by Aldrin Villegas
Two unidentified men attacked a Lumad evacuee earlier today at the vicinity of a Protestant church in Haran, Davao City where about 700 members of indigenous peoples (IP) tribes have sought refuge since June, according to reports received by the Collegian from Kalumaran, an alliance of IP groups in Mindanao.
Butchoy Tumagsa, 21, was walking from the public market to the evacuation center at the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in Haran, Davao City, when two men suddenly approached him and tried to stab him using an ice pick. Tumagsa escaped but sustained a cut on his stomach.
Meanwhile, five volunteer teachers of the UCCP from the Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc. (MISFI) Academy were tailed and harrased by two men on a motor bike also earlier today, said Kaerlan Fanagel of Pasakan, a member organization of Kalumaran.
Lumad refugees cannot return to their homes as military troops are still occupying their ancestral lands, said Fanagel. “Patuloy pa rin kaming nananawagan na lisanin na ng militar at disarmahan ang mga paramilitary sa aming lugar… dahil patuloy pa rin kaming dinarahas,” Fanagel said in a phone interview.
As of press time, the victims are filing a blotter report at the local police station.
A Banwaon activist was also murdered in Agusan del Sur on September 28, according to a report by IP rights group Higala sa Lumad Network. Lito Abion, 44, a habal-habal driver, was shot dead while waiting for passengers at a terminal in Barangay Dona Flavia.
Higala links Abion’s killing to Tagdumahan’s resistance to the entry of mining companies in Banwaon’s ancestral lands. The victim is a founding member of the said Lumad organization.