Wearing 2 hats: The IP mayor who refused relief

 BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

(Rocky Ngalob, information officer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Cordillera regional office writes this week’s piece. He says the “views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position or opinion of any other agency, organization, or employer. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author):”

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Recently, Cordi netizens were made aware that a mayor from one municipality of Mountain Province deferred in accepting food packs granted by the government to be given to the mayor’s constituents, mostly indigenous peoples (IPs).

The mayor, who is an IP himself, expressed through his social media account said, “it’s not that we don't have poor and needy families but I believe that we as tribal communities still have and should sustain our "built in" and homegrown or indigenous social structure, values, and practice of taking care of our respective relatives or kins, neighbors, or kailyan [tribesmen] in distress during hard times or economic crisis”.

He added, “it is during these kinds of economic hardships such as ‘food shortages’, hunger and famine that the ‘rich or better of’ (Kadangyans) among a clan or village are expected to aid their needy relatives by lending their surpluses. Should this crisis extend longer to the extent that our needy families really run out of their rice supplies, we shall mandate the Kadangyans of every barangay to open up their rice granaries (Agamangs) to sustain us through to the next harvest season.

I assure that no family shall go hungry in our municipality even during these hardtimes”.

In assuring the public, the mayor said, “let the national government feed those more needy urban poor in the cities and those less fortunate in other areas who can't sustain themselves, while we sustain ourselves while we can”.

Indeed, these practices are already in placed within the realms of the indigenous political structure of the IP community long before the introduction of the mainstream politics.

These were part of the cornerstone of the IPs existence today. In the Cordillera, IPs sustained their Ancestral Domains despite centuries of subjugation through collective participation and execution of their customs.

Customs are the unwritten values, systems, mechanisms which evolved, defined, transformed or innovated by the people/community over time. These customs addressing issues, if practiced prudently and correctly, can practically resolve or address almost anything. From common crimes affecting one member of the community, boundary disputes, up to projects perceived to adversely affect Ancestral Domains. These customs play a huge role in the resolution of these problems.

The mayor cited a substantive custom namely; the mobilization of the Kadangayans, functioning as the protectors of the AD and considered as rich and well-of, to feed their fellow needy IPs during the quarantine period. A reflection of the bayananihan values or local termed by the IPs in Mountain Province as ‘Binnadang’ or Ub-obfo, and as to the IPs Kalinga as ‘Innabuyog’.

It is interesting to see how this measure will be employed in this day and age, because during the olden times, Kandangyans were measured as those individuals who possess vast parcels of lands for agriculture. They likewise use these lands for pasturing their cattle and other types of livestock.

Basically, Kadangyans are weighed through their possession and not through financial means as money was immaterial back then.        

To be in consonant with the IP practice, this substantive custom requires a form of customary procedure for its execution. The community, as a whole, for this instance has the due rights to be consulted. The refusal the food packs and the mobilization of the Kadangyans to feed their community folks during the quarantine may be anchored on substantive custom.

However, the decision arriving to that endeavor, was purely political and not customary. It failed to reveal the customary collective decision-making of the community.

I say this, because as it can be gleaned upon the pronouncement of the good Mayor himself, it did not mention the procedure or process as to how decision was made. I’m anchoring my observing solely in the pronouncement of the good Mayor declaring, “I decided and instructed our MSWDO to relay our message that our municipality will not be availing of these food packs even if the lockdown will be extended.”

What can be ascertained here, based on pronouncement alone, what the good mayor did is what you expect from typical politician but not from a tribal leader/elder inside an IP community.

A tribal leader/elder should emerge from the dynamics of customary laws and practices; they evolve from a lifestyle of conscious assertion and practice of traditional values and beliefs. They are recognized as authority in conflict resolution and peace-building processes, on spiritual rites and ceremonies and in doing so, possess the attributes of wisdom and integrity. They lead and assist the community in decision-making processes towards the protection and promotion of their rights and the sustainable development of their ADs.   

The move of the good mayor is laudable. Putting indigenous, knowledge, systems and practices above the mainstream political bureaucracy to address plights, issues and concerns affecting the IPs deserved an applause and gratitude from the Indigenous communities throughout the nation. The same likewise merits emulation. But to box out the IP’s due rights to be consulted and to partake at a decision which might adversely affect them, is unacceptable whether as a typical politician and/or tribal elder/leader.  

The good mayor wore his two hats in executing his directives. One as IP elder/leader of the IP community while the other as a local chief executive.

Unfortunately, notwithstanding how IP’ish the directive it may sound, it was the mayor in him, who prevailed over his heart as a tribal elder/leader, thus eroding very notion that the pronouncement of the mayor was based on IP custom.

As an IP like myself, who still believes in the customary collective decision-making of the IP community, I cannot simply overlook at the defects on the pronouncement made by the mayor.

However, a part of me wants his decision for the IP community to prosper. Perhaps, to serve as proof throughout the nation that IP knowledge, systems and practices still lives on, and relevant until this day.

I wrote this as a reminder to myself, if I will survive this global pandemic, to go back to my community and document the living indigenous practices and measures implored by my fellow Indigenous Peoples in coping with the COVID-19.