CAGAYAN DE ORO — An alliance of Indigenous peoples’ organizations called for the junking of charges against several members of the Mangyan-Iraya tribe in Barangay Poblacion, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro.
For the Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu), the conviction handed down to several Mangyan-Iraya for allegedly trespassing on what they claimed as their ancestral land reflects the continuing criminalization of Indigenous folk asserting their rights.
“The Mangyan-Iraya are being called trespassers on their own ancestral land simply because they refuse to surrender it to big business interests,” Funa-ay Claver, Katribu secretary-general, said in a statement.
In a decision dated April 8, the Abra de Ilog Municipal Trial Court handed a guilty verdict to nine Mangyan-Iraya members for allegedly violating other forms of trespass after entering the enclosed property reportedly owned by Pieceland Corporation in May 2024.
Based on the court order obtained by Bulatlat, the nine were John Paul Balane, Ringo Balanza, Elmer Panganiban, Aedrian Parisan, Vivian Balaza, Sonny Sinigmayon, Jayson Lurdas, Jonathan Lordas, and Luisito Carandang.
The court ruled that the prosecution sufficiently proved the private firm’s ownership of the land given the transfer certificate of land title (TCT), with a certified true copy, presented.
The accused Mangyan-Iraya members argued that the land is part of their ancestral domain. As proof, Dennis Tugdaan, a defense witness, presented photographs of a muhon (boundary marker), which was reportedly installed by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and local officials.
But for the court, without any certification, the photographs were insufficient.
The nine accused, together with Tugdaan and several others, were also charged with occupation of real property and malicious mischief. However, they were all acquitted of these charges.
The convicted members of Mangyan-Iraya were sentenced to 15 days of imprisonment. In addition, they were ordered to pay Pieceland Corporation P25,425 (US$412.91) for actual damages.
In a statement, Sentro Para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (Sentra) condemned the court judgment, stressing that the Indigenous community of Mangyan-Iraya resorted to selling a carabao just to earn P22,600 for bail.
“In the face of unequal power between Indigenous peoples and big destructive companies, it is only right that the law be biased toward the protection of the oppressed,” Sentra said in Filipino, demanding as well the junking of the charges.
Party-list representatives Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers and Renee Co of Kabataan filed a resolution in August last year urging the House Committee on Human Rights to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on alleged human rights violations committed in the provinces of Mindoro, Quezon, and Rizal.
The resolution cited the case of the Mangyan-Iraya community in Abra de Ilog where several of their members, including minors, were allegedly arrested in October 2024.
Katribu lamented the dire situation of the Mangyan-Iraya community while public officials implicated in corruption continue to evade accountability. (DAA)
The post Drop charges vs Mangyan-Iraya tribe — Katribu appeared first on Bulatlat.
From Bulatlat via This RSS Feed.