POSITION PAPER ON ANCESTRAL DOMAIN - LUMAD MINDANAO

March 19, 1987

LUMAD MINDANAO

PHILIPPINES

For us Lumad of Mindanao, Land is the most sacred gift from Magbabaya (God) and the sources of our life.

We believe that land should not be owned by certain individuals, rather it should be shared for everybody to exploit and till that they may have life abundantly.

The historical trend of the Lumads in Mindanao from the colonial past of exploitation, oppression and deprivation to the present regime, does not in any way lead us towards a brighter future for our Lumad generation.  

Our situation characterized by helplessness, insecurity and death is in effect the consequence through the so-called "Development Projects" such as: logging concessions, mining industries, plantations, agri-business, etc.; does extremely cause the loss of our ancestral domain and making us as "squatters in our own land." Instrumental in serving and protecting the interests of these big businesses is the military strategy of organizing the feared Civilian Home Defense Forces (CHDF) and supporting the fanatic groups coupled with the new strategy of organizing the Alsa Masa in the guise of counter-insurgency, resulting in the arrest, hamletting, torture, theft, rape, burning and bombing of houses and the forced-surrender of the so-called "rebel" sympathizers.  

On the other hand, our cultural heritage is disregarded, our sacred places are desecrated, mockery to our rituals and our antiques were taken away from us. But being united, we feel it is our duty and  responsibility to regain these beautiful and sacred life which Magbabaya gave us as His gift. We defend this gift in order to preserve it for our future generation, in the same manner that we wage a united struggle for self-determination.  

This history of the Lumads is not only a history of exploitation but also a history of unrelenting struggle. Our heroes bear witness to this noble legacy. The blood shed by our heroes in the lists of martyrs in Mindanao are our inspirations and has strengthened us to continue the struggle for self-determination.

Therefore, with a united voice, we stand firm on the following:  

1. The land of the Lumads and its natural resources within are gifts from Magbabaya for livelihood of our people and our prosperity;  

2. It is our right and privilege as Lumads to live, to till, to manage, to develop or to dispose our ancestral land and other natural resources in accordance with our customary laws;  

3. It is our right and responsibility to defend it from the intruders who want to appropriate for their own selfish Interests, as manifested in the depredations by foreign businesses and their local cohorts,Lumads and non-Lumads.

 Therefore, to uplift the economic and political life of the Lumads, we want to uphold the ho ted traditions in managing our communities, by the following:

a. respect for the boundary of our ancestral domain, such as creeks, forests, durable trees and plants, mountains, graves; and other tribal markers; and  

b. uphold the communal system of tilling the land. This means the togetherness in working in certain piece of land, sharing the fruits including the animals caught in hunting. The tiller is the owner of the land and those who have no land to till shall be given a piece of land in order to live.

c. the government should not recognize the themselves as Lumad and Lumad leaders. This is to avoid the misinterpretation in behalf of the Lumad people and to foster the genuine leadership of the people in line with their traditional concept of  leadership.

Original Signed

LUMAD - Mindanao Council of Leaders  

March 19, 1987

PHILIPPINES