Repression of indigenous peoples by - Asian Indigenous and Tribal ...

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12 Indigenous Rights Quarterly ARTICLEVol. II : No. 4 • Oct-Dec 2007has not been any accountability forthese killings.The adoption of the Mining Act of1995 and the Supreme Court’s decisionto uphold its constitutionalvalidity removed all legal obstaclesfor mining operations in the country.9 The Cordillera Peoples Alliancestated that 1.2 million hectares of theCordillera’s total land area of 1.8-million hectare were already coveredby foreign corporations’ miningapplications. 10 According toFederation of Indigenous Peoples ofthe Philippines (KAMP) more than16,000 indigenous small scale minersand more than 100,000 indigenouspeasant families will lose their livelihoodsources if the governmentapproves the mining applications.Two projects, the Teresa GoldProject in Mangkayan and PadcalSto. Tomas Copper ExpansionProject in Tuba, were already underoperation. 11Indigenous peoples have also beendisplaced as a result of the conflicts.According to Internal DisplacementMonitoring Centre, an estimated100,000 peoples were displaced fromtheir homes due to armed conflictand human rights abuses in 2006. 12c. Violations of the rights of womenWomen face serious human rightsviolations, including sexual violence.According to Senate PresidentManuel Villar, an average of 20 casesof violence against women is reportedeveryday in the country. 13 ThePhilippines National Police recorded253 rapes in January and February2007. 14 The provisions in the Code ofMuslim Personal Laws which permitthe marriage of girls under 18 yearsand polygamy; and the policy ofsome schools dismissing an unmarriedfemale student (but not hermale partner) if she got pregnant 15are highly discriminatory against thegirls.The women do not have proportionaterepresentation in the Parliament.Presently, there are only fourwomen out of 24 members in theSenate and 56 women out of the 236members in the House ofRepresentatives. 16d. Violations of the rights of thechildThe implementation of the laws onjuveniles is extremely poor.According to the Department ofSocial Welfare and Development,there were 4,039 children in conflictwith the law in the country as of July2007. Of these, more than 300 weredetained at the New Bilibid Prisons,590 were locked up in city jails, 406in police detention cells, among others,in violation to the Republic ActNo. 9344 also called the JuvenileJustice Welfare Act of 2006. Morethan 1,000 children in conflict withlaw were languishing in sub humanconditions in jails together withadult criminals. 17According to the Salinlahi Alliancefor Children’s Concerns, 60 childrenor seven percent of the victims ofextrajudicial killings recorded by thehuman rights group from 2001 to2007 in the Autonomous Region ofMuslim Mindanao (ARMM) werechildren. 18e. Violations of the rights of theprisonersPrison conditions remain deplorabledue to overcrowding, sub-standardfacilities and lack of basic facilities.This has reportedly been confirmedby International Committee of RedCross (ICRC) which is allowed tovisit prisons. 19 There were about35,000 inmates who fought for spacein jails maintained by the Bureau ofJail Management and Penology in2001. The number increased to69,500 as of October 2007.Overcrowding resulted in spread ofdiseases such as tuberculosis andsanitation problems. As per governmentestimates, the population ingovernment jails could reach tomore than 114,930 by 2010.However, new facilities are beingmade. 20II. State’s human rights obligationsand commitmentsThere are several provisions in the1987 constitution and several nationallegislations in the Philippineswhich uphold the rights of the citizensincluding the indigenous peoples.Yet, these are not implementedin practice.a. Constitution: Political autonomyThe 1987 Constitution of Philippinesrecognizes the right of Muslims andindigenous peoples of Cordillera toself-determination in the form ofautonomy. But there has not beengenuine autonomy for the Cordillerapeoples. The indigenous peoples ofCordillera rejected two Organic Actsfor Cordillera Regional Autonomyof 1990 and 1998 because of the failureof the Acts to grant self-governanceand control over their landand natural resources. 21 The same isbeing followed with regard to theMoros in Mindanao.b. Draconian anti-terror law:Human Security Act of 2007The Human Security Act (HAS) of2007 is a disingenuous attempt tofool international community. It isactually the latest anti-terror lawand empowers the security forces todetain suspects without warrant orcharges up to three days which canbe extended beyond three days byapproval from a human rights officerunder section 19 of the HSA. Aconviction for terror offences couldresult in a 40-year jail sentencewithout the benefit of parole. 22Article III, Section 3 of the 1987
Indigenous Rights Quarterly ARTICLEVol. II : No. 4 • Oct-Dec 2007 13Constitution provides that any evidenceobtained through wiretappingor voice recording cannot beused in any court proceeding. Butthe new law allows the state to usetape recorded evidence to pin downa suspect, in violation of the 1987Constitution. 23c. Indigenous Peoples Rights Act,1997In 1997, the government of thePhilippines adopted the IndigenousPeoples Rights Act (IPRA). The Actcreated the National Commission onIndigenous Peoples (NCIP) mandatedto formulate and implement policies,plans and programs for therecognition, promotion and protectionof the rights and well-being ofIndigenousCulturalCommunities/Indigenous Peoples(ICC/IPs) with due regard to theirbeliefs, customs, traditions and institutions.d. Land Titling: Long delaysIn the Philippines, there are an estimatedfive million hectares of ancestraldomains exists based on combinedpending claims for direct applicationfor CADT and claims for conversionof Certificate of AncestralDomain Claim (CADC) intoCertificate of Ancestral Domain Title(CADT). The figure could be muchhigher as lack of accurate data on theactual extent and location of ancestraldomains and lands nationwide continueto affect the efficient planning,targeting and implementation ofancestral domain and land titling. 24Lack of funds and boundary disputesdelay the processing of ancestral landtitles. According to NCIP AncestralDomain Bureau director MyrnaCagaoas, NCIP has issued a total of150 Certificates of Ancestral LandTitles and 56 CADTs comprising anarea of 1,114,857.17 hectares as of 4January 2007. The NCIP could notfund all the processes since theagency’s budget for ancestral domainis merely Pesos 31 million a year. 25 Infact, the first CADT comprisingancestral domain of 29,444.34hectares was issued to the Bago tribeof Bakun, Benguet only on 20 July2002 and another covering 11,811.6hectares was issued to the Manobotribe of Lanuza, Surigao Province on30 November 2002 after almost fiveyears of IPRA implementation. 26III. Enhancement of State’s capacityMost of the capacity building programmesare focused on Philippines’National Human RightsCommission. The Human RightsCouncil should emphasize for capacitybuilding programmes of theNational Commission on IndigenousPeoples including for titling of thelands of the indigenous peoples.IV. Cooperation with HRC, TreatyBodies and OHCHRThe government of Philippines hasfailed to extend Openinvitation/Standing invitation to theSpecial Procedures. Since 2003, onlySpecial Rapporteur on extrajudicial,summary or arbitrary executions (12to 21 February 2007) has been invitedto visit.The government of Philippines hasratified most instruments but seldomimplements the same at nationallevel. The government ofPhilippines also failed to submitperiodic reports under InternationalConvention on the Elimination ofAll Forms of Racial Discriminationsince 1998; under the ConventionAgainst Torture and Other CruelInhuman or Degrading Treatment orPunishment since 1992; underInternational Convention on theProtection of the Rights of AllMigrant Workers and Members ofTheir Families since July 2004,under Optional Protocol to theConvention on the Rights of theChild on the sale of children childprostitution and child pornographysine June 2004, under theInternational Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights since November2006, and under Convention on theRights of the Child since September2007.In a nutshell, the government ofPhilippines neither implements theTreaties nor has anything to reportto the Treaty Bodies.Endnotes1. Beltran Wants to Probe Witness ProtectionProgram, Slays and Disappearances, ByAlexander Martin Remollino, Bulatlat, Vol.VII, No. 25, July 29-Aug. 4, 20072. PHILIPPINES: INDIGENOUS DEFENDERSON THE LINE OF FIRE, AITPN, IRQ,II/11/06: 29 December 20063. I-Team report, Judicial reforms seek to endimpunity, Inquirer.Net, 1 November 20074. Arroyo affirms: We have no tolerance for rightsviolations, Inquirer.net, 15 October 20075. PHILIPPINES: INDIGENOUS DEFENDERSON THE LINE OF FIRE, AITPN, IRQ,II/11/06: 29 December 20066. The Pattern of Human Rights Violations ofIndigenous Peoples Continues—UN SpecialRapporteur Rodolfo Stavenhagen,Cordillera Peoples Alliance, available at:http://www.cpaphils.org/campaigns/unsr%20updates_8feb07.htm7. London Anti-Mining Confab Blames GMA,TNCs for Killings, Harassment, By Arthur L.Allad-IW, Vol. VII, No. 38, October 28-November 3, 20078. Five Years Down the Drain for IndigenousPeoples, By Jhong Dela Cruz, The Bulatlat,Vol. VI, No. 24, July 23 - 29, 20069. Open-Pit Mining Destroyed Village inZambales, By Abner Bolos, The Bulatlat,Dec. 31, 2006 - Jan. 6, 200710. London Anti-Mining Confab Blames GMA,TNCs for Killings, Harassment, By Arthur L.Allad-IW, Vol. VII, No. 38, October 28-November 3, 200711. Five Years Down the Drain for IndigenousPeoples, By Jhong Dela Cruz, The Bulatlat,
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