Hontiveros wants Senate probe into shooting incident during Ka Leody's Bukidnon visit

Re-electionist Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday filed a resolution seeking a Senate probe into the shooting incident during presidential candidate and labor leader Leody de Guzman’s visit in Bukidnon last week.

“Now therefore, be it resolved as it is hereby resolved to urge the proper Senate committee to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation into a land dispute involving the Manobo-Pulangihon indigenous cultural community’s ancestral domain in the province of Bukidnon which resulted in gunshot injuries to [five] people,” Hontiveros wrote in Proposed Senate Resolution No. 999.

On April 19, the Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) campaign team reported that shots were fired during De Guzman and his camp’s visit in Barangay Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon Province.

PLM said de Guzman was in the province to help the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) of Manobo-Pulangiyon reclaim their ancestral lands.

In her resolution, Hontiveros said the incident stemmed from a dispute involving the Manobo- Pulangihon Indigenous Cultural Community ancestral domain claims over a 995-hectare agricultural estate also covered by a Forest Land Grazing Management Agreement (FLGMA) issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that expired in 2018.

This conflict, she said, led to armed men driving some 1,000 tribal families out of the land in 2017, forcing most of them to live in makeshift road-side shelters lacking in basic necessities, such as access to water.

In a separate statement, the senator pointed out that land disputes usually lead to attacks against indigenous peoples.

“Land disputes have been a longstanding issue in our country that often end in violence. Paulit-ulit ang ganitong mga insidente dahil wala tayong maayos na polisiya na tuluyang magwawakas sa karahasan, lalo na laban sa ating katutubo. It’s time [to] have proper legislation that can address this,” Hontiveros said.

(We continue to see this kind of incident because we have no clear policy on ending violence, especially on the attacks against our indigenous peoples. It’s time to have proper legislation that can address this.)

She then questioned the continued presence of FLGMA in the area, slamming their “inhumane” treatment of the members of the tribes.

“Bakit nandoon pa ang security personnel sa lupang iyon kung nag-expire na ang FLGMA noong 2018? Talagang hindi na makatao ang pagtrato sa ating mga katutubo. Pilipino din sila na dapat kapantay ng lahat ng mamamayan. Dapat sama-sama nating kinokondena ang ganitong pang-aapi at pang-aabuso. May responsibilidad tayong tiyakin na bawat Pilipino ay namumuhay sa ating bansa ng mapayapa,” she said.

“Ang mga katutubo ay isa sa mga pinakabulnerable sa ating lipunan. Huwag nating hayaang dahas ang katapat ng kanilang mapayapang paggiit ng karapatan sa kanilang lupang ninuno. Let’s not forget that there is always an option to work towards a peaceful resolution,” the senator added.

(The indigenous peoples are one of the most vulnerable sectors in our society. Let us not allow violence to be a solution in their peaceful assertion of their rights over the lands that they inherited from their ancestors. Let’s not forget that there is always an option to work towards a peaceful resolution.)

Last Wednesday, De Guzman said he will press charges against those behind the shooting incident in Quezon, Bukidnon that injured several people near him.

Earlier, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Dionardo Carlos said “it’s premature to say” that the shooting incident is election-related.

Meanwhile, three persons of interest allegedly linked to the shooting have been identified so far by the PNP. —KG, GMA News