A Fulfilled Promise: Lumads Graduate from School Harassed by Military

A Fulfilled Promise: Lumads Graduate from School Harassed by Military

Originally published at Bulatlat.com on March 27, 2010

By MARIFE MAGBANUA
Alcadev



Wearing Manobo-designed vestments adorned with colorful bead necklaces and earrings, 24 graduating indigenous youth proudly marched during the third graduation ceremonies of Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV). Tears of joy filled the morning of March 10, 2010 as students, parents, teachers and other guests celebrated the end of another school year full of achievements and challenges.

It has been a custom for traditional schools to cap the school year with graduation or recognition ceremonies to acknowledge the achievements of the year. But for the alternative school for Lumads in the hinterlands of Lianga, Surigao del Sur, the completion of a school year is in itself a reason to celebrate.

Thanksgiving 

The celebration had already started a day before the actual graduation. Parents and guests from other provinces arrived early and spent the night in the school compound in preparation for the early morning activity. Community members helped the students and teachers in preparing for the ceremonies and setting up the venue. At sunset, a ritual was performed to forge unity and as a sign of gratitude. Guests were asked to wear the saya, a native skirt, and participate in the indigenous dance.

“There is a reason to celebrate today. It is part of our culture as Lumads that we incorporate the sacred rituals in thanksgiving celebrations. We are very thankful for the educational achievements this year and the completion of the construction of function hall building amidst hardships and disruptions,” Han-ayan community tribal chieftain Datu Tayadan who officiated the ritual said.

There is a reason to celebrate today. (Photos by Marife Magbanua / bulatlat.com)

When he mentioned about hardships and disruptions, Datu Tayadan was referring to the recurring military operations in Andap Valley Complex, which affect the school and the communities surrounding it. The Andap Valley Complex is being eyed for exploration and development by huge mining companies. Economic activities in the Andap Valley have been disrupted after a series of evacuations in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

“I asked the baylans (tribal priests) in this ritual to chant and beseech Magbabaya to drive bad spirits, which are attempting to ruin what we have started, away and to bless all the developments in this ancestral land so we can build a better society for the next generation. It has been our dream for our children to be educated so that we will no longer be deceived,” Datu Tayadan said in Manobo.
With the theme “Alternative education: a venue for collective sharing of sustainable agricultural skills and practices for environmental protection,” the third graduation rites was successfully held despite the disruption of classes from July to August 2009 because of the militarization in Han-ayan, which forced the communities and the school to evacuate for 40 days. The graduation event was attended by some members of the different indigenous communities from Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur, the datus, Manigaons, leaders and members of the Lumad organization. ALCADEV also invited religious groups, professionals, youth, and non-government organizations who are supporting the school’s cause and the Lumads‘ struggle in defense of their ancestral land. Mr. Johnny T. Pimentel, Surigao del Sur provincial administrator, Lianga town Mayor Roy Hegino Sarmen , Vice Mayor Robert Lala and Barangay Diatagon village council also joined the celebration.

Alternative Education

“Despite the vilification (of the military) against this school and the communities, I am thankful to visitors who came and join this meaningful achievement of Lumads. It was a painstaking yet fulfilling task to push for the realization of this kind of education in the hinterlands. It was also impressive as ALCADEV is a highlight and landmark in the continuing history of Lumads. The Lumad communities in this province consider it a proud achievement. It symbolizes their aspiration for a better future for their children, their pride in their culture and their hope which is rooted in the struggle for their ancestral lands. ALCADEV is a fruition of years of cooperation with various groups and individuals both foreign and local,” ALCADEV Program Director Marife Magbanua said in her welcome speech.

Although ALCADEV is a relatively young institution, its roots can be traced in the 1980s. The Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS), one of the institutions that pushed for the creation of ALCADEV, has been providing functional literacy to indigenous children since the 1980s in Surigao del Sur. In 1997, TRIFPSS established 10 schools in 10 indigenous people’s communities in three municipalities of the province. TRIFPSS twice won first place in the National Literacy Award (NLA) that made Surigao del Sur famous for non-formal education. The effort of TRIFPSS has been fruitful until the time came for it to respond to the need of IP youth for higher level of learning. Along with Sildap Sidlakan Inc, TRIFPSS was instrumental in the establishment of ALCADEV in 2004. In 2006, TRIFPSS won fourth place when it forwarded ALCADEV as its output.

Alternative education as a concept is no longer new in the Philippines. Even in other parts of the world where access to education is difficult for the less privileged, its function and work cannot be disregarded. What is also unique with ALCADEV is its program that encourages its graduates to return to their communities to serve using the skills and knowledge they learned from the school. Students are trained to specialize in agriculture, community literacy and numeracy, community organizing and basic health care.

“This school is different from the usual schools we know in the Philippines because this school teaches students how to improve society” said Hans Schaap, country representative of New World, a Belgian NGO working in the Philippines.

“I cannot inspire you because you inspired me a lot instead,” ALCADEV Board of Directors chair Sr Helen S. Makiling, MSM, PhD.

“While walking the aisle going to my seat, I feel proud to show myself to the members and leaders of different indigenous communities to show them the fruit of our hardships now that I graduated. I’m sure I inspired them and I promise to impart the knowledge I learned from this school,” ALCADEV graduate Jether Campos who chose to specialize in agriculture said.

Like many who are trying to live up to the principles they are adhering to, the people behind ALCADEV unflinchingly served the communities’ needs without fear even in the face of threats and harassments.

Disruptions and Vilifications

A week before the graduation rites of TRIFPSS and ALCADEV, soldiers from 58th Infantry Battalion again conducted military operations in the area. Right after the recognition program, soldiers led by Lt. Jayson Marmol, arrived in the community of Mike, one kilometer from ALCADEV School stayed overnight in the community of Km 16, which is near the school grounds. This action was perceived by students and teachers as threatening especially after a series of events in the school year that has passed.

In July 2009, indigenous communities surrounding the school, together with the students and the teachers, were forced to evacuate because of the increased presence of the military in the area. Food supplies were also controlled. The 401st Brigade under then Colonel Danilo Fabian and Col Benjamin Pedralvez of 58th IB accused the school of training students to become communist guerillas. The military based their accusations with the alleged failure of ALCADEV to apply for accreditation from the Department of Education and the provincial council, belittling the alternative education system ALCADEV is espousing. But the communities which benefit from the service delivered by the school and its students belie these false accusations.
In February 8, 2010 ALCADEV staff members, while bringing in rice for the students, were told at the checkpoint to go to the 401st Brigade headquarters. They were then asked by the current brigade commander Col. Tolentino for permit to transport and checked if ALCADEV has done the processing for the school’s formalization. Despite the provision in the 1987 Constitution stipulating that “the state shall encourage non-formal, informal and indigenous learning systems… particularly those that respond to the community needs,” small schools like ALCADEV have difficulties in complying with the stringent requirements for accreditation. More than mere papers of formalization, the legitimacy of ALCADEV as a school can be seen in the students it has produced. These students have committed their service to Lumad communities.

Overwhelming Support

ALCADEV found allies in some local government officials who support the cause of the Lumads in Caraga and have observed the services provided by the school to the communities. Surigao del Sur provincial administrator Johnny T. Pimentel lauded ALCADEV’s efforts.

“I told Mr. Jalandoni Campos (chairman of MAPASU organization) during the evacuation that if I was not able to visit ALCADEV during last year’s graduation, I would have not known what ALCADEV is doing, and would have believed the military’s vilification of this school. I am thankful I was invited again today,” Pimentel said.

“During my talk in General Santos last year to a group of volunteer youth for health, I shared to them how ALCADEV manages health services to indigenous communities,” shared Dr. Herwin Villamor of Medical Mission Group said.

The Mindanao volunteer of Enfants du Mekong, a French NGO working in Southeast Asia, Marion Isoard expressed her happiness over the graduation of the students whom the NGO are supporting.

“My sincere thanks to those who helped us during the evacuation and for the partners who are never discouraged in supporting this school. We as parents and members of the organization are also given knowledge and skills in sustainable agriculture, whcih we can use to cultivate our ancestral land.” MAPASU chairperson Jalandoni Campos said.

After the graduation program, a turn-over ceremony for the new function hall building funded by New World followed.

During the customary solidarity night. Ontong Belandres, a Lumad who was elected member of the village council in San Miguel and also a member of the Lumad organization was asked for words of inspiration. The crowd was surprised to see him on stage wearing his Kagawad uniform, one foot barefooted and the other with a shoe.

“Are you wondering about my attire?” he asked in Manobo.

“This is me functioning as a Kagawad official to our barangay. I have difficulty in fulfilling my responsibilities and enduring seminars and meetings I attend. I only finished grade three and my education is limited. Like my attire now, it feels awkward and vulnerable if we Lumads are not educated,” he said.

One of the English teachers remembered a Year One student who once shared a learning expectation in one class. The student expressed that he wanted to learn how to read and understand English. The student recounted that every time the village council held its session, he trembles. He was always asked by the council members to read and explain documents written in English. He knows leaders are proud of him and was the only one who got into high school in their village. The teacher realized that Belandres was the father of that Year One student.

Since the colonial period, the Lumads have been mistreated and relegated to the periphery of mainstream Philippine society. They have been systematically deprived of their rights to self-determination. Without education, the Lumads will continue to be sidelined. Now that ALCADEV is providing the Lumads of Caraga an education that is responding to their needs and suited to their culture, a better future for the Lumads is being sown in the hinterlands of Surigao del Sur. (Bulatlat.com)