Indigenous people

For indigenous people (IP) and national minorities in Mindanao, the exploitation of their ancestral land and living spaces is the height of national oppression. Environmental degradation, suffered in the hands of globalization has led to the destruction of their culture and livelihood. Laws such as the Indigenous People’s Right Act (IPRA), the National Integrated and Protected Area Systems (NIPAS), the Mining Act of 1995 only devastate their habitats, local economy and traditional way of life. More often than not, foreign companies enter our country and in collaboration with the ruling class, plunder our natural resources, leaving virtually nothing for the succeeding generations.
Militarization in relation to the entry of big mining companies in the indigenous people’s communities has also reached an alarming situation. It was no less than a UN observer that urged the government to look into the continued deterioration of the indigenous people’s human rights due to conflict in the countryside.