Michelle Campos faces an uphill struggle amid threats from mining firms, armed groups and even the president himself
[Michelle Campos, a 19-year old Manobo tribal woman, leads her community in asserting their rights to education and self-governance. (Photo by Mark Saludes)]
Mark Saludes, Tandag Philippines UCAN November 8, 2017
Michelle Campos was excited to go home after weeks away from her tribal village of Han-ayan in the southern Philippines.
During the two-hour trip through the mountains, the 19-year-old Manobo woman was all smiles.
“You’ll know you’ve reached the village when your ass is already numb,” she laughed.
The trip was filled with laughter as the motorcycle she was riding plied along a winding trail of mud, rocks, and fallen tree branches.
Campos had been in the capital Manila for several months to lobby for recognition of tribal rights and to protest against alleged abuses committed by soldiers in her community, including attacks on tribal schools.
Her father, Dionel, and two other elders in her tribe were killed in 2015 by militiamen allegedly backed by government security forces.
The tribal leaders were accused of promoting communism through an alternative learning center that has been supported by the Catholic Church.
After her father’s death, Campos became the face of the tribe’s struggle for justice. She carried on the campaign for an educational system that is sensitive to the culture of indigenous peoples.
The young woman is herself a product of the Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development, one of the tribal schools that were accused by President Rodrigo Duterte of “spreading subversive ideas against the government.”
Importance of education
The president’s allegation was not new. In the 1970s, church workers who introduced education programs in tribal communities were also accused of being communist rebels.
Campos’ uncle, Datu Jalandoni Campos, recalled how Catholic priests told the community about the importance of education to fight discrimination.
In was in the late 1970s when Tandag Diocese launched its Tribal Filipino Apostolate that introduced literacy and numeracy programs in tribal communities.
It took more than a decade for the program to transform into an independent learning system under the non-government group Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur.
“It was the enthusiasm of the community to give children quality education that built these schools,” said Bishop Emeritus Ireneo A. Amantillo.
Campos said it was through the efforts of church leaders and the several NGOs that schools were built in 18 communities.
In 2002, the Department of Education recognized the tribal schools and even named them as having the “most outstanding literacy programs” among NGO-run learning institutions. Continue reading
