Just
my personal opinion about genocide involving paramilitary organizations in the
second largest island in the Philippines, MINDANAO:
Surigao
del Sur is a province under Caraga Region. The said Region, created by virtue
of RA 7901 in 1995, is located east of Mindanao island where minority groups
such as Lumad, Manobos, Mamanwa, Kalagan, Kamayo, Banwaon ,Umayamnon, Higa-onon
reside and thrive thereat since time immemorial. Caraga Region is very rich in
metallic and non-metallic minerals like gold, copper, chromite, nickel, coal,
limestone, feldspar etc. Moreover, minerals are very abundant in Andap Valley
in the said region.
Nowadays,
some groups of armed men, purportedly involving local civilian armed forces and
other paramilitary organizations, are threatening and disrupting the peaceful
life of the cultural minorities therein in search of fortune.
Paramilitary
organization is the subsidiary armed group of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) categorized under Ready Reserve units whose primary task is
to lessen the impact and hostility of the insurgents; enforce orderliness;
maintain peace in the community; and carry firearms legitimately in the said
region. In addition, this organization is ordered to prevent terror,
atrocities, threats and incursion of insurgents in the community.
Of
so many militias sprouting along the community as this of point in time like
“Mahagat-Bagani,” etc., only the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit
(CAFGU) is the sole paramilitary organization deputized, authorized, and
accredited by the AFP to assume responsibility and power on a par with the
regular forces of the government. However, still, there are cases of abuses in
Surigao del Sur involving these supposed guardians in the community in the said
province. Recently, spate of Lumad killings was reported linking some
paramilitary organizations in the said hostile and oppressive acts.
The
killings of Lumad, especially their leaders, are connected to the ongoing mining
activity in their region especially in Surigao del Sur. Most of the Lumads (in
the province) were promised of better and improved way of living like having a
flashy car etc. in exchange of allowing the perpetrators to exploit their
environment through unlawful mining operations.
However,
the Lumad leaders had greatly denounced and opposed such proposition to denude
and destroy their forest, contaminate their waters, destroy their farm land and
pristine environment. Thus, the militias had ordered to kill these minority
leaders so as not to impede and oppose the armed men from exploitation and
operation in the said region.
By
taking advantage of the oppression and hostilities greatly experienced by the
local communities in the said region, the New People’s Army are reportedly
training the juveniles of the Lumad, ages between 10 and 11, to be child
warriors at the very nose of the local authorities. The leftist allegedly takes
the opportunity to penetrate the local therein to beef up their military might
in the future in the guise of combat training against paramilitary
organizations.
Such
engagement of the NPA in the internal affairs of the Lumad was greatly
condemned by North Cotabato Second District Congresswoman, Nancy Catamco,
Chairperson of the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and
Indigenous People, saying that the ongoing exploitation of the NPA to the Lumad
children really constitutes child abuse and violation of international human
right laws and child protection laws.
