MANILA (UCAN): Commission on Indigenous Peoples of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines urged the government to bring to justice violators of the Philippine indigenous people law. In an October statement, the commission called for intensified efforts to protect the rights and dignity of indigenous people who suffer from land grabbing and discrimination.
“Discrimination against (indigenous people) has affected the whole of Philippine society. Social exclusion has become widespread to the point of posing a threat to social harmony and peace, as well as compromising the country’s ability to achieve economic progress and stability,” the statement said.
Commission said it had looked at the implementation of a landmark piece of legislation called the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act that has prohibited land grabbing of indigenous lands since 1997. It gave indigenous people rights to claim ownership over the lands they had occupied and possessed since time immemorial and utilized.
The Philippines has an estimated 14 to 17 million indigenous people belonging to 110 ethno-linguistic groups mostly concentrated in the north of Luzon and southern Mindanao, according to government data.
However, the commission said that millions of indigenous people suffer from land grabbing by corporations, while their leaders became victims of extrajudicial killings.
“We are made aware of the harsh realities suffered by indigenous people which comprise 10-20 per cent of our (Philippine) total population. We deplore the present disregard of the indigenous people’s rights to their ancestral domain and their right to say no to development projects which erode and disrupt their life, culture and spirituality,” the statement added.
In 2016, Canadian geography professor, William H. Holden, conducted a study on environmental science and the effects of its utilisation on the Philippines’ indigenous people.
Holden concluded that although the Philippines was rich in natural resources, a mining-based paradigm had been in conflict with the nation’s indigenous people.
“This conflict has entailed disputes between the mining industry and indigenous peoples about the validity of the Philippines indigenous peoples’ rights legislation and alleged human rights abuses on the behalf of the mining industry,” Holden said.
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The commission also noted that mining was not the only activity that threatened indigenous people’s rights.
“Infrastructure projects are forcefully implemented without listening to the cries and concerns of indigenous peoples,” it said.
