Lumads want a return of their ancestral land

The forces of Ameril Umbra Kato are on the run and had abandoned their camps and territories which they had been allowed to occupy in the past when they were still an integral part of the mainstream Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Since Kato had been cut off and disowned by the MILF on account of his un-Islamic ways, he dug in in the same territory where he built his main operational base. When he suffered a debilitating stroke, he set up medical facilities in the same camp which had been an ancestral domain of Teduray lumads. The Teduray, also known as Teruray, had inhabited the area comprising of some 12,000 hectares of the undivided Cotabato province. They were there long before any foreign armed invaders or religious crusaders like the Spaniards who came in the 16th century to spread Christianity and even long before Sharif Mohammad Kabunsuan, an Arab-Malay prince from Johore who brought Islam to the Philippines.

The Tedurays were known by the migrants from Visayas and Mindanao as the true inhabitants of what is now called Guindulungan, Datu Saudi, Datu Unsay, Shariff Aguak, and South Upi towns. It is in this area where the Tedurays who are non-Muslims thrive. In fact Mount Firis, a centuries-old tribal sanctuary, is located right in the center of this territory where the tribesmen also established the burial grounds for their Temuays (Tedurays tribal chieftains).

This week, with the forces of Ameril Umbra Kato scuttled, the hopes of the Tedurays to redeem their ancestral domain came alive. They now are appealing to Pres. Benigno Aquino III to declare their domain as protected land or zone of peace as they do not want to have anything to do with the separatist agenda of the MILF and the Taliban style of justice system of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

With the vicious forces of BIFF ferreted out of the ancestral enclave of the Tedurays, will they now have the courage to return and reinforce the security around the symbolic Mt. Firis and the perimeter of their ancestral domain? They can actually provide them, and the rest of the peace-loving Muslims and Christians who had peacefully co-exited with them through the centuries will take active part in the intensive campaign to run after the forces of Kato. Divided, they will continue to suffer the domineering and cruel forces of BIFF, united and supportive with the government forces moreover will give them the superior advantage. They need not bear arms. All they need to do is provide vital information that the police and the military needs. As the adage goes, “vigilance is the price of freedom”. While the government can slowly go it alone, with the help of the people it can deal with the problem quickly.

All these noise about BIFF recruiting young combatants is nothing but fantasy. It is the young generation that has been deprived the atmosphere of peace that could have accorded them the opportunity to pursue their schooling. The trouble that the rampaging forces of Kato has caused has effectively denied them the education which they needed to compete. What is even worse is that their parents have been uprooted from their farms which are their main source of livelihood due to the incessant troubles that BIFF had caused.