NEWS of Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Jose Cabantan’s cross catching the Pope’s eye brings the plight of Indigenous People (IP) in Mindanao into global focus, claims the climate advocacy group Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ).
Embattled IPs across the island, particularly in the province of Bukidnon, are mired in a longstanding struggle to reclaim their ancestral lands.
“The cross that CDO bishop offered to the Pope is still soaked with the fresh blood of the Manobo Pulangiyon, the Indigenous People whose lands have been seized by pineapple agribusiness corporations in Bukidnon,” said Jinky Esguerra, Food, Land, Water, and Climate campaigner of PMCJ. “There is no justice in sight, as any effort to reclaim the land is met with violent force,” Esguerra added.
The Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe in Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon, has been displaced for a hundred years. Despite receiving their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) in August of this year, they still have a long wait until they are in actual possession of their land.
“We hope that all government agencies will support us to enter our ancestral domain,” said Datu Rolando Anglao, the tribal leader of the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe. “Because of our suffering in the area, we have not been able to reclaim our ancestral land,” Anglao added.
Tribal accounts state that their land was allegedly borrowed by Don Manolo Fortich in 1920 through a verbal agreement with tribal leaders. Fortich developed the land into a cattle ranch, erected a fence, and hired a private army to guard its perimeter and keep the tribe out.
In 1996, Kiantig Development Corporation (KDC), formerly known as Cesar Fortich Incorporated, was issued Forest Land Grazing Management Agreement (FLGMA) No. 122 by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The lease expired in 2018, and the company has been issued a notice to vacate.
“Through the obstruction and obstinacy of KDC, we have not been able to enter. If all government agencies see it, KDC has no right to own it and no right to prevent us from entering our ancestral domain,” emphasized Anglao.
On April 19, 2022, members of the tribe, along with then-presidential candidate Leody de Guzman and other visitors, entered a portion of the land and were shot at by alleged company guards, resulting in several injuries.
Subsequently, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples served a Cease and Desist Order to KDC on April 30, 2022.
“We call on the Pope to shed light on Bukidnon and on other IPs who continue to suffer brutalities from agribusiness corporations globally,” Esguerra said.
The current global climate crisis has a significant contribution from large corporations that engage in monoculture like the pineapple plantations in Bukidnon. According to an article from foodtank.com, “The conversion of biodiverse landscapes into single-species farms alters the water cycle and makes the world more susceptible to ecological instability, according to recent research by international scientists published in Nature Geoscience.”
The ongoing adversity experienced by the displacement of the Manobo-Pulangiyon and the rest of the IP tribes brings uncertainty and food insecurity, necessitating the Pope’s urgent attention, Esguerra added.
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