WHO: Indigenous Peoples from the Philippines (Lumad) will share their stories of resistance against Mining and other forms of development aggression and its devastating impacts on their communities.
The Panel includes the following political, faith and Indigenous leaders:
• Nenita Condez, Indigenous woman leader from Mindanao
• Eufemia Campos Cullamat, Indigenous woman leader from Mindanao
• Bishop Antonio Ablon, Anglican Church/IFI, Zamboanga del Sur
• Atty. Carlos Zarate, Member of Philippine Congress/Bayan Muna PartyList; Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources; and Vice-Chair, House Committee on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity
• Dr. Anie Bautista, National Coordinator, Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines (EcuVoice)
WHAT: Join us, in listening, sharing and discussing with the strong, resilient Lumad leaders, in a call for solidarity with Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao who are involved in a critical struggle for the control of their ancestral lands.
WHERE: The uOttawa Senate room is located in room 083 of the basement of Tabaret building.
BACKGROUND:
There is a deteriorating situation for Indigenous Peoples (Lumad) in the southern Philippines Island of Mindanao. As in Canada the Indigenous peoples of the Philippines have long suffered under colonialism, have been historically displaced from their lands by settler farmers, and now pressured by the government and military to leave their communities to make way for the operations of multinational mining enterprises and corporate farms.
As a result of recent actions by the government, the ceasefire between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the government of the Philippines has broken down and the Lumad are once again being victimized by government forces.
Recent killings of Veronico “Nico” Lapsay Delamente, Renato Anglao, among others, are eerily reminiscent of the pattern of targeted assassinations of opposition and Indigenous leaders that have been occurring for many years. In these instances, military gunmen in disguise were used to eliminate dozens of the leaders of organizations opposing development aggression on peasant and indigenous lands.
If you are unable to attend this event, here are some tangible forms of solidarity that you can take a part of:
1) communicate your concerns to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at pace_op@malacanang.gov.ph, and the Philippine Ambassador to Canada Her Excellency Petronilla Garcia at embassyofphilippines@rogers.com. We can provide a draft of a recent letter to assist you in this matter.
2) Communicate these issues with the members of your organization and community. We are happy to assist you in developing any messaging.
3) Send solidarity Messages to our partners in the Philippines – The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines Northern Mindanao Sub Region -Ailene Villarosa Advocacy Officer, RMP-NMR at advocacies@rmp-nmr.org.