A MANOBO mother breast-feeds her child inside a makeshift house in an evacuation center in Davao City. Hundreds of “lumad” were displaced from Talaingod, Davao del Norte province, following a series of attacks allegedly committed by paramilitary and government forces. KARLOS MANLUPIG/INQUIRER MINDANAO
Despite recent reports on the killings of “lumad” in Mindanao being linked to the military, a Palace official on Saturday assured the indigenous peoples in Surigao del Sur that they will not be left behind by the government.
“We do not want anyone to be left behind. No one should be left behind, and therefore, we are also addressing the concerns of our brothers and sisters na mga lumad at patuloy po natin silang tutulungan (we will continue to help them),” said presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.
Lacierda said the government data showing that lumads comprised three out of four rebel returnees in Surigao del Sur was a proof that the government was reaching to the indigenous peoples.
“It’s a significant amount, three out of four rebel returnees. You know, if there is no access to resources to some people, they will resort to extralegal means,” Lacierda said.
“We have seen a number of rebel returnees coming back to the fold. It shows that our serbisyo caravan na ginagawa po natin sa ating mga kababayan, sa ating mga kapatid na lumad, ay nagkakaroon po ng epekto sa kanila dahil kung hindi po epektibo ‘yun ay hindi po sila bababa sa bundok,” he added.
(It shows that the service caravan we have been offering to the people, to the lumad is effective because if it were not, then they would not have come down from the mountains.)
Earlier this month, two Manobo leaders and a volunteer teacher in the area were killed allegedly by the Magahat-Bagani group, a paramilitary organization being linked to the Armed of Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The AFP and President Benigno Aquino III himself denied the allegations, but Lacierda added that the military will cooperate in any investigation on the matter.
“Marami pong mga information ang lumalabas, and kung mayroong mag-iimbestiga, nandiyan po ang PNP (Philippine National Police) at ini-imbestigahan po ‘yan ngayon and I’m certain that the AFP will lend its support to any investigation on the lumad killings,” Lacierda said. Yuji Vincent Gonzales/IDL
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