The chair of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples on Thursday conceded that indigenous peoples have been excluded from the aborted peace talks between the Philippine government and the communist-led National Democratic Front.
“My understanding is that the IPs should have a separate peace panel or a table in the peace talks but that has not materialized,” said lawyer Leonor Oralde-Quintayo.
She said that has dimmed further with the lifting of ceasefire by both the government and the insurgent groups, and the cancellation of the peace talks.
Quintayo gave a message at the one-day Ulat ng Katutubo hosted by the city of Davao at the Pinnacle Hotel that drew participants from indigenous peoples all over Mindanao.
She said that in contrast, the transition commission for the Bangsa Moro peace talks have provided participation for the Indigenous Peoples in affected areas.
She said that despite the non-representation of the IPs in the peace talks, her office has been supportive of IP groups “talking to each other” in the regional or local levels.
“Besides, they are ones affected in the armed conflict,” she added.
Prior to the cancellation of the peace talks, representatives of indigenous groups in Davao City described the so-called peace talks between the NDF and the government with the Muslim as “a meeting of armed groups.”
They lamented that their ancestral domains often turned up as venues of armed conflict between the NDF (and its armed component) and the government.
This was also the feedback from Indigenous peoples in Northern Luzon, notably in the Cordillera region, who felt left out from the peace talks.
The Cordillera region is home to at least seven indigenous peoples whose communities, one time or another, have been affected by the opening up of mines and hydroelectric dams. Two of the mining companies hosted by the province of Benguet were among the 22 mining establishments closed by DENR Secretary Regina Lopez.
