lumads all over the country-which number comprises 15% of our total population in the country.

15. Be able to fulfill the mandate of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous People and bring in new international funds from the UN.

16. Be able to bring the people or residents of Iligan to safer ground in case there is the threat of coastal flooding or (God forbid) tsunamis that may hit the City.

17.  For our local leaders specially the mayor and the congressman––this is your passport for national prominence; you are serving the needs of no less than 10 million people all over our country.  Today Iligan needs a leader who will rise up to national prominence to protect the interest of Iligan and its people.

The last leader we had was the late Sen. Tomas Cabili. If you put this bill into law the whole IP population of this nation will recognize you and even place you in a national office or even a senator of this Republic.

How do I know this will happen? Simple you are backed up by a national law––the Ipra or the Indigenous People’s Rights Act and you are back up by a national office (which is no less than under the office of the President of this Republic)-the NCIP or the National Commission on Indigenous People.  This two will work to the advantage of any Iliganon who runs for national office! (to be concluded)