“Sana naman ipatupad nang lubusan ang IPRA at maibalik sa aming katutubo ang pamamahala sa aming lupaing ninuno. Sana naman tigilan na ng pamahalaan ang paggawa ng proyekto sisira sa aming pamumuhay at kabuhayan bilang mga katutubo.” Ebong is the current president of SUKATAN, an organization of Dumagat-Remontado Tribe in the town of Tanay, Rizal, one of the 110 ethnolinguistic communities in the country comprising 15 of the 104 million Filipino population. SUKATAN, with SAGIBIN, and supported by the Save Sierra Madre Network, are struggling to save their 184,000 hectare ancestral domain’ forest and agricultural land and ancient burial grounds and way of life from being totally destroyed by government’s big dams project. The Duterte Administration is continuing the project started way back during the Marcos dictatorship. The 66 billion- peso big corporation-controlled “Centennial Dams” project will bury eight villages of indigenous peoples and settlers and inundate 50,000 hectares of forests and agricultural lands, ostensibly to ensure water security of Metro Manilans. Professor Gordoncillo, a climate expert, a tremendous waste of public funds while there is a clear much cost efficient (P16 billion only), environmentally sound and socially-acceptable alternative, the use of Laguna Lake and the reforestation of Watershed, patterned after the Singapore model.
Ebong is now on his second day of water only- fasting at the People Power Monument with four other leaders of PAKISAMA, a confederation of small farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples, rural women and youth organizations and Fr. Robert Reyes, leader of Gomburza, a movement of diocesan priests, sisters and layfolks committed to faith that does justice.
The nine-day fasting and prayer event dubbed Dasal at Ayuno Laban sa ChaCha para sa Demokrasya, started on February 17, aims to help Filipinos to regain the spirit of the EDSA People Power Revolution enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, help inform the public of the dangers of current Charter Change move of the government, and provide a platform for various social movements, CSOs, basic sector organizations, Church and school organizations to forge greater unities to effectively stop Cha Cha.
The six fasters will be joined today by seven members of Sukatan and several members of the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), a broad coalition of indigenous peoples’ organizations and CSOs fighting destructive mining in the country. A photo exhibit on the effect of destructive mining has been installed in the PPM grounds. Participants discussed the various provisions in the 1987 Constitution which favor the indigenous peoples and the environment.
“After Secretary Gina Lopez was replaced, destructive open pit mining is back with vengeance. We also can not trust Congress to lead the changing of the Constitution. We can name several of them who have vested interests in mining for example that would want their businesses safeguarded,” said Jaybee Garganera, National Coordinator of ATM.
Both PAKISAMA and ATM oppose changing of the Constitution at this point in time given the people and vested interests pushing for the change would compromise the current of pro-people, pro- environment, and pro- human rights provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
The fasters instead challenge the Duterte government to pass an anti –dynasty bill and dismantle all political dynasties including his own, finish the implementation of existing asset reform laws and to close destructive mining sites. These measures, they believe, will directly help uplift millions of farmers and fishers and indigenous peoples and safeguard the environment.
