BEHIND
THE SCENES
Alfred
P. Dizon
(Below is a press statement
of indigenous people who recently held a meeting in Quezon City to assess the
state of IPs in the country)
In commemoration of the International
Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) Heroes Day, IP leaders say "Xi Jinping is not
welcome in the Philippines, especially in our sacred lands," indigenous
peoples of the country said in response to the upcoming visit of the Chinese
President to the Philippines.
China
President Jinping is scheduled to sign with President Duterte the Official
Development Aid (ODA) loan for the Kaliwa Dam and other Build Build Build
projects.
"We call on the Chinese government for the
pullout from committed loans and project that will destroy our lands and the
environment which our ancestors and martyrs have nurtured with their sweat and
blood,” said Pya Macliing Malayao, Katribu secretary general, and among the
grandchildren of IP hero Petra Macliing, a Bontok woman leader who boldly
opposed the logging, mining and the Chico mega dam in the Cordillera since the
late 1960s.
Igorot, Dumagat and Lumad leaders and their
advocates lit pinewood and held a ritual of solidarity to honor IP heroes and
protest against President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the Philippines. The firewood
honors their heroes and represents the flame of the struggle for their
ancestral land and self-determination.
The ritual started with the drinking of a local
wine to express solidarity and in remembrance of their brave ancestors, and
ended with the bloodletting of a red rooster which symbolizes the determined
and continued struggle to defend their communities and territories.
"For four decades, we have struggled
against Laiban dam, a project started by the fascist US-Marcos regime but
frustrated by the Filipino people. Now, with loans from China, the dam project
will encroach more than 20,000 hectares of our ancestral lands in the Sierra
Madre Mountain Ranges. This will destroy our sacred lands and our environment –
a damnation of our lives and of the future generations," said Wilma
Quirrez, spokesperson of the Network Opposed to (NCWS) Kaliwa-Kanan-Laiban Dam,
and a daughter of IP hero Marilyn Quirrez.
The NCWS is a mega project under President
Duterte's Build Build Build, which will push through with the Marcos-era Kanan,
Kaliwa and Laiban mega dams. The dam project is to displace at least 31,000
people, mostly indigenous communities of the Dumagat and Remontado in 9
villages of Rizal and Quezon provinces.
“China
is an important ingredient for Duterte’s Build Build Build program which favors
the interest of big businesses. These profit-oriented projects will
target the Filipino people’s natural resources, displace thousands of
indigenous communities, and violate their collective rights to their ancestral
land and self-determination,” Quirrez said.
Other projects to be funded by Chinese ODA are:
Chico dams in Kalinga and Pulangi dams in Bukidnon and North Cotabato
“In order to silence us freely enter our lands,
landlords, capitalists and government are attacking our communities. Under the
Duterte regime, 51 indigenous peoples have been killed by state armed forces
for defending their rights and land. We will not cower, just as ours heroes,”
Malayao said.
"If it was not of our ancestors and
heroes, we would have nothing now, and so as the next and future generations.
We will stand for what our martyrs have developed and sacrificed their lives
for," said Quirrez.
“We
call on the people to continuously defend our national patrimony and
sovereignty," Malayao said.
The groups cited IP heroes:
Macliing
Dulag – Butbut-Kalinga; a pangat (peacepact holder) and among the key leaders
against the World Bank Chico dam project
Rafael
Markus Bangit – Molbog-Kalinga; a pangat and a leader of the Cordillera Peoples
Alliance
Ricardo
Mayumi – Kalanguya-Ifugao; a leader of the Ifugao Peasant Movement
John
Calaba – Dulangan Manobo; Public information officer of the KEDUMA local Lumad
organization who was abducted by elements of the David M. Consunji, Inc (DMCI)
which encroached the territories of the Dulangan Manobo in Sultan Kudarat
Datu
Jimmy Liguyon – Tigwahaon/ Matigsalog; a community chieftain, a leader of the
Kasilo local Lumad organization, and Barangay Captain of Brgy.Dao who was
extra-judicially killed on March 5, 2012
Renato
Anglao – Pulangihon Manobo; Secretary General of the Tindoga local Lumad
organization who was extra-judicially killed on February 3, 2017.
Dionel
Campos – Manobo; Chairperson of the MAPASU local Lumad organization who was
massacred on September 1, 2016
Datu
Jovello Sinzo – Manobo; Community chieftain who was massacred on September 1,
2016
Veronico
Delamente – Mamanwa; Provincial coordinator of the KATRIBU Partylist who was
extra-judicially killed on January 20, 2017
Nicanor
“Kano” delos Santos – Dumagat; Secretary general of the Makabayang Samahan ng
Katutubong Dumagat (MASKADA) and vice chairperson of the Bigkis at Lakas ng mga
Katutubo sa Timog Katagalugan (BALATIK), organizations opposing the Laiban dam;
extra-judicially killed on December 8, 2001 by the Arroyo regime.
Marilyn
Quirrez – among the Dumagat woman leaders leading the campaign to protect the
Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges since the 1980s; secretary general of the Bagong
Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) in the Quezon Province.
Erning
Aykid – Hanunuo; Chairperson of the Tiripunan Arawatan Hanunuo Mangyan (TAHM)
and a barangay kagawad when he was extra-judicially killed on September 15,
2017.
Tomas
“Matanem Birang” Ito – Bagobo; 2nd chairperson of the PASAKA
Confederation of Lumad in Southern Mindanao, and among the leaders of the
Dyandi (peacepact) to defend Mt. Apo “without ever retreating, until the
very last drop of our blood, if needed.”
Ludeño”Dos”
Monzon – Mandaya; a leader of the Negkahiusa Koy Mag-uuma To Boston which leads
an active campaign against the Omega Gold mining company operating in their
community. Dos was extra-judicially killed on April 29, 2009 under the Oplan
Bantay Laya of the Arroyo regime.
Jimmy
Saypan – Mandaya; Secretary general of the Compostela Farmer’s Association
which leads the campaign to stop the operations and demand for the
accountability of the AGPET mining company. Jimmy was extra-judicially killed
on October 10, 2016.
Juvy
Capion – Blaan; a leader of the KALGAD, an organization of the Blaan resisting
the Tampakan mining project. Juvy along with 2 of her children were massacred
by the military on October 19, 2012
The
IPs also honored their martyred
advocates:
Fr.
Fausto “Pops” Tentorio – an Italian priest who was extra-judicially killed on
October 17, 2011
Willem
Geertman – a Dutch missionary and executive director of Alay Bayan Inc (ABI)
who was extra-judicially killed on October 17, 2011
Emerito
Samarca – Executive Director of the ALCADEV who the massacred on September 1,
2016
PERRYSCOPE
Perry Diaz
Has Chinese
colonization begun?
For the past several
years, the prospect of Chinese invasion of the Philippines has instilled fear
among Filipinos – they remember the Japanese invasion in 1942 came to their
minds. When China reclaimed the Panganiban Reef, also known as Mischief
Reef, in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in 1994, that fear transformed into
apprehension.
When China started
building artificial islands around seven reefs in the Spratly Islands in the
WPS in 2013, the Philippine government went into a state of shock not knowing
how to respond to China’s takeover of parts of the Spratlys.
When China began
building airbases and harbors capable hosting warplanes, warships, and missiles
on the artificial islands, the Philippine government tried to appease the
“Chinese Dragon” that’s extending her territory in the WPS. And when
she started deploying aircraft and missiles in the militarized artificial
islands, the Philippine government slid into paralytic state, incapable of how
to deal with the “Chinese Dragon.”
In May 2017, Duterte visited Chinese President
Xi Jinping in Beijing. In their meeting, Duterte boldly told
Xi: “We intend to drill oil there, if it’s yours, well, that’s your
view, but my view is, I can drill the oil, if there is some inside the bowels
of the earth because it is ours. ” Xi responded, “We’re friends, we
don’t want to quarrel with you, we want to maintain the presence of warm
relationship, but if you force the issue, we’ll go to war.”
That did it. In no uncertain terms,
Xi made it clear that the two nations’ friendship is second only to China’s
territorial claim in the WPS. Xi’s veiled message
was: “Don’t touch the West Philippine Sea. It’s ours.”
When
he was back home he said that some groups in the country were pressuring him to
take stronger action to assert the Philippines’ ownership of the
WPS. He told them, “We cannot afford a war. We cannot win a battle
against China and I would only lose maybe thousands of my troops and
policemen.”
That was the gist of Duterte’s foreign policy vis-à-vis
China.
Chinese
province
It’s
interesting to note that when Duterte spoke before an audience of
Filipino-Chinese businessmen on February 19, 2018, he said: “If you want, just
make us a province, like Fujian.” The businessmen applauded
Duterte’s statement while Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao
Jianhua grinned approvingly.
In July 2018, residents in Manila and other
cities woke up to see red banners hanging from footbridges
reading, “Welcome to the Philippines, province of China,” complete
with the Chinese flag and Chinese characters. Nobody knows who put
up the red banners. However, many see it as a protest to Duterte’s
failure to assert the country’s rights in the disputed waters.
China
Dream
Although,
the Philippines isn’t a part of Xi’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) strategic
initiative to link Asia, Europe, and Africa, which is modelled after the “Silk
Road,” it is now part of OBOR’s ancillary routes. As it’s now
apparent, OBOR is the answer to Xi’s “China Dream” to reshape global trade with
Beijing at its core. China would be the world’s new imperial power.
Indeed, OBOR’s expansion into the Philippines
has drawn various industries. One of them is offshore gaming known
as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO), which was established after
Duterte took over the government in 2016. Chinese gaming companies
have “invaded” the country. There are now more than 50 POGO
licensees, many of which are Chinese groups.
The influx of Chinese gaming companies has
created another industry – real estate. Due to the demand for POGO facilities,
offices and houses by the Chinese expats, property values have
skyrocketed. Incidentally, POGO companies employ mostly
Chinese nationals. According to a property consultant, the growth is
phenomenal. POGO groups use almost quarter of a million square
meters of office space.
Cruise ships, which were non-existent in
Philippine waters just a few years ago, have contributed to the country’s
tourism industry. Junket players -- heavy-betting Chinese gamblers
-- are also contributing to the profits of POGO companies
One of the giants in the casino industry,
Chinese casino Galaxy Entertainment Group would soon open its expansion by
building a $550 million casino in Boracay.
When the Duterte administration invited
telecommunication companies to bid for a third concession, three major Chinese
communication giants were looking for Filipino partners to qualify to
bid. This is because the Philippine Constitution requires 60%
ownership of all Philippine-registered corporations. And this is
where “dummy” stockholder and partners are coming in.
Massive
arrival
Government
records show that more than three million Chinese nationals were allowed to
enter the Philippines since 2016. Many have attributed the
influx to Duterte’s shift in foreign policy since the beginning of his
presidency.
In an attempt to regulate or curb the steady
stream of Chinese nationals in the Philippines, Sen. Leila de Lima filed a
resolution urging the Senate to investigate the “problem” that she said “not
only steals jobs away from ordinary Filipinos but also triggers property surge
on many developed areas.”
Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to China Jose
Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana has been advocating the relaxation of visa
restrictions “to encourage tourism on both ways on mutually beneficial terms.”
But
all things said, there is a long history of mistrust of the Chinese, fueled by
China’s territorial claims in the WPS. And as China continues to
bully the Philippines over the territorial disputes, China will never be seen
in the eyes of Filipinos as a friend. Indeed, the threat of war or
invasion has made “friendship” with China untenable.
Chinese
colonization
In
my article, “Who
discovered the Philippines?”(April 13, 2007), I wrote: “In 1405,
during the reign of the Ming Dynasty in China, Emperor Yung Lo [also Yong Le]
claimed the island of Luzon and placed it under his empire. The Chinese called
the island “Lusong” from the Chinese characters Lui Sung. The biggest
settlement of Chinese was in Lingayen in Pangasinan. Lingayen also became the
seat of the Chinese colonial government in Luzon. When Yung Lo died in 1424,
the new Emperor Hongxi, Yung Lo’s son, lost interest in the colony and the
colonial government was dissolved. However, the Chinese settlers in Lingayen —
known as “sangleys” — remained and prospered. Our national hero Dr. Jose P.
Rizal descended from the sangleys.”
With
historical incidents of Chinese colonization of Luzon, and the present-day
massive arrival of Chinese nationals assimilating into the various industries
in the country, many are concerned that they would soon control the wealth and
patrimony of the nation.
It makes one wonder: Just like 600
years ago when China claimed and placed Luzon under her empire, is she now in a
position to claim the Philippines as her province or vassal
state? Or has Chinese colonization begun?
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