Indigenous practices in the Cordilleras effective in curbing forest fires

By: Arthur L. Allad-iw, Northern Dispatch (special to InterAksyon.com)

April 18, 2015 8:59 PM

Tending vegetable plots opened up by kaingin in Benguet. Photographed by Arthur Allad-iw

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BAGUIO CITY - As summer is at its height, wild fires continuously threaten the Cordillera forests.

Fortunately, the indigenous communities have traditional systems of imposing sanctions on those implicated in forests fires, as a way of preserving these forests, which considered part of their ancestral domain.

The regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has already reported that several hectares of forests in the Mount Santo Tomas area in Tuba and Mount Pulag in Bokod, both towns in Benguet, had been destroyed due to uncontrolled forest fires.

In Mountain Province, the estimated impact of forest fires has yet to be released, according to the Provincial Environmental and Natural resources Office (PENRO).

A forest in Bontoc which was razed by fire lately. Photo Art Allad-iw 

Over the past five years, the DENR-CAR reported that forest fires damaged 308.26 hectares per year.

The blame is typically thrown at villagers engaged in swidden farming or kaingin, who, during rainy season, plant the burned mountain sides with legumes, squash and other climbing vines.

But forest fires do not occur only in relation to kaingin.

Communities claim most of the fires were unintentional, but for intentional burning, indigenous practices are observed to control such fires usually experienced during summer, and this generally is to protect and conserve their forest resources.

If a villager caused the fire, intentionally or otherwise, he will be summoned by the elders to explain in one dap-ay session, lakay (elder) Tigan-o Dugao of Ankileng, Sagada, Mountain Province, said.

Dap-ay is an indigenous socio-political system where elders lead the discussion of community affairs.

The elders decide on the sanction, usually a fine, levied on the culprit, he said.

The punishment ranges from exacting a fine (usually, one pig) and other consequential performance of community service.

In Tigan-o's Ankileng village, the culprit is required to pay with one ogo (a mother pig that has given birth at least twice).

Communal forest in Payag-eo, Sagada, Mountain Province. Photo Art Allad-iw 

In the eastern Sagada barangay of Antadao, the fine is one pig, according to Kapitan Domling, dumap-ay (member) of dap-ay Antadao. 

A pine forest in Antadao, Sagada. Photo Art Allad-iw 

In nearby barangay Kilong, still in Eastern Sagada, the fine of the culprit is an eteng or piglet, said Kapon Gomgom-o, a former member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Sagada town and a member of Kilong dap-ay.

He added that a piglet is also the fine for any member of a community who cut trees with which to make lumber, from their forests.

These leaders claimed that the system is effective. It is done through the communities' initiative and with their collective efforts.

Lakay Tigan-o explained that the fine will be used in a ritual called apoy. The community will declare ubaya (or tengaw in eastern Sagada) where the community members cannot leave during the duration of the ubaya.

"The lalakay in the dap-ay will perform the apoy ritual and pray to their god Kabunian and their ancestors' spirits, who may have been affected by the fire, to pardon the culprit and finally to protect the community from harm," added lakay Tigan-o, who is a member of dap-ay Bokboken in Ankileng.

The fine or other sanctions imposed by the community through the dap-ay is considered grave so that the culprit will not repeat his act.

The elders reiterated that these indigenous practices should continue as it is participatory in nature, just and implementable as part of their traditional practice and community life.

It is their contribution to sustainable environment protection.

With forest are abundant water for ricefields. Photo Art Allad-iw 

Lang-ay street dancing, April 25, 2015

Mountain Province’s Lang-ay festival showcase indigenous culture in month-long revelry

By Arthur L. Allad-iw

BONTOC, Mountain Province – located in the Central Cordillera in northern Philippines, this province celebrated its Lang-ay festival where various indigenous groups showcased their unique and rich culture in the street dancing, a culminating activity for the month-long festival.

   

To the amaze of visitors and locals who had been given the opportunity to deeply understand the indigenous culture from each town, cultural presentations were focused on practices related on birth, marriage and thanksgiving, and indigenous practices on sustainable agriculture and forest preservation.

The presentations were coupled with men in g-strings and women in wrap around skirts; material culture, like shields, centuries-old beads used as necklaces; and, chants and dances, where the movements were done based on the rhythm of the sounds of the gongs and bamboo musical instruments, masterfully played by men.

For Lang-ay is not only the spirit of community sharing, echoed Congressman Max Dalog Sr. in the programs, but the preservation of the resources in order to support the lives of the people in the community and the generations to come. With the participation of the umili (villagers) from its 10 municipalities, this year’s celebration became educational where the final presentations were done at the Eyyeb ground in Poblacion of the capital town of Bontoc.

Street dancing and cultural presentations

The I-Bontoks (the people of Bontoc town) relayed, in the street dancing and cultural presentations, the importance of environmental conservation with the aid of recycled materials used as props. And remembering the death of Macliing Dulag, who led the anti-Chico dam opposition, on April 24, 1980, they reiterated the defense of their ancestral land from destruction.

In downstream or lagod of the Chico River, the I-Sadanga (people of Sadanga town) relayed their agricultural ritual of thanksgiving in their presentation. With bountiful rice harvest, their thanksgiving is coupled with animals, like chicken they carried, to be offered in the rituals. Notable, too, was the participation of children, reiterating good practices must be transferred by the elders to their youth.

In the upstream or aplai of the Chico River, the umili (villagers) of Bauko town presented their indigenous system of forest management, its importance in their life-support system, as they gather products there to compliment their agricultural products from their ricefields. The forests in their town form part of the reservation for the Chico River, where the water starts to flow down Kalinga and joins the Cagayan River then to the China Sea.

Indigenous people in the province are keen on their life cycle, which was manifested by the Sabangan presentation dubbed “awil de e-Sabangan.” In the awil, community folk give gift to the spouses, who were blessed with a newly-born baby. Through the sounds of gongs, the participants carried in their basket un-husked rice as gift for the spouses and their baby.

Still upstream Chico, the Tadian town folk presentations were various dances performed in different community occasions, particularly during marriage and agricultural thanksgiving. They held their head up high as they can play including the takik, or courtship dance with the use of gongs and solibao or indigenous drum, and other dance performed based on rhythm produced from bamboo instruments.

In the western and upstream part of Mountain Province were the towns of Sagada and Besao. The Sagada folk relayed, through cultural presentations, the various ritual practices that the elders determine their schedules in the dap-ay, an indigenous socio-political institution where they decide rituals related on community events, like wedding and agricultural activities. They relayed the role of the elders and community folk, particularly in the realizations of these rituals. It is the only town with a dap-ay as its float in the street dancing and presentation.

In the nearby town of Besao, the folk presented their sustainable practices on agriculture. They were able to maintain the Japanese fish called kaling, where such species already disappeared in some rice fields in the province due to commercial inputs. Also, they reiterated the persistence of the practice due to the role of women, who shoulder most of the burden in rice field works.

In the eastern towns of Barlig, Natonin and Paracelis peopled by the indigenous Balangao, their presentations revolved on indigenous cooperation and distinct practices. The people in these towns can distinctly play the gongs in their eagle dance, though Barlig folk are claimed to best players.  

The Barlig Balangao have abundant products from forests and rivers, which led to masterfully hone their skills in hunting wild games at Mount Amuyao. Among their material culture displayed in the festival was their unique hunters back pack, locally called karupi, which is made from indigenous materials and can’t be wet even during strong rains.

The Balangao in Paracelis town, near Kalinga province, paraded a native hut where they usually build through ug-fhu or community cooperation after their busy field works. Complimenting their community unity are their necklace and bracelets made from centuries-old beads bartered from early Chinese trades by their ancestors and passed from one generation to another.

Unfortunately, the Balangao of Natonin town failed to have a cultural presentation for this year’s Lang-ay’s street dancing.

Governor Mayaen, in a press conference, pointed out that the people’s culture is very important as this is their identity as people. Though not comparable based on measurement in urban development, their systems had been proven to be sustainable, environment-friendly, and pro-people, he said.

The yearly Lang-ay festival has a perspective of strengthening the people’s unity with their theme: One people, one heritage, one direction towards cultural integrity. # 

SAF Cordi families want an investigation

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Son of Cordillera is PMA topnotcher

By: Arthur L. Allad-iw, Northern Dispatch (special to InterAksyon.com)
March 10, 2015 2:29 PM

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BAGUIO CITY, Philippines -- An Igorot, son of a Kankanaey father and Ibaloi mother, is the topnotcher of the 171-strong Philippine Military Academy’s “Sinaglahi” Class of 2015.

Cadet First Class Arwi Chiday Martinez, who graduates cum laude, will receive the Presidential Saber and Philippine Army Saber, and is also the JUSMAG (Joint US Military Assistance Group) Awardee and Tactics Group Awardee.

The topnotcher CFC Martinez. Photo by Mau Victa

He will be joining the Philippine Army.

His father Darcio, a forester from Buguias, Benguet, said he and his wife, an Ibaloi from the Chiday clan of Loakan in this city, fully support their son’s decision and whatever plans he has for the future.
Martinez’s uncle, Jackson Chiday, the elder brother of his mother, was literally speechless when called for an interview.

When he got his voice back, Chiday said Arwi’s achievement is an honor not only for him and his family but for all Ibaloi and Igorots, the term used for the various ethnoliguistic groups of the Cordillera region.
“I” or “Y” means “from” and “golot” means mountain, thus the word literally means “people from the mountain.”

“I hope that he (Arwi) will serve as an inspiration for the ipusan (referring to Igorots who use g-strings) youth; for them to work hard in their studies and achieve their aspirations,” Chiday said.

A “thanksgiving ritual” will be performed by their clan after Arwi’s graduation, said Chiday, who is president of the Onjon ni Ivadoi, a union of Ibaloi residents in this city that spearheaded the celebration of Ibaloi Day on February 23.

HS teachers recall ‘intelligent’ yet ‘humble’ student

Faculty and students of the Baguio City National High School annex in Loakan also welcomed the news of their alumnus’ achievement.

Martinez graduate from the high school in 2010 as first honorable mention, with awards for excellence in science and math.

“He was intelligent yet humble,” his math teacher Mary Leah Duka Abad said in an interview.
She said they had encouraged him to take up engineering but he went into the PMA promising they would be proud of him someday. 

“He always updated us of his (PMA) scholastic standing. We expected him to be in the Top 5 but it is a bonus that he ended up first,” Abad said.

The Baguio City government also hailed Martinez’s achievement.

Martinez is one of two Cordillerans to land in the Top 10 of this year’s graduating PMA class. Cadet First Class Jan Klyde Danganan, from Irisan, is ranked No. 7.

The top ten with PMA officials. Photo by Mau Victa

The other top 10 graduates are:

• Genesis Dizon of Zamboanga City (2)
• John Paul Bacsain of Pili, Camarines Sur (3)
• Paolo Dominis Regis of Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro (4)
• Caroline Jhoy Nacional of Maitum, Sarangani, and the only female (5)
• John Denver Bambico of Naguilian, La Union (6)
• Steven Tali of Zamboanga City (8)
• Brian Villanueva of General Santos City (9)
• Regoric Fuentes of North Cotabato (10)

Sixteen of the graduates are women.

Ninety-two of them are joining the Army, 45 will be in the Navy, and 34 in the Air Force.                              

Indigenous people join calls for PNoy to quit

By: Arthur L. Allad-iw, Northern Dispatch (special to InterAksyon.com)
February 28, 2015 10:03 AM

Rice farming in an indigenous people's community in the Cordillera (photo by Arthur L. Allad-iw)

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BAGUIO CITY, Philippines -- A national federation of indigenous people’s groups has joined calls for the resignation of President Benigno Aquino III, citing a “dangerous incompetence” they said can be clearly seen in an economic program that revolves around the plunder of resources in IP communities.

Large-scale mining and energy projects -- coupled with militarization – have enveloped and threatened to destroy IP communities, the Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP) said in a statement.

The group singled out Aquino’s centerpiece Public-Private Partnership program, which KAMP spokesperson Piya Macliing Malayao said, “sold out our lands to private business.”

Malayao blasted Aquino’s Executive Order 79, which she said propped up the Mining Act of 1995 that is causing the most turmoil in indigenous communities nationwide.

While EO 79 ostensibly sets a the moratorium on all mining applications, KAMP said it excluded 712 mine applications approved prior to its issuance.

These applications cover 967,531 hectares, 532,368 hectares of which lie in indigenous communities.
An estimated 100,000 people from 39 tribal groups nationwide will be dislocated or stand to lose their livelihood due to liberalization of mining, KAMP documents said.

Igorots from the provinces of the Cordillera expressed their opposition to the large-scale mining as they heightened their call for repeal of RA 7942 or the Mining Act of 1995. Photo by Arthur Allad-iw

Indigenous people are estimated to make up 12-15 percent of the country’s population of 100 million.
Aside from mines, KAMP said 149 hydropower projects and 16 geothermal projects have been built, are under construction, or are in the pipeline to being built in IP lands.

And wherever mining, energy and other corporate projects are located, KAMP said government forces are also deployed to contain any opposition and paving the way for human rights violations.

“He (Aquino) does not recognize and respect the IPs rights over their lands and self-determination,” Malayao said.

Since 2010, KAMP said that 50 indigenous peoples, 6 of them were women and six were children, had been victims of extrajudicial killings.

The human rights situation of IPs has also worsened under the administration’s counterinsurgency campaign Oplan Bayanihan.

“There is no let-up in human rights violations as BS Aquino revels in impunity … We have every reason to call for his removal in Malacanang,” Malayao ended.

Photo by Arthur Allad-iw

Sagada elders perform rituals for safe journey, justice for fallen SAF hero

By: Arthur L. Allad-iw, Northern Dispatch (special to InterAksyon.com)
February 3, 2015 3:53 PM http://www.interaksyon.com/article/104302/sagada-elders-perform-rituals-for-safe-journey-justice-for-fallen-saf-hero
 

Special Action Force personnel attend the wake for PO1 Russel Bilog in Baguio City. (photo by Arthur Allad-iw, Northern Dispatch)

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BAGUIO CITY, Philippines -- For elders of the eastern villages of Sagada, Mountain Province, respect for a fallen hero is manifested in the rituals tradition obliges them to perform, accompanied by prayers that none of his kin meet the same fate and that he have justice in hand as he joins his ancestors in the outer world.

Thus it was for Police Officer 1 Russel Bawaan Bilog, 28, one of the 44 Special Action Force commandos who died in battle in faraway Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25 as the elders of his village offered animals and read the sacrificed creatures’ bile to ensure his safe journey and welcome by his ancestors and Creator.

Residents of PO1 Bilog's native Sagada village attend his wake in Baguio City. (photo by Arthur L. Allad-iw)

Aside from Bilog, 12 more of the SAF 44 trace their ancestry to the Cordilleras, including two others from Sagada -- PO3 Noel Onangey Golucan and PO2 Jerry Cayob.

The other Cordillerans were PO2 Nobel Kiangan of Mankayan, Benguet; PO1 Angel Kodiamat of Bontoc, Mountain Province; PO2 Walter Danao of Irisan, Baguio City; PO1 Gringo Cayang-o of Bontoc, Mountain Province; PO2 Peterson Carap of Kabayan, Benguet; PO2 Joel Dulnuan of Kiangan, Ifugao; PO3 Robert Allaga of Banaue, Ifugao; PO2 Franklin Danao of Tinoc, Ifugao; Senior Inspector Gednat Tabde of La Trinidad, Benguet; and Senior Inspector Cyrus Anniban of Balbalan, Kalinga.


A SAF honor guard stands by PO1 Bilog's coffin

The series of rituals for Bilog began Saturday morning when his body, in a sealed coffin, was taken home to Puliwes in this city and a pig was offered in a ritual called “senga” to signal the start of the overnight wake for the fallen policeman.

Two more pigs would be sacrificed that evening, one in a ritual called “linabi,” and another called the “alolosan” at 3 a.m. Sunday.

A pig is butchered in the ritual called 'linabi,' performed at the wake of PO1 Bilog. 

In between these, Lakay Eduardo Latawan, offered a chicken in the “pamutbutan” ritual, reciting prayers in Sagada Kankanaey.

Harking to the martial tradition of the northern tribes, the prayers for Bilog not only asked that he be the last of his kin to fall in battle but that he be allowed to take vengeance on his killers with the help of his ancestor.

A chicken is sacrificed in the 'pamutbutan' ritual by a Kankanaey elder from Sagada

As tradition requires for those who fall in battle, Bilog was buried at the Baguio cemetery as the sun rose Sunday.

Another ritual, the “daw-es,” or cleansing, was performed for Bilog’s family after the funeral “to end this kind of nightmare and to overcome the incident and to move on,” an elder explained.

But as he was laid to rest, the recriminations began, with condemnation for President Benigno Aquino III, who is widely perceived to be responsible for sending Bilog and his comrades to their deaths.

“There should be a full-blown investigation into the incident and appropriate charges should be filed against all those who are involved in the incident,” said Baguio City Councilor Faustino Olowan, who also traces his roots to the same eastern Sagada village as Bilog.

Maguindanao PNP carnage and PNoy weak leadership

Advocate’s Overview:

February 1, 2015 

By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net 

Cordillera folk, from various walks of life, condemn the carnage of 44 elite forces of the Philippine National Police in Maguindanao on Saturday, January 24. At least 13 from the victims came from the Cordillera region while two were reportedly injured as per news report.

The Magunidanao carnage of the PNP Special Action Force manifested the weak leadership of Pres. Noynoy Aquino. And it fueled the call from various sectors for an impartial investigation of the incident and to work for the attainment of justice for the carnage victims, who despite doing their legitimate job, were actually used for the interests of Pnoy and his top officials.

PO1 Russel B. Bilog /Photo by: Ana Mae Sabelo

Young, brave and obediently following orders from their higher ups, they were in Maguindanao with a mission to arrest two top ranking members of the terrorists Jemayah Islamiyah: Zulhifil Bin Hir alias Marwa and Basit Usma, who carried a bounty of US$ 5 million and $2 million respectively.

The reasons why we should condemn PNoy and his administration for the Maguindanao carnage are:
First, it showed that Pnoy and the state securities under his command as Commander in Chief failed to lend support to the PNP SAF at the time they needed it most. The claims for no coordination and mis-encounter further showed his weakness at decision making. It must be remembered that the “battle” between the PNP SAF and the MILF/BIFF happened on the night of Saturday until the morning of Sunday. Yet there was no reinforcement move from the state security agencies, despite Pnoy’s knowledge that there was the move to arrest the said targets in Maguindanao. These young members of the PNP elite forces died without concern of support for reinforcement from their Commander in Chief.

Second, I wonder why the information on their mission was not known by DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and the AFP Chief of Staff. Even for the sake of security, is it not proper for the other security agencies to have the knowledge on the said mission? But it seems that the bounty of 6 million US dollars was more important. Those who were directly knowledgeable and in command of the said elite forces were only concerned and after that million dollar bounty; they wanted to keep the bounty for themselves, hence they did not like anybody to be aware of their mission, even for reinforcement if they were put in a dangerous situation. While they sacrificed their lives in their noble service, that sacrifice was tainted by the whims and caprices of the higher ups – greed. And, there is already confirmation through DNA at Marwa was already dead (courtesy of the US troops who intervened in that operation as the seen presence of their helicopter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao). Maybe they will be happy with the bounty but look at the number of victims.

Third, there arises a question as to the delineation of roles of the PNP and the AFP. While it seems true that the state security agencies are also concerned with protecting the public against terrorism, Mindanao is an area where there is a conflict (regardless of the peace talks) between the MILF and its “allies” with the Philippine government. In this kind of situation, it is the AFP who should be responsible for the security tasks in the area. The police force is not intended for war against those engaged with armed conflict with the government, which is more of an AFP task. We wonder why these policemen were sacrificed then.

Lastly, I tried to understand that just war is waged for just aspirations. But I cannot stomach the after effect of the PNP SAF and MILF/BIFF “armed encounter.” I believed there were violations in the conduct of war committed by the MILF/BIFF forces against the PNP SAF. The videos and stories proved that the dead PNP SAF were desecrated. And their personal belongings were robbed, compounded by the statements of the ambushers (and their wives) which rubbed salt on the injury inflicted upon the victims’ families. It is a challenge to the MILF to prove that they upheld international humanitarian law by conducting investigations on its own ranks and punished those who committed breaches of these international laws. No armed group (a revolutionary for that matter) could be exempted from the rules of war. The MILF should respect this process.

But the PNoy administration must have more to prove and explain on the situation. Else, his acts – in relation with the Maguindanao carnage – as the highest officer of the land and commander in chief are impeachable offenses.

While we urge for an impartial investigation and justice for the victims of the Maguindanao carnage, I join the Cordillerans and Filipinos in extending condolences to these 44 brave warriors, specifically to the following Cordillerans who perished in the carnage:

1. PO1 Russel Bilog of Sagada, Mountain Province and Tabuk City, Kalinga
2. PO3 Noel Golocan of Sagada, Mountain Province and Mankayan, Benguet
3. PO2 Nobel Kiangan of Mankayan, Benguet
4. PO1 Angel Kodiamat of Bontoc, Mountain Province
5. PO2 Jerry Kayob of Balili, La Trinidad
6. PO2 Walter Danao of Irisan, Baguio City
7. PO1 Gringo Cayang-o of Bontoc, Mountain Province
8. PO2 Peterson Carap of Kabayan, Benguet
9. PO2 Joel Dulnuan of Kiangan, Ifugao
10. PO3 Robert Allaga of Banaue, Ifugao
11. PO2 Franklin Danao of Tinoc, Ifugao
12. PSI Gednat Tabde of La Trinidad, Benguet
13. PSI Cyrus Anniban of Balbalan, Kalinga.

I also hope for the immediate recovery from injury by Cordillerans police officers Christopher Lalan and Clifford Agayyong. # nordis.net