Bam Aquino to push for IP rights

Senatorial candidate Bam Aquino said on Thursday that he will push for the rights of indigenous peoples (IP) in the country if he is reelected to the Senate. 

Aquino visited an IP community in Barangay Puting Bato in Cabadbaran City where talked with the residents about their plight.  

The senatorial candidate said that he would want a hearing on the community’s ancestral domains, which is a longtime concern by the IP residents. 

“Puwede tayong magpa-hearing tungkol sa ancestral domain, tungkol sa Barangay Puting Bato, at paghaharap-harapin natin ang iba’t ibang mga ahensiya, para linawin atin na ang lupa ng indigenous people, ang lupa po ninyo, ay lupa po ninyo at walang magmamay-aring iba,” said Aquino in a statement. 

(We can have a hearing on Barangay Puting Bato’s ancestral domain and invite different agencies. From there, we can make it clear that the indigenous people rightfully own the land.) 

Further, he promised to push for funding for the other concerns of the IP community such as access to clean water, livelihood, and education. 

Aquino last saw action in the Senate last 2019, where he was also the Deputy Minority Leader since 2017.

Meanwhile, independent candidate Roberto Ballon participated in the “Kick-Off Caravan ng Lakad-Hubileo ng Pag-asa: Laban sa Gutom, Kahirapan, at Kawalang-Katarungan,” marching from Brgy. Concepcion, Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay to Pagadian City.

The march campaigned against illegal claims of land, mining, corporate aggression, and other electoral issues.

1 Rider party-list Representative Bonifacio Bosita in a Facebook post commented on the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court.

“Ang pagsuporta sa hukuman ng dayuhan ay insulto sa ating mga Pilipino at pag-amin na mahina ang ating bansa para harapin ang ating mga problema… Kailangan nating proteksyunan ang bawat Pilipino, at harapin ang ating mga problema gamit ang sarili nating Batas,” he said.

Lawyer Angelo de Alban reiterated his campaign for free therapy, free developmental assessment for children with special needs, and livelihood programs for their guardians.

Environmentalist David D’Angelo joined a dialogue on the Masungi Georeserve case aimed at discussing measures to ensure the protection of the watershed. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/Jiselle Anne Casucian/LDF, GMA Integrated News

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