“THE LUMAD killings (in Surigao del Norte) should be denounced in the strongest terms. There have been killings and harassment inflicted on lumad in many parts of the country.”
The statement is from Sen. Loren Legarda, who was the main speaker during the recent launching of Dayaw, the indigenous peoples’ festival, at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in Intramuros, Manila.
Dayaw will be held Oct. 15-17 in the cities of Angeles and San Fernando in Pampanga.
“There will be a Senate committee report soon on the killings, “Legarda said. “Those who committed the brutal acts should be brought to justice. I will ask the military why they did not know about this.”
She declared, “Vigilance will prevent this from happening. This is due to a lack of awareness of the importance of indigenous rituals, a lack of understanding of the importance of indigenous people and their culture. There should be a massive information campaign on this.”
The senator added: “We should look at the indigenous peoples as something integral to the Philippine scene, so that the culture will not be subjected to many misconceptions and misunderstandings.”
One of the panelists, Al-Anwar Anzar, a Tausog, called attention to what he called the marginalization of his ethno-linguistic group, and the gap of parents who wanted to make sure their children will not forget their culture.
“The (Tausog) youth are forgetting their culture, like the music, because of foreign influence,” he said. “There is need to bridge the gap of misunderstanding. Dayaw will hopefully make them proud of their culture.”