‘Small gifts from my pocket’

GIFTS FOR PEACE Officials and leaders of a group of tribal warriors who fought as NPA allies release white balloons during a peace rally and gift-giving led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

DAVAO CITY — Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday handed cattle, other animals for livestock, a generator set, hollow blocks and a vehicle to a group of “lumad” who surrendered after years of fighting the government as a New People’s Army (NPA) ally.

Alvarez said what he gave the group of Datu Guibang Apoga were “small gifts from my personal pocket,” which would be followed by government-funded projects.

Apoga and several of his men surrendered on June 9 to the military and local authorities in the town of Talaingod, Davao del Norte province.

Trust Duterte

Maj. Gen. Noel Clement, head of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division (ID), said more of Apoga’s men were expected to turn themselves in.

Through an interpreter, Apoga said he was elated at the government’s assurance of support.

Apoga, who headed the Manobo-Langilan tribe with vast ancestral domain claims in Davao del Norte and Bukidnon, said he surrendered because he wanted peace for his tribe.

Alvarez said Apoga’s surrender showed that the tribal chief trusted President Rodrigo Duterte.

“You will not regret trusting our President,” Alvarez said during a rally for peace in Talaingod.

At the height of his armed struggle, Apoga and his followers attacked government forces and security guards of logging company Alcantara and Sons in 1993.

His group accused the company of encroaching on the tribe’s ancestral domain and destroying the forests.

Apoga’s group sought help from the NPA in the area and shortly supplied the rebel army with fighters.

Alvarez said the government would finance an electrification project he requested for Nasilaban and other communities in the village of Palma Gil, part of Apoga’s territory.

Generator

While waiting for the electrification project, Alvarez said Apoga’s group could enjoy electricity through the generator that he gave.

Alvarez said the tribe’s request for a water supply line would be prioritized this year.

Clement, the 10th ID chief, said Apoga’s surrender would open the way for progress in the area as without conflict, “many investors would be lured.”

He said Apoga’s surrender deprived the NPA of a key ally in the area.

Clement said he expected communist rebels to “discredit” Apoga’s surrender and make it appear that communist rebels were still strong in the area. —Frinston Lim