(We yield this space to the statement of the Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights due to its significance. – Ed.)
WHILE we hoped for a better year in terms of the human rights situation of indigenous peoples, the situation has worsened. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration is imposing a “new normal” marked by militarization in the guise of mediocre medical response, media repression, a crackdown on activists and human rights defenders, and blatant grabbing of indigenous peoples’ land and natural resources.
The militarized response to the medical emergency exacerbated the situation of indigenous peoples. The prolonged quarantine led to the loss of indigenous communities’ livelihoods and access to their forests, farms, markets and other communities. The country was placed under a lockdown without a clear plan as to how farming communities could survive. Some indigenous peoples were penalized for continuing with their traditional livelihood to remedy cash for food.
Ironically, the state used the food crisis brought about by the prolonged lockdown to justify land grabbing. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Department of Agriculture targeted to increase food production by opening ancestral lands to industrial agriculture through the Plant, Plant, Plant Program. This proposal threatened not only the customary practices that promote sustainable use of natural resources but also indigenous practices of shared labor and collective action. These were done without making sure whether indigenous peoples are receiving appropriate and sufficient aid.
Within the past months, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict openly red-tagged indigenous people’s organizations and activists through social media posts, tarpaulins, leaflets dropped by fighter planes or helicopters, and petitions to declare progressive organizations as persona non grata in their hometowns. Different initiatives of civil society organizations, non-government institutions, and indigenous peoples’ support groups, including celebrities, were red-tagged as well.
With the passage of the Anti-Terror Law, state forces are using the law to threaten local community organizations who speak out against the encroachment and corporate plunder of their ancestral lands and national resources. The anti-terror law provides for the presumption of a person for being a terrorist until prove he/she is not. This poses a danger for indigenous peoples and leaders who are very vocal against destructive projects and military atrocities in their communities.
The Philippine Task Force for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights appeals to authorities to make more proactive and appropriate responses to pandemics and disasters, without resorting to political repression and human rights violations.
Whether under conditions of pandemic, disasters or whatever situation, indigenous peoples’ rights to land, natural resources and self-determination should be respected at all times.
