Barangay Umiray in the Provinces of General Nakar, Quezon and Dingalan, Aurora
May 24-25, 2018
We, the delegates from 1st National Peace and Humanitarian Mission in Umiray, unite in four important points after our two-day program in Brgy. Umiray in the provinces of Gen. Nakar, Quezon and Dingalan, Aurora:
- That there is gross violation of human rights against Dumagats. First is against the two Dumagats namely Rocky Torres and Dandoy Avellaneda who were illegally arrested, tortured, and detained. Second is against the Dumagat residents in the forms of forced evacuation, harassment, intimidation, divestment of properties, physical assaults, and military encampment in public spaces in the barangay;
- That the Dumagats, based on our interviews, want to come back to their homes but are hesistant due to fear of military presence;
- That the local government unit did not immediately intervene with the ongoing militarization of Dumagat communities, and, along with the military, did not extend sufficient help to the evacuees;
- That the lives of mothers and children are of immediate concern due to risk of acquiring disease in dwelling in unsanitary places.
Mission Participants
On May 24, around 95 delegation from Manila went to Brgy. Umiray in Gen. Nakar, Quezon to conduct a humanitarian mission to aid Dumagats reportedly displaced from their land due to military operations. The delegation was composed of members of 20 different organizations: Dumagat Sierra Madre (DSM), Bigkis at Lakas ng mga Katutubo sa Timog Katagalugan (BALATIK), KATRIBU Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayang Pilipino, Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC), Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan para sa Bayan (Tabak), Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino, AlterMidya, Kabataan Para sa Tribung Pilipino, Gabriela Women’s Party, Protect Sierra Madre (PSM), Redemptorist St. Clement’s Formation Mission Community, Order of St. Benedict – Socio Pastoral Apostolate (OSB-SPA), Task Force Indigenous Peoples (TFIP), Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka – Timog Katagalugan (Kasama TK), Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment – Southern Tagalog (Kalikasan ST), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – Southern Tagalog (Bayan ST), Bayan-Laguna, Bayan-Rizal, Karapatan ST, Karapatan Rizal, Gabriela ST, Southern Tagalog Cultural Alliance (STCA), and Starter-Piston.
Mission Overall Objectives and Results
The mission objectives are to deliver relief goods such as food, clothing, and beddings, among others, conduct educational discussions, and hold psychosocial activities for Dumagat children and adults.
Fortunately, the delegates were able to achieve their objectives and were able to reach out to almost 420 individuals (or 70 families) who evacuated to Sitio Campo, Pinamaypayan, Matinik, Mataping and Binabakos.
Mission Findings
The delegates witnessed the Dumagats’ abysmal con dition. They used mere tree branches to provide shade, and lona as make-shift roof.
Barangay officials insist that they are not letting the Dumagats starve. However, the delegates were able to confirm that the Dumagats were given relief goods by the officials only after the delegates distributed theirs. Even the encamped military near the evacuation sites only gave away bread in an attempt to match the relief distribution of the peace mission.
Aside from food, the delegates were also able to distribute clean clothing, toys for the children, 10 kulambo, banig (where families with children were prioritized), rolls of tarapal, and used tarpaulins.
Also included in the program were several interviews with the Dumagats, educational discussion on the human rights situation of indigenous peoples, psycho-social activities with the children which let them play and draw, and a solidarity night program to uplift the spirits of the Dumagats.
The interviews revealed a very telling condition of what the Dumagats went through during several encounters with the military. One Dumagat reported that some of them were assaulted by military personnel after every answer that the military deemed wrong. Some interviews also reflected how some families long to come home, but are still hesistant because they are unsure whether military operations shall continue upon their return. Another Dumagat said that he has learned that their farm animals were stolen by the military. The latter used the animals for sustenance while they were stationed in the sitio. According to the evacuees, sitio Dadiangao is already emptied with its around 200 families. Although they know for certain that they would not have any more means of livelihood, they still want to go back home.
The delegates of the peace mission also experienced threats, harassment and intimidation during their visit as three (3) 6×6 trucks arrive at the site, and around seven (7) military men set up their camp nearby.
Mission participants harrassed
Some delegates, including the Benedictine Sisters, CRC, Gabriela, Tabak and Altermidya, who left on May 24, were flagged down when they approached a military checkpoint.
There were also several attempts to intimidate and sabotage the peace mission. Some soldiers were seen taking videos of the delegation as they conduct the activities. They also crafted stories that two drivers were members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and that they already blended with the crowd.
These incidents are revealing instances of how the military’s operations – conducted under its internal security plan dubbed as Kapayapaan – is being implemented. The delegates fear that the
continuing militarization and implementation of Oplan Kapayapaan would also gravely affect the peace situation in the country. The Dumagats are among the national minorities who have been marginalized for centuries and are clamouring for peace, which in their context, is inextricably link to their call for respect to the right to self-determination, claim to ancestral lands and protection and rehabilitation of the environment which form part of their ancestral domain and territories.
Immediate Demands
After two days of integration program and humanitarian mission, we, the delegates, call on our brothers and sisters for additional support in our bid to return in Brgy. Umiray and follow up on what we have started. Aside from our goal to return and provide further assistance, we shall continue to help the Dumagats in their call for:
- The immediate release of Avelardo “Dandoy” Avellaneda and Rocky Torres;
- The military pull out from Dumagat communities and ensure safe returns of the evacuees;
- Militarization to stop;
- Continous assistance to the distressed families; and
- The resumption of peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Respect and implement the Comprehensive Aggreement on the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.
Th indigenous people is one of the most marginalized sectors in our country. They don’t inflict harm towards other people, and they also do not pose any threat to anyone, so treating them as such is not just uncalled for, but downright ignorant. They deserve to live in peace and in their own land just like everyone else.
