Lumad demand for autonomy sparks debate

MANILA, Philippines – The Lumad demand for autonomy has sparked a debate among politicians with some blaming the memorandum of agreement for ancestral domain as a "bad precedent" while others said that the demand could be granted. This came a day after Lumads from Mindanao and Palawan expressed their desire to run an autonomous region within their ancestral lands. A radio report over dzBB quoted House Speaker Prospero Nograles as saying that allowing the Lumads for self-governance will only result to a “chop-chop" republic. For his part, North Cotabato Rep. Bernardo Piñol dubbed the IPs’ self-rule attempt as “myopic" and “stupid." The lawmaker added that the lumads’ proposition will only encourage other tribes and cultural communities across the country to ask for autonomy as well. For his part, Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat branded the government’s ancestral domain deal with the Bangsamoro peoples as a “bad precedent." In a radio interview, Lobregat criticized the government for promoting divisiveness within the nation through the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) which creates a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE). “This (the MOA-AD) is really a wrong precedent. Even the Lumads are saying they also want to have their own self-governance. At tsaka yung Lumads were not even consulted at all dito sa pagsagawa nitong MOA-AD," he said. At the Senate, Lumads found some allies with Senators Miriam Santiago and Aquilino Pimentel saying that the demand of IPs for their own territory has a constitutional basis. Congress, the said, could author provisions which would grant the autonomy of cultural communities and Lumads. Lobregat agreed with the senators’ statement. He remained firm, however, on his stance that the BJE is violative of the Constitution. “Yung Constitution natin allows for example, the creation of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, but it does not allow the creation of a BJE," Lobregat said. Earlier in the day, IPs also sought broader participation in the discussions on the controversial ancestral domain deal. Represented by their leaders, the IP communities' expressed their concerns on the unsigned MOA-AD during Monday's "Consultation Meeting on the Indigenous Peoples' Ancestral Domain and the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE)" in Cagayan de Oro. Clad in full “Lumad" ceremonial dresses, some 230 IP leaders representing the 24 tribes questioned the implication of the stalled agreement on their own ancestral territories. Lawyer Greg Andolana, an IP advocate and a former congressman in North Cotabato, said IP communities should have greater role if the MOA-AD is reviewed. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV