A measure was filed in the Senate on Monday calling for an investigation into the land dispute involving a displaced indigenous tribe in Bukidnon that resulted in gunshot injuries of members of presidential candidate Leody De Guzman's group.
In filing Senate Resolution 999, reelectionist Sen. Risa Hontiveros cited the April 19 incident wherein personnel of a plantation in Bukidnon reportedly fired on a group that included members of Manobo-Pulangihon tribe, De Guzman, and his senatorial candidates Roy Cabonegro and David D'Angelo.
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At least five people were reported wounded as a result of the incident, including Nanie Abela, an organizer of farmers and farmworkers in Mindanao, whom de Guzman said was one foot away beside him when shots were fired at them.
“Ang mga katutubo ay isa sa mga pinakabulnerable sa ating lipunan. Huwag nating hayaang dahas ang katapat ng kanilang mapayapang paggiit ng karapatan sa kanilang lupang ninuno," Hontiveros said.
De Guzman's party was in Bukidnon to join the Manobo-Pulangihon tribe in taking back a portion of their 1,000-hectare ancestral land from which they were ejected in 2017 due to a Forest Land Graze Management Agreement (FLGMA) secured by Kiantig Development Corp., whose president and co-owner, Pablo Lorenzo III, is the incumbent mayor of Quezon, Bukidnon.
Even after the agreement expired in 2018, the company did not vacate the premises, leaving close to a thousand tribal families displaced until now.
“Land disputes have been a longstanding issue in our country that often end in violence. Paulit-ulit ang ganitong mga insidente dahil wala tayong maayos na polisiya na tuluyang magwawakas sa karahasan, lalo na laban sa ating katutubo," Hontiveros said.
"It’s time we have proper legislation that can address this,” she added.
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