Lumads seek Cebu’s support

CEBU, Philippines – After a weeklong of activities at the University of the Philippines-Diliman campus, representatives of the lumad tribes of Mindanao are in Cebu to seek for support for their fight against lumad killings.

"Nagpatabang mi sa mga Cebuanos nga unta tabangan mi ninyo sa among pait karon nga kahimtang  nga maabot gyud sa presidente ang among panawagan. Kay sa pagkakaron wala siyay gibuhat aron masulbad ang among problema," said Franklin Campos, a Lumad and brother of the slain chairman of Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang sa Sumusunod.

In a statement, MAPASU said that the Lumad People of Surigao del Sur strongly condemned the deployment of more military troops to the area.

"Such action shows utter lack of compassion for us victims of military abuses as we continue to grieve for our dead and suffer in the evacuation center," the statement said.

Rico Pareja, a Lumad and teacher of the Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development, said that around 2,914 individuals are now suffering from "deplorable situations" at an evacuation center in Surigao del Sur.

"Daghan na mga tawo gipang dengue. Unya adto ra mi matulog sa salog nga semento. Daghan na nagkasakit," Pareja described.

Pareja said that they were forced to leave their homes due to military harassment.

Pareja and Campos were invited by Cebu-based Religious Missionaries of the Philippines, which is helping them with their plight. They are in Cebu to attend the two-day Task Faith Reflection-Bibliko Theological Reflection.

RPM spokesperson Joneil Perfecio said that on December 7 to 10, they will hold a series of activities dubbed as Lakbayan sa mga Lumad sa Cebu, in which they will hold people's conference, forums and discussions in various schools.

Perfecio said that they also wish to speak with Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.

The statement added that instead of pulling out the military troops, the Aquino administration has reportedly deployed more military units to Surigao del Sur allegedly to secure villages, especially the lumads from the CPP-NPA.

"The military has organized and armed paramilitary bandit groups that have been killing our leaders and attacking Lumad communities to ensure the entry of a coal mining operations in the Andap Valley Complex," the statement reads.

The group notes that more military personnel are being sent to Surigao del Sur to guarantee the entry of the mining operations in their ancestral lands.

"We have to defend our ancestral lands from large scale mining," the statement reads. —/ATO (FREEMAN)