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Rule of the Gun in Sugarland

September 2004 UPDATE: STATUS OF THE NAKAMATA MURDERS CASE, AND THE GENERAL SITUATION FACING NAKAMATA

Demand justice for the NAKAMATA murders, and ongoing protection for the organization’s leaders and members.

Progress has been made on the cases featured in the Rights Alert video “Rule of the Gun in Sugarland” and in the film “Seeing is Believing: Handicams, Human Rights and News.” For a thorough background on the history of this case, please read the Full Story below.

Pressure from WITNESS supporters and human rights groups around the world who saw this Rights Alert and the footage from NAKAMATA aired on television, as well as the hand-delivery of a copy of this video to the Philippine President, compelled the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a thorough investigation - the first time that this had happened in the history of the NAKAMATA coalition’s interactions with justice in the murder of tribe members.

After much public pressure, the NBI completed their investigation into the slayings of Ananias Tahuyan and Rodolfo Dazing. They identified three suspects in their report and recommended a case of double murder. Two suspects, Dionisio Salcedo and Ramon Clementir, were taken into custody, while the third died in armed confrontation with the police while resisting arrest.

On July 2003, Salcedo and Clementir were arraigned and pleaded not guilty. Four more court hearings began this spring. No can predict how long this case will go. Justice is slow in the Philippines – especially for those who are seemingly powerless to influence the system.

NAKAMATA members, meanwhile, continue the struggle to fight for their rights despite continued threats and harassment.

To give one recent example, on April 8, 2003, the Tribal Organization of San Jose (TOSJ), whose former chair Samuel Bento was murdered in September 2001, was assaulted yet again. Goons strafed members who were doing some land preparations for their crops. One was seriously wounded, and animals were killed and wounded.

NAKAMATA members say that armed men are regularly seen near their home communities. It is also rumored that for only 2,000 pesos (less than $50), guns-for-hire are also willing to shoot tribe members dead.

These attacks against NAKAMATA are rooted in the tribes’ assertion for their ancestral lands, a right granted to them by the Philippine Constitution and international law. But unless the Philippine government enforces their rights and hold responsible those who initiate these assaults, violence will surely continue, if not escalate.

Call now for decisive action to deliver justice to NAKAMATA – go to the ACT NOW section for a letter to send to the Philippine authorities.

Read Joey Lozano’s blog on the challenges facing NAKAMATA at www.seeingisbelieving.ca.

NAKAMATA, a WITNESS partner in the Philippines

NAKAMATA (Nagkahiusang Kahugpungan sa mga Manobo ug Talaandig, or Unity of Manobo and Talaandig Organizations), is a WITNESS partner, based in Bukidnon province, Mindanao, in the Philippines. They seek to recover and protect the ancestral lands of the indigenous population in the Philippines; to defend the human rights as well as the rights of indigenous populations as distinct peoples; and to improve the current living conditions facing the indigenous population in the region.

Bukidnon is the second largest province in Mindanao. It has a total land area of over 8000 km2, and a population of almost 850,000. South-Central Bukidnon is the most depressed area in the province. Indigenous peoples living within the area belong to the Talaandig, Higaonon and Manobo tribes. The provincial planning and development office has no accurate data about the tribes' actual populations.

In 1907, Americans took over the administration of Bukidnon. Landlessness began among the indigenous peoples during the subsequent years as lands were converted to large-scale cattle raising, and later pineapple and sugar plantations. This was made easier by the government's appropriations of large landholdings to a few select landlords. The Americans likened Bukidnon to California and Hawaii.

The passage of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act by the Philippine Congress in 1997 provided improved opportunities for tribe members to file ancestral land claims. As can be expected, settlers oppose such claims. Most often, such opposition is translated to violent evictions of indigenous peoples - at times resulting in deaths. Each member organization has its own history of various assaults against them. As shown by their experience, the stronger their assertions are over their rights to their lands, the more assaults against them escalate.

Efforts to File Legal Claims Over Their Lost Land

It is under this kind of environment that NAKAMATA organized as a coalition in the South-Central Bukidnon area. One leader, Datu Makapukaw Arnulfo Sali-ot was instrumental in the formation of the coalition. He did so in spite of numerous threats, a mauling incident, and continuous harassment. He is the chairman of SAKAMPU, the group which successfully wrested back some 500 hectares of land from a sugar plantation company in 1988. He started organizing by disseminating information about the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act. In 1998 three other organizations started becoming active.

Now in 2002, ten organizations are members of the coalition. There is the huge potential for the coalition to grow bigger as its leaders continue organizing to recover their lost ancestral lands. A larger group would mean a stronger force to reckon with.
Nonetheless, its members are aware that because of their efforts to file legal claims over their lost lands, they will continually suffer from various forms of assaults. The situation becomes the more dangerous for them when local officials or other influential people are themselves claimants of the same areas. With the police and/or military on their side because of their influence and power, they are able to act with impunity against tribe members. Recent incidents could be indications of what awaits officers and members of NAKAMATA in the future.

Current NAKAMATA Membership
ORGANIZATION ADDRESS TOTAL POPULATION (All Coalition members)
1. Portulin tribal Association, Inc. (PTA) Portulin, Bukidnon 73 Families
2. Samahang kabuhayan ng Manabo Pulangihon (SAKAMPU) Butong,Quezon,Bukidnon 125
3. San Miguel Tribal Organization (SMTO) San Miguel, Maramag, Bukidnon 136
4. Higaonon- Talaandig Tribal Council Taganibong, Dologon, Maramag, Bukidnon 150
5. Kimaya Tribes Association Barungkot 15
6. San Luis Bukidnon Native Farmers Association (SLBNFA) Calao-calao, Don Carlos, Bukidnon 213
7. Tribal Organization of San Jose (TOSJ) Sitio San Jose, Brgy. Dangawan, Maramag, Bukidnon 100 families 8. Sipulihan Manobo Tribes Association (SMTA) Prakatahan, Mahayahay, Don Carlos, Bukidnon 162
9. Nagkahiusang Tingog sa Manobong Maguuma sa Mulita Association (NAGTIMMMA) San Nicolas, Don Carlos, Bukidnon 300
10. Sinangawan Tribal Association (SITRAS) San Vicente, Dangcagan, Bukidnon 55

A Chronology of Recent Events

September 6, 2001, Bukidnon, Mindanao
Samuel Bento, chairman of the Tribal Organization of San Jose (TOSJ), a member organization of NAKAMATA, was murdered as he traveled back from town. He had been working since 1999 on an ancestral land claim to recover an area of 1,100 hectares that had been converted into a cattle ranch. In response to his organizing activities, a price of 20,000 pesos had been placed on his head. But Samuel persisted in his organizing.

Samuel's relatives strongly suspect that his stabbing is related to the threat earlier issued against him, and the community's recent announcement of their intention to file for title to their ancestral domain. They say they have witnesses to support their claim. The police have filed a case of homicide against the suspect. For more info see the 'Murder of Samuel Bento' story section.

September 27, 2001
Gunmen fired upon the home of Nakamata leader, Datu Marcial Tahuyan, injuring two family members. Datu Marcial Tahuyan is the chairperson of the San Luis Bukidnon Native Farmers Association, a member organization of NAKAMATA. The organization's total land claim is approximately 700 hectares. At 3:30pm that afternoon, three men, wearing masks and armed with 12-gauge shotguns and a carbine rifle, fired upon the datu's house from close range. Two people were injured. The police made no serious attempt to investigate the incident, despite acknowledging that they knew threats had been made to kill Datu Tahuyan.

After the attack members of the organization relayed the information to the police that the assailants were "nearby waiting for another opportunity to stage another assault against us, and that they were armed with M14, Garand, Carbine and shotgun rifles", and indicated where they believed they were hiding. One officer eventually sent to the scene took still photos. When Datu Tahuyan requested print copies, he was told to order and pay for the photos at the processing studio. No protection was offered to coalition members. For more information see the 'Attacks directed at Marcial Tahuyan' story section.

October 13, 2001
Two members of the Manobo tribe were ambushed and killed. Ananias Tahuyan was shot in the arms and thigh, and died shortly afterwards. Rodolfo Dazing died on the spot from a bullet wound to his forehead. Two other companions, including a 10-year old boy, managed to run to safety immediately after the first gunbursts. WITNESS partner Joey Lozano was nearby, and on arriving at the scene found the young boy cowering amidst the sugarcane.

Ananias Tahuyan was a board member of the San Luis Bukidnon Native Farmers Association (SLNBFA), and he was on his way to join his group to complete a GPS (Global Positioning System) survey of their land claims. The survey would have determined the boundaries of the organization's claims. The area is now planted with sugarcane by "high ranking officials of the town who are opposing the claim," members said. Last week, one of the officials allegedly threatened that tribe members would be shot if they pursued the survey.

Police did not arrive at the scene of the murders until almost three hours after they took place. This was despite the fact that the police station is just 8 kilometers from the murder site. Upon arrival, the local Police Inspector stayed on the highway, and did not even go to look at the crime scene. For more information see the 'Murder of Ananias Tahuyan and Rodolfo Dazing' story section.

October 18, 2001
Unidentified armed men assaulted the community of the two men who were killed in the October 13 ambushes. This time, the suspects fired several rounds of M-79 grenade launchers in broad daylight before they razed 14 homes to the ground. No one was reported hurt, as the Manobo tribe members had already evacuated along the national highway. But now the members of the tribe face a time of extreme poverty and desperation.

The attack came even after the Department of National Defense had issued a memorandum to the armed forces' chief of staff two days earlier. The order, a copy of which NAKAMATA has, directed the southern command in Cagayan de Oro City "to take appropriate action to ensure the safety of the Manobo community and the neutralization of the alleged armed group terrorizing them."

Despite receiving numerous requests, as well as being made aware of credible threats to the lives of NAKAMATA's members, the police did not take action to protect the lives of NAKAMATA members, nor did they conduct a thorough investigation of this or other incidents.

November 6, 2001
Footage shot by NAKAMATA and Joey Lozano using WITNESS cameras was gathered for evidence and was broadcast on a nationwide investigative reporting show, 'The Probe Team'

November
WITNESS contacts on the ground reported that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had begun investigating attacks on leaders of NAKAMATA. However, WITNESS and NAKAMATA are still awaiting concrete results from the NBI investigation. Petitions and letters signed by WITNESS supporters were sent to key government officials reiterating our concern for the safety of NAKAMATA.

November 19
Joey Lozano interviewed on "Democracy Now" Radio Program in U.S.

December 2001
Joey Lozano and NAKAMATA collaborated on editing this Rights Alert video “Rule of the Gun in Sugarland.” This Rights Alert will also be distributed nationally and internationally, and is available for low cost purchase, and for public screenings.

Murder of Samuel Bento

On September 6, 2001 Samuel Bento, chairman of the Tribal Organization of San Jose (TOSJ), a member organization of NAKAMATA, was returning from the local town when another passenger inside a shared passenger jeepney stabbed him fatally. Samuel Bento had formally organized the TOSJ in 1999, and the organization then made known their desire to recover their ancestral land claim, an area of 1,100 hectares that had been converted into a cattle ranch. This was the land that, according to the claimants, was "borrowed from the tribe" by one Timothy Ocaya (now deceased) way back in the 1960s, and whose son-in-law now serves as manager of the area.

In October of 1999, Samuel Bento occupied a portion of the land and planted corn. He was arrested, and sent to jail based on the complaint filed by the ranch-owner. He was bailed out for 3,000 pesos. The incident sowed fear among members of TOSJ. Some became inactive members as a result. But the Bentos went on tilling the small parcel of land. On August 19, 2001 his younger brother Nonoy went to the area to harvest the corn. It did not take before heavily armed guards of the Ocaya ranch surrounded him and harassed him. They also confiscated the two sacks of corn that he had finished harvesting.

This incident only emboldened Samuel. The following day he initiated a more active organizing among members of his community. The members decided that they must formally join NAKAMATA. It was right after this that words reached him that a price of 20,000 pesos had been placed on his head. No one would say who put the price. But there is general belief that it was related to the organization's decision to formally claim back their lands. Samuel was also advised never to go out without a "buddy" with him.

On September 2, 2001 organization members met and received final briefing from NAKAMATA officers. They were taught the legal procedures for proceeding with their ancestral claim. Samuel was invited by NAKAMATA for another meeting on October 1, 2001. This was to decide when surveys related to the land claims of each member would be decided and scheduled.

Samuel didn't make it to the meeting. On September 6, 2001 he was killed by another passenger in a shared jeepney as he returned alone from a trip to buy fertilizer in the town of Maramag.

Vicente Orellanes, the arrested suspect, claimed during a brief interview inside the jail that he did it in self-defense. He showed a scar on his right shoulder. He claimed it was a stab wound inflicted by Samuel. The police report also said so. But Samuel's relatives strongly suspect that his stabbing is related to the threat earlier issued against him. They say they have witnesses to support their claim. The police have filed a case of homicide against the suspect.
Samuel's murder left 4 young orphans. His wife died six years ago after giving birth to their fourth child, Samuel Jr. The eldest is Juvylee, 13 years old, who finished grade 4 and stopped going to school to help his father; Juvilyn, 11 years old who is now in grade 4; Giovanni, 9 years old and who is now in grade 1.

The four are now under the care of Samuel's father and mother, who are without any stable source of income. They are now 77 and 72 years old, respectively.

Attacks directed at Marcial Tahuyan

On September 27, 2001, gunmen fired upon the home of NAKAMATA leader, Datu Marcial Tahuyan, injuring two family members. Threats continued to be made on his life and those of others working with him in the days afterwards - leading up to the murderous assaults on Ananias Tahuyan and Rodolfo Dazing - and the police were slow to investigate or provide protection.

Datu Marcial Tahuyan is the chairperson of the San Luis Bukidnon Native Farmers Association, a member organization of NAKAMATA. The organization's total land claim is approximately 700 hectares. The same area used to be a part of a huge corporation ran by associates of the late dictator Marcos. Now sequestered, the area is currently planted with sugar cane by local politicians or their proxies.

Even before joining the NAKAMATA coalition in 1999, Datu Tahuyan had been leading his people to occupy lands that had been taken away from them by the corporation. For that, they were subjected to at least 5 demolitions and evictions by company guards. In November 10, 1993 one of his members was hacked to death by a company guard.

Because of his leadership in asserting his community's land claims, the Datu has been subjected to what he believes are attempts to kill him. In one of these incidents, in the early morning of December 31, 1998, three men armed with armalite rifles came looking for him. His members' refusal to divulge where he was then saved him.

The most recent attempt on his life was last September 27, 2001. Datu Tahuyan left his house early morning of this day to attend a NAKAMATA meeting and observe the second phase of the video training for the coalition's research and documentation team.

At about 3:30 P.M. of the same day, witnesses said that three men, wearing masks and armed with 12-gauge shotguns and a carbine rifle fired upon the Datu's house. Gunfire lasted for about 5 minutes, according to witnesses. The suspects positioned themselves some 3 - 5 meters away from the house. Inside were six people. His sister-in-law, Virginia Tahuyan, 45, was hit on her left thigh. A 13-year old girl, Mary Ann Regala, sustained a wound in one of her fingers. While both were rushed to the hospital for treatment, one of the Datu's kin reported the incident to the police.

For four days after the incident, no police officer was sent to the area to conduct a formal investigation. Senior Inspector Paquito Catin, Jr., Don Carlos municipality's chief of police, said in an interview that the police were busy guarding fiestas at that time. He promised to personally conduct an investigation.

The police chief admitted that there are other people who are also interested in the lands being claimed by the Datu's group and they could be behind the strafing incident. Sources say the husband of the town's vice-mayor, and a member of the local legislative council, are among those interested in the lands being claimed by the Datu's group.

The chief of police also admitted that he had heard of talks to liquidate the Datu, or anyone of his kin, to discourage filing of ancestral land claims. But no effort was exerted to protect him.

Members of the organization claimed at the time that the assailants "are just nearby waiting for another opportunity to stage another assault against us, and that they are armed with M14, Garand, Carbine and shotgun rifles." The same information, including the possible hideout of the suspects, was relayed to the chief of police. The police provided no guarantee that they would act on this information. A matter of days later two other NAKAMATA members, including one witness to the attack on Datu Tahuyan's home, were murdered in an ambush.

Murders of Ananias Tahuyan and Rodolfo Dazing

TWO MANOBOS KILLED IN NEW WAVE OF ASSAULT
Joey R.B. Lozano
Correspondent, Mindanao Bureau

Don Carlos, Bukidnon (October 13, 2001; 1:30PM) - Tomorrow, Sunday, October 14 is Tribal Filipino Sunday. It is the only day of the year when all Catholic churches throughout the country would have for their homilies the plight of the indigenous peoples.
The church, on this day, normally would call for the understanding and plight of the tribes and seek for the promotion and protection of their rights as distinct peoples. It is a day that indigenous peoples always receive with joy.

But here, it is a day of gloom. Two members of the Manobo tribe were slain at 6:20 this morning in what appears to be a continuing wave of assaults against Lumads who continue to assert their ancestral land claims. Killed by still unidentified men armed with shotgun and carbine rifles were Ananias Tahuyan, 50 and Rodolfo Dazing, 42.

Two other companions, including a 10-year old boy managed to run to safety immediately after the first gunbursts.

The victims were on their way to their community center when ambushed by the assailants who posted themselves along the trail.

Tahuyan is a board member of the San Luis Bukidnon Native Farmers Association (SLNBFA). He was on his way to join his group to complete a GPS (global positioning system) survey of their land claims. The survey started yesterday.

Hit in the arms and thigh, he managed to run back towards the national highway where he died minutes later due to loss of blood.

Dazing died on the spot with a bullet wound in his forehead.

Ananias is an elder cousin of Datu Marcial Tahuyan, chairperson of the association whose house was strafed by armed masked men in broad daylight last September 27. The datu was out of the house then.

Wounded during the strafing was Virginia Tahuyan, wife of the slain board member. Virginia was discharged from the hospital only last Tuesday and still recuperating when her husband was killed this morning.

Early last month, Samuel Bento, chairman of the Tribal Organization of San Jose in Maramag was killed inside a jeep while on his way home. Like SLBNFA, the TOSJ is a member of Nakamata, a coalition of 10 indigenous peoples organizations in south-central Bukidnon which is leading the recovery of ancestral lands in the area.

Nakamata is a partner of WITNESS, a New York-based human rights organization.

The killing this morning and the recent assaults against Nakamata are all related to the land claims filed by members, officers told this writer who was less than two kilometers away from the ambush site. The suspects to both the strafing and ambush slaying are the same, they strongly believe.

The survey today would have determined the boundaries of the organization's claims. The area is now planted to sugarcane by "high ranking officials of the town who are opposing the claim," members said.

Last week, according to them, one of the officials allegedly threatened that tribe members would be shot if they pursue the survey.

Very recently, too, international human rights groups and partners of Nakamata sent letters to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and other officials and aired their concern over the seemingly regular assaults against members of the coalition.

They also asked that ample protection be extended to them. This Tribal Sunday, "protection" would be the action that the Manobos here said they would gladly accept - if ever it would come.

Assault on Manobo village

On October 18, 2001, unidentified armed men assaulted the community of the two men from the Manobo tribe who were killed in the October 13 ambushes. This time, the suspects fired several rounds of M-79 grenade launchers in broad daylight before they razed 14 homes to the ground. No one was reported hurt, as the Manobo tribe members had already evacuated along the national highway. Mayor Felix Manzano, the local mayor, dismissed the buildings as "shanties". But now the members of the tribe face a time of extreme poverty and desperation.

Despite receiving numerous requests, as well as being made aware of credible threats to the lives of NAKAMATA's members, the police did not take action to protect the lives of NAKAMATA members, nor did they conduct a thorough investigation of this or other incidents.

In October and November, the harvest season started. Along the highway here, truckloads of sugarcane pass by the Manobos' settlement on their way to two huge milling complexes in nearby Maramag and Quezon town. Sources say landowners and financers would earn from a low 15,000 pesos per hectare to as high as 50,000 from this crop.

Harvest time used to be a welcome time for the tribe. It would be a good four months when they could serve as cane cutters to earn petty cash. It is not so now. Cane owners no longer hire ancestral land claimants for cutting. One reason, according to the members of the coalition, is to deprive them of their only source of income. Second is the landowners' fear that they may be held liable if attacks against tribe members were to happen in their area. Hunger now stalks the indigenous people of Don Carlos municipality, Bukidnon. And they continue to fear for their lives as they pursue their land claims.