Cotabato City- “Our lives are connected to the land and as it is being degraded, we slowly die”, Fintailan Leonora Mokudef, an indigenous woman leader of the Teduray tribe as she shared the plight of some of their traditional communities in Maguindanao amidst threats of mining to the participants of the public forums of the Lakbay Tribu para sa Karapatan sa Sariling Pagpapasya (Indigenous Peoples’ Journey for the Right to Self-Determination) in Nuro, Upi and Cotabato City on September 13 and 16 respectively.

As one of the speakers, Fintailan Mokudef raised the concern of the indigenous women on the on-going mining exploration in 8 indigenous communities in North Upi, South Upi and Datu Blah Sinsuat which are part of their 201,850-hectare ancestral domain claim with the Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo tribes in Maguindanao.

The extraction of soil samples had begun as early as March 23 in Sitio Lahangkeb, Brgy. Remfes, North Upi and continued randomly until September 5 this year. Months of digging up 7-feet deep holes in these communities already caused division among the members of the clans of the tribe.

With an important role of settling conflicts, the women leaders of the tribes were burdened of pacifying conflicting tribe members caused by the encroachment of a mining company without their free, prior and informed consent as mandated by the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA).

Fintailan Mokudef insisted that the government must be sincere in implementing the IPRA in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) so that their indigenous political structures will be given the exclusive right to protect and manage the ancestral domain’s natural resources through a framework of development that is based on giving value to nature and the life that it provides to other life forms on Earth.

“With the cruelty that this encroachment in our ancestral domain brought to us, we cannot remain silent and idle in facing these present challenges that violate our right to live with dignity as peoples of the land”, Fintailan Mokudef further shared.

The Lakbay Tribu para sa Karapatan sa Sariling Pagpapasya hosted these public forums that served as venues for indigenous peoples in ARMM or the incoming Bangsamoro to share their plight as well as their hopes and aspirations as distinct peoples and gain support from the public to pressure the government to fully implement the IPRA in ARMM and to fully include it in the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The event is organized by the Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Movement (MPPM) and will continue towards Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, Iligan City and Lala in Lanao del Norte, Pagadian City and Dinas in Zamboanga del Sur, Midsayap and Kabacan in Cotabato, Kibawe in Bukidnon, Davao City, Butuan City, Tacurong City, General Santos City and in Metro Manila.