Lumad educator criticizes issues on education, land plunder and military threats against indigenous
A lumad educator condemned the education system, infrastructure projects and military issues that aggravate the lives of indigenous people in Mindanao.
Ramil M. Miguel, a half-Moro Lumad teacher, said Lumads receive little attention from the government regarding their right to education.
“Lumad ay nasa hulihan sa usapang edukasyon.” Miguel said in a forum held at the Roque Ruaño Conference hall in UST.
Miguel said it was in 1990 when the Lumads began asking for education. In 2007, the Lumads built their own schools because the government had no political will to educate the tribal people, adding that the government wanted to shut down Lumad schools in 2014 because of “malicious issues.”
Miguel also revealed the atrocities surrounding the unjust building of large corporations on the land of the Mindanaons without the permission of the locals.
“Umabot ng 102, 958 hectares ang nacover ng DM Consuji Inc. (DMCI) sa area ng Sultan Kudarat. Kung titignan mo yun ay baka pati bakuran namin kasali na doon. Yun ang pinakamasakit dito, hindi namin alam,” Miguel added.
Miguel described the tactics of large corporations to get the Lumads to sign their contracts. He claimed that some of the corporations would give gifts like tobacco for the Lumads and take advantage of the indigenous people’s innocence for their own self-interest.
“Nagkakaroon man ng konsultasyon, ang problema naman ano ba ang maikokonsulta mo sa mga katutubo na hindi naman nag aral, di marunong mag-basa,” Miguel said.
Miguel also addressed the underlying threat of the Armed Forces of the Philippines troops to indigenous tribes in Mindanao.
Miguel described his relatives’ experience during the Anihan festival, he said that some of his relatives were forced to buy guns for “security purposes” because they “don’t have a choice but to defend themselves.
“Bakit pa umaabot sa ganito? Andito kami sa Maynila para humingi ng hustisya. Hindi mababayaran ang aming prinsipyo dahil sarili naming karanasan ang nag-udyok sa amin,” Miguel affirmed.
Recently, a protest march of the Minority groups to the US embassy aimed to stop the joined military intervention of the US troops in the Country. Different tribes went to Manila to protest against militarization, plunder on ancestral lands and right for self-determination and justice.
The protest was also part of the Long-month celebration of the Lakbayan ng Pambansang Minorya 2016.###
