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INTRODUCTION

Each Lumads culture is distinct and unique. Many people may express

similar worldviews and a common Lumads identity; their cultures are nonetheless

based on different histories, environments, and creative spirits. The beauty of

their cultures is their life. They continue to shows the world who and what they

are. The word Lumad is a Bisaya term means “native” or “indigenous”. Among

the 6 regions, the Davao City has the highest indigenous population including the

tribes of Atta, Bagobo, Banwaon, B'laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon,

Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Subanen, Tagakaolo,

Tasaday, Tboli, Teduray, and Ubo. Mountains are their home and their life. They

live peacefully as the cold air breeze. But there are factors why they want to

migrate in the city. It is widely believed and in some cases conducted that

indigenous people are the poorest of the poor in terms of income.

According to the United Nations the current population of the Philippines is

almost 103 million. The population is equivalent to 1.37% of the total world

population while the percentage population of indigenous people in the

Philippines is 18% of the total population of the nation. Of the six regions in

Mindanao, the Davao City has the highest indigenous population (Gaspar, 2013).

The United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) Haran Compound

located in Fr. Selga St., Davao City is composed of 300 indigenous people in
 3

whom it was established since 2012. Currently, there are 750 indigenous people

evacuated in the UCCP. The tribes who stayed there are the Kapalong,

Talaingod and Arakan tribes. Save our School Network was created due to the

highly militarized community. It was formed by indigenous people’s groups,

educators and support groups to combine efforts to address the need to

advocate and mobilize resources to serve the indigenous and children’s rights to

education.

The vision of the said advocacy is to provide social services and to access

the right education specifically for the Lumad students in order for them to gain

knowledge. Spokesperson said that establishing schools for Lumads should not

be the same in some rural areas. Their purpose is to encourage students to learn

more in a naturalistic, scientific and mass-oriented organization. Mission is to

explore the difficulties experienced by the Lumads, to know their existence as a

person and to understand how do people perceive them. The main objective of

this organization for the Lumad people is too lived in a peace within the

boundaries of their identified inherited land and the support of the government

extended for them.

This network provides services to the community schools that are

recognized by the Department of Education Indigenous People Education Office

(IPSEPO). They uphold these schools’ programs that instill cultural heritage and

pride to protect their culture and ancestral domain. Promoting a sustainable,

community-based development program and having their enough multinational

investments are one of their goals. Security, form of protest, register legitimate
 4

demands, assertion to self dissertation and right to ancestral lands are the only

thing that the indigenous people aspire. The Lumads have established schools in

their communities supplying knowledge to young adults and youth on how to

protect their rights, property and their culture. Currently, the UCCP lacks in the

number of volunteered teachers and donations for their organization.

According to Almgren (2015), the United Nations publication on the State

of World’s IP’s revealed the alarming statistics on poverty, health, education,

employment, human rights, environment and more. There are several factors

why Lumads are migrating in the city. A rising numbers of Indigenous people

migrating to cities either voluntarily or forced by factors beyond their control, such

are militarization, loss of land, climate change or poverty. The advocacy simply

states that the indigenous people have a traditional ancestral concept in terms of

land ownership which is communal private property. Their ancestral lands that

includes the rain forest, hunting grounds, cultivated and uncultivated land and

mineral resources such as the copper, nickel, gold, chromites, coal, gas and

cement. They always defend their right to control their ancestral territories.

Fifty-six percent of the Philippine military have been deployed to the

Mindanao region. The `Lumads in Mindanao are once caught in the conflict of

various interest of Armed Forces of the Philipines (AFP) and another reason for

the hideout of the rebels or commonly known as New People’s Army (NPA). Most

of the resistance of the government choose to camp in rural areas where few

people live. Coincidentally, these areas are places where Lumads are living.
 5

Unfortunately, there are innocent civilians especially Lumad women and children

that are left from suffering and defenceless.

As they live for the rest of their lives in the city, a lot of difficulties they will

face especially in adapting the environment of the urban people. According to the

global context, UN-Habitat (2010) stated that indigenous people migrate to urban

areas face particular and additional challenges, despite the positive opportunities

that urban areas may present. These include: limited access to services,

discrimination, generational language loss and cultural identity deterioration, as

well as poor health and low socioeconomic outcomes. They are struggling and

continue to experience great challenges at the hands of the governments,

corporations and other non-governmental organizations.

Every day they are facing these kinds of problems and try to overcome as

they live. Impact of the Martial Law, Threat of Red Tagging, Burning their

schools, College scholars that should be granted and the volunteered teachers

and staff are the challenges they are facing right now in their organization. Ever

since the beginning of his term, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has been active

in pursuing peace for the country. And one of his major steps was to engage in

peace talks particularly in the Mindanao. But it’s been two years and yet no

compromise has been met between the government and the Lumad people. And

that was the saddest part of it; the victims will always be the indigenous people.

As of now, they have received land for ancestral domain temporarily,

education for their children and livelihoods for their people living in the
 6

mountains. However, they see the NPA doing nothing but to damage their

culture, and more importantly, their future. The lies have to stop as well as the

killings. Peace should be attained. It’s time for them to give the peace, the real

and actual peace. The kind of peace they and their future generations deserve.

RATIONALE

The Save our schools Network is a network of child rights advocates,

organizations and various stakeholders working together to bring light and take

action on the ongoing violation of children’s right to education, particularly those

in the context of militarization and attacks on schools. The unity of the Lumads,

the eagerness of the Lumad children to learn and their wished to have education

is the main reason that encourages the organization to keep up the advocacy.

Advocates for the rights of children and indigenous peoples vowed to strengthen

their unity for education and people’s rights in the face of growing repression and

threats of martial law declaration nationwide.

Starting at 2012 to 2016 3,000 Lumad students have been influenced,

dislodged and damaged by the nearness of state troops and paramilitary who

involved and stalk them and educators’ in schools and communities. Vast scale

mining and ranch development are likewise compromising their territory and
 7

communities. International Laws covering conflict explicitly forbid the utilization of

open framework, for example, schools, medical clinics and country wellbeing

units for military purposes such as command posts, barracks detachments, and

supply depots. Education is a fundamental human right, however over late years

there has been a disturbing increase in the quantity of reports of schools being

mobilized, being utilized as sleeping quarters and separations throughout the

Aquino government counter insurgency campaign. This common children’s

rights infringement brought forth the Save Our Schools network.

Hence there is a need protect the children’s rights to education and self

determination at all times. The organization believes that education is a precious

human right. The alternative schools built in Mindanao were brought by the

state's failure to achieve remote communities and broaden social services,

similar to education. In view of the SOS Network information, nine out of 10

Lumad children have no entrance to education.

Meg Monteverde, spokesperson of the Save our Schools Network said

that they had to flee in their community due to the land that has been seized by

the corporations and logging companies. Hundreds of Lumads were arrested,

tortured and killed in the hands of the military, paramilitary and private security

forces. They always are asking for justice to the government.

The attack on school was also the main reasons why they want to pursue

their advocacy. The schools have been the target of attacks perpetrated by state

security forces. As these schools are situated in ancestral lands where resources
 8

are rich, the investors of corporations, local and foreign, are pushing them far

from their properties to misuse their assets for their own benefit.

One of the simple solutions to the arising problems is that as an individual

we can help them by donate and help source out of school supplies and

materials, farm tools and food. Pledge support for a student, class or a teacher.

We can also support them by joining or organizing an educational forum, art

exhibit and other activities. Engage in campaigns to raise awareness on

indigenous peoples’ rights to education. Support campaigns to call for better

state response for the protection of the indigenous children’s rights to education.

We can write to express support to the Lumads issues such as militarization,

mining plantations and their right to education. And also we can visit schools

together with some of our colleagues, students’, teachers, visit the evacuation

camp and work voluntarily as a teacher, health volunteer and other services.

Form partnerships with community schools through extension programs and

other services. Those are some of the ways in which you can support the

organization to their advocacy.

The significance of the advocacy is to protect the Mindanao Lumad

children’s right to education as well as their ancestral lands. The struggle of the

lumads is not separated with the struggle here in urban. If their ancestral

domains or ancestral lands will be destroyed probably the urban areas will also

be affected. It is because of the exploitation of the environment. It is significant

not just for the lives of the Lumads but also to the urban people. If we look at it

the very first or the legit environmental defenders are the Lumads. Land is life for
 9

them. And also for the education, not even the lumads are deprived to have their

right to education but also some children living in the urban areas. The advocacy

simply states that the indigenous people have a traditional ancestral concept in

terms of land ownership which is communal private property. The advocacy will

be beneficial not just for the indigenous children but to all children in the

Philippines by protecting their rights to education.

The Save Our Schools campaign was first initiated in Mindanao in 2012

due to massive attacks on Lumads schools. The campaign went national in 2014

and now has been gathering support from different organizations, individuals,

child rights advocates, personalities and academicians. Religious groups are

acquiring instruction to the indigenous people groups Mindanao to battle the high

frequency of illiteracy. They had fabricated hundreds of community schools that

are recognized by the Department of Education’s Indigenous Peoples Education

Office (Ipseo).

However this fight for education is obstructed by assaults on schools and

networks. With the assistance of religious foundations and non-government

associations, the Lumads communities have developed their own water supply

system, sustainable agriculture, communal farms and schools. It also helped that

the Lumads, who have long been denied of social services like education, could

now read, write and most of all, are aware of their rights to their ancestral lands.

Education came not only for the young students, but also their parents.
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DESCRIPTION

Shaped in 2012, the Save Our Schools organize was framed by

indigenous people groups' gatherings, teachers and care groups to consolidate

endeavors to deliver the need to advocate and assemble assets to serve the

indigenous and children's rights to education. The network provides advocacy

and services to the community.

There are 222 Lumads Schools in Mindanao, 8,251 students, 446

Teachers and 66 Non-Teaching staff. Under Aquino’s Term 2,672 Lumad

Students, teachers and parents had been affected from the attacks on schools.

2,624 teachers, parents and Lumad students’ had been overblown on schools

under Duterte’s first year. Save our Schools Mindanao stated that there are 17

schools affecting 805 students due to military encampment, 778 students and

teachers in 8 schools were forced to evacuation, 108 teachers and parents in 24

schools had received threats and harassment and there were 7 PTCA

extrajudicial killings As of June 2016 to July 2017 .

The Lumad children’s are calling for Education Secretary Leonor Briones

to follow up on their calls: put a conclusion to the assaults on their schools;

concede acknowledgment and grants to Lumad schools, and the revocation of

Department of Education Memorandum Order 221 arrangement of 2013 which

permits the nearness of warriors of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in

schools. Under the Duterte organization, Lumad students have held a few

protests outside the DepEd office in Pasig, as they ask Briones to hear their

request. Rius Valle, the Save our Schools Network Mindanao representative said

their first gathering was in July 2016.

The United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) Haran Compound

situated in Fr. Selga St., Davao City is made out of 300 indigenous individuals in

whom it was set up since 2012. Right now, there are 750 indigenous individuals

cleared in the UCCP. The tribes who remained there are the Kapalong,

Talaingod and Arakan tribes.

Meg Monteverde, one of the spokesperson of the Save our Schools

Netwrok said that establishing schools are one of the major successes that the

advocacy had reached so far. The schools are the initiative of the community.

Despite of the many threats and attacks on schools they still continue to school in

a form of “bakwit school”. Although there are some schools that are unfortunately

forced closed because of the major attacks in the community, teachers still

continue to teach. Teachers in Lumads schools living in the community dedicate

their time to the school and will only come home once or twice a year . One

success they had also is when they register the demands of the Lumads in the

national.

Rius Valle, one of the spokesperson of the Save our Schools Network said

that the Lumad people group have made due with no help from the government.

They have subsisted and built up their very own creation, while supporting nature
 12

around them. With the assistance of religious foundations and non-government

associations, the Lumad people group has built up their very own water supply

framework, maintainable horticulture, public homesteads and schools. It likewise

helped that the Lumads, who have for quite some time been prevented from

claiming social administrations like instruction, could now peruse, compose and a

large portion of all, know about their rights to their familial terrains. Instruction

came for the youthful understudies, yet additionally their folks.

The Lumads schools have been steady focus of the military, who charge

that the schools are worked by the New People's Army (NPA). In any case, what

aggravated it is the execution of DepEd Memo which permits the nearness

soldiers in school premises. Valle said as a result of the assaults, no less than 39

Lumads schools were persuasively shut. Somewhere around 33 are schools

worked by the Center for Lumads Advocacy, Networking and Services, Inc.

(Factions) in districts of Soccsksargen, Southern Mindanao Region and Caraga

locale.

Valle said with the persistent assaults on schools, the administration is

removing the Lumad children’s settlement to education which they have

neglected to give from the earliest starting point. He said the assaults appear to

be determined to keeping the Lumad people group illiterate, to give way to

plunder in the ancestral lands that are rich in natural resources. In any case, the

educators and the students promise to proceed with their battle for instruction

and their familial terrains.

The Save Our Schools campaign was first initiated in Mindanao in 2012

due to massive attacks on Lumads schools. The campaign went national in 2014

and now has been gathering support from different organizations, individuals,

child rights advocates, personalities and academicians.

The Save Our Schools Network (SOS Network) declared its first national

conference on Saturday, Sept. 16 a success, despite the harassment against the

participants coming all the way from Mindanao. Supporters who went to the

occasion meant their help, through money gifts, school supplies and different

structures. Department of Social Welfare and Development Assistant Secretary

for Promotive Programs Malou Turalde and Undersecretary for Institutional

Development Mae Fe Templa likewise went to the occasion and vowed to remain

with the Lumad children’s in their battle for their entitlement to education. In spite

of the strengthening provocation against Lumad children, their parents and

advocates, the climate in the meeting was ruled by a solid responsibility by the

Lumads and their supporters to battle for their rights to their ancestral lands and

self-determination, and the right to education of national minority children. The

gathering turned out with a proclamation of solidarity with the Lumads and Moro

battle.

Bai Bibyaon Ligkayan Bigkay, a manbo tribe leader in offered her most

profound thanks to the supporters of Lumad people group in their battle for self-

assurance and ideal to education. She said when she was younger; she didn't

perceive any assistance from the government for her as well as Lumad children’s

education. According to her education was attained by our children through the
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help of organization and the church. Supporters are the only hope so that

children can continue with their schooling.

FINDINGS

The Philippines is a country that is not only marked by class, regional and

urban-rural stratification but also significant by socio-cultural plurality and its

acknowledgment is essential in understanding why indigenous people are

protecting their homelands. The Lumads tribes in Mindanao face a multitude of

struggles which could affect their lives as a Filipino that considered to be the

most peaceful and gentle and vulnerable group. Historically marginalized and

neglected, this indigenous group protects and vested their interest of ancestral

lands.

The United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) Haran was

established in 2012 due to increasing human right civilization. This organization

is for empowering the Lumads cultural heritage and ancestral domains in the

Davao City. Currently, it is composed of 750 Lumad people who include the 350

students. The Lumads evacuees were mostly women and children, sought refuge

in the Protestant church allegedly because of the presence of the military in their

communities. From 2012 to 2016, some lumads have been affected, displaced
 15

and traumatized by the presence of state troops and military who occupy and

stalk them in their community. The place of Lumads is said to be a highly

militarized community which motivates them to move in Davao City since 2012.

Lumads territories are rich in natural resources, especially minerals. This is the

primary reason why their ancestral domains are encroached upon by outsiders

and have been subjected to development aggression. (La Vina, 2015).

One of the strengths of the said advocacy is establishing a community in

order to empower Lumads life in Davao City and the unity of Lumads community

together with their support groups. Military and NPA attacks on their schools,

burning their own properties are one its weaknesses which also includes

injustices, oppression and poverty experienced by Lumads individuals. In the first

place, they are risking their lives as they decide to live in the city. They

encountered different problems, difficulties and struggles. Lumads family was

contributed to their life in the city as poor.

The study cited by to Starn and de la Cadena (2007), it was impossible for

Indigenous people to participate in the modern world without abandoning their

Indigenous cultures and identities. The United Nations Permanent Forum on

Indigenous Issues stated that there are impacts and consequences as the

Indigenous people live in the city like in some cases urban indigenous

communities do not have adequate access to information about services

available to them, they face discrimination and often do not enjoy basic rights

and being subjected to limited access to health services, inadequate housing and
 16

employment, indigenous migrants often find it hard to sustain their language,

identity and culture.

In this concept paper, the findings were recognized and categorized in

order for the study to be concluded and to formulate solutions. The results were

gathered through interviews conducted to determine the objective of the

advocacy and the experiences of the participants which are the lumad people

who are living in the city, the difficulties that they experienced, and how people

perceive them. Due to the highly militarized community of Lumads, they moved in

Davao City and government should take an action for this problem. Lumads still

suffers injustices in the hands of those who oppress and exploit them especially

in terms of dislocating them from their ancestral domain. Needs on the financial

sustainability, needs proper education, needing a job, adapting to a new lifestyle,

better life in the mountains and development of physical appearance are the

main reasons why they should defend their rights as a Filipino. The researchers

conclude that the life of lumads in the city is not easy. They need money to

sustain their needs and their everyday living. They also need a job to sustain

their needs.

Researchers conclude also that they need proper education. Education for

them is very important as they live in the city; there are absence of school

materials and facilities. As they live in the city, they experienced life threatening

and lack of resources. They experienced physical and verbal abuse. They also

experienced lack of resources. It can be also be seen, either in the mountains or

in the city, lumads cannot avoid the danger in their life. They experienced
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destroying of their properties. It can be concluded that lumad people still a

stranger in the city. They experienced abusive deeds and they just let go of it.

People perceive and treat lumads in a discrimination and appreciation way.

People from Davao City both appreciate and discriminates lumad people.

Lumad people feels rejected and experienced unfair treatment. Other people

also, appreciated the presence of lumads in the city, that’s why a lot of

organizations are helping them but this is not enough for them to sustain their

lives. Even though that there are schools and organizations supporting lumad

people, they also need the support from the government. These people

appreciated the supports of the government like celebrating their festivals like

Kadayawan. This thing keeps them happy and well appreciated because of

preserving on their cultures and traditions. They also need to have better life like

financial sustainability and a good quality of education.

RECOMMENDATION

The study being conducted focuses on the Indigenous people who were

governed by the SOS network located at UCCP Haran. Those Indigenous people

who lived in different places in Mindanao suddenly evacuated this area for the

reason that their respected places were militarized. The school where those
 18

Indigenous people are studying was lived by those said military group that lead

them to leave. Majority of them desired to return to their homeland where they

will continue their way of living, but the big questioned asking by them is when

who and how. When refers to the exact time for their return, who indicates the

person who will help them and How to achieve their desire. This thing can be

addressed to our government leaders or even to our President at present in order

for their problem to be addressed.

According to the spokesperson during our interview, who is also their

Social worker that before Duterte become President of our Nation, he was able to

talk to the Military Group to withdraw themselves from that area in order for the

Indigenous people could return., and it happened. Those Lumads return to their

Homeland but after that, the situation again goes back to reality where again the

Military govern again their land and make their school their home. So, the life of

those Indigenous people we can say that they will just 'come and go' for how

many times they return to their place and again return to the agency where they

are now living at present. It would be better if this problem of the Indigenous

people can prioritize and be given focus by our government Leader like they will

talk to the military group and explain to them the situation of the indigenous who

really desire to stay in their homeland, since this problem are not hidden from

them, for according to the spokesperson during the interview and we ask the

spokesperson if this situation arrived already to government or if they know about

this matter and she said that they know.

Secondly, Indigenous people are a human being like us; they are created

in the image and likeness of God. They have their basic need such as food and

clothing. They will eat three times a day and as of now they have the scarcity of

food for their number is growing from the beginning, starting when this

programmed for them was started. And they would not able to provide harvests

such as rice to provide for their families for the reason that they don't have

enough place or area to plant those seeds. In this problem of scarcity of food

and basic need would be solved if some agency or institute would provide or

donate some goods for them, toilet tries, rice, and other basic needs. Or ask the

Government for some budget for them.

Thirdly, the children of that agency were studying inside that area. They

have their classroom made of wood and nipa as their roof. Their chairs are made

of long cut wood put straight for the students to be used as their chair. They don't

have their table per students where they can put their notebook for writing. In this

problem, it would be nice if the people handling them do the solicitation for the

improvement in terms of their classroom. Take a photo to their present classroom

and insert it the solicitation card in order for the people to see their classroom

and have the idea if what kind of material are they going to give and how much it

takes for the improvement of their classroom and make it well ventilated.

Lastly, those indigenous people are talented and know a lot of material

making or productivity but they lack only of materials to be used in that

productivity. Since they are talented and have the capacity to do those things it

would be nice for the agency or the person with the authority to have a
 20

connection to some business person in our place or business company who is

selling those productivities which the Indigenous people are capable of making

and have the partnership with them. Set the possible desire they have and

present to the company that both of them can gain something out of their

products. Like the Indigenous people would make some productivity and Partner

Company would buy their product and add some degree of an amount in which

they can also gain something out of those products being provided by the

Indigenous people.
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REFERENCE

Almgren 2015 cited from Indigenous in the city: contemporary identities and

cultural innovation. UBC Press.

La Vina, T. (2015). Leave the Lumad alone. Rappler.com, 14 September.

Available at http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/105806-leave-Lumad-alone.

Starn and de la Cadena of 2007, cited from Indigenous in the City Contemporary

Identities and Cultural Innovation.

UN-Habitat, (2010) cited from Indigenous in the City: Urban Indigenous

populations in local and global contexts. ISBN 978-1-74272-165-1.

Saveourschoolsnetwork. (n.d.). Save Our Schools Network. Retrieved from

https://saveourschoolsnetwork.wordpress.com/

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://saveourschoolsnetwork.org/

Umil, A. M. (2017, September 18). Alliance for Lumad schools holds first national

confab. Retrieved from https://www.bulatlat.com/2017/09/18/alliance-lumad-

schools-holds-first-national-

confab/?fbclid=IwAR1zgkCjmTVtthXRk95Qy0_q1MaHLFaEfXnCtoOlAfD6BRoA

NML8vFYPCAc
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Umil, A. M. (2017, November 25). Why Lumad children persist in fight for right to

education. Retrieved from https://www.bulatlat.com/2017/11/25/lumad-children-

persist-fight-right-education/?fbclid=IwAR2OEKqZjBbGB4qkUDCg7alma-

JlSwz12ApdpgJPauh4v58uqU3ibjJY7N4