126 tribal communities declare Makabayan Bloc ‘persona-non-grata’

FOR the second time in 9 months, the indigenous people and indigenous communities in Surigao del Sur, has issued a resolution tagging Bayan Muna representative, Eufemia Cullamat, as ‘persona-non-grata’ (PNG/unwanted person) and called for her ouster in Congress, along with her colleagues in the ‘Makabayan Bloc.’

Many believed the Makabayan Bloc is just a coalition of all front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and which CPP founder, Jose Maria Sison admitted himself as comprising the party’s “legal democratic forces” in the country.

During the virtual media briefing of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) last September 13, 2021, the “unified resolution” was signed on September 2, 2021, in Lianga, by the leaders of the Manobo, Mandaya and Mamanwa tribes, which comprised the Provincial Tribal Council (PTC) of Surigao del Sur.

Last January 29, 2021, the League of Caraga Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives (LCIPMR) in Surigao del Sur issued Resolution No. 4 declaring the lawmaker, from the Manobo tribe, as PNG in the ancestral domains and indigenous communities of the Manobo, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Higaonon and Banwaon tribes (see also Pinoy Exposé article of February 15, 2021– Own Tribe ‘Disowns’ Rep. Eufemia Cullamat Of Bayan Muna).

The resolution was prompted by Cullamat’s leading a demonstration in front of the office of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) in Quezon City where she and her group refused the offer of dialogue made by NCIP chair, Allen Capuyan.

Cullamat is so far the only confirmed ‘protector’ of terrorists in Congress after her own daughter, Jevilyn, 22, was killed in an encounter between the Special Forces of the Philippine Army and the New People’s Army (NPA) in Bgy. San Isidro, Marihatag, Surigao del Sur last November 28, 2020.

The CPP-NPA are listed as terrorist organizations here and abroad.

Cullamat is so far the only confirmed ‘protector’ of terrorists in Congress after her own daughter, Jevilyn, 22, was killed in an encounter between the Special Forces of the Philippine Army and the New People’s Army (NPA) in Bgy. San Isidro, Marihatag, Surigao del Sur last November 28, 2020. The CPP-NPA are listed as terrorist organizations here and abroad.

The resolution branding Cullamat and her fellow-travelers at the Makabayan Bloc as PNGs had a wider support this time, said Datu Rico Maca and NTF-ELCAC spokesperson on IP concerns, Gaye Florendo.

Maca, Municipal Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative of San Miguel town and a former municipal tribal chieftain, said 126 IP tribes nationwide backed the resolution.

“Eufemia Cullamat, the representative of Bayan Muna, does not represent the ICCs/IPs of Caraga Region. Her acts and deeds in Congress do not represent the aspirations of the ICCs/IPs,” the resolution read.

The resolution added Cullamat is only using her position to advance her interest and that of the CPP and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

The PTC said Congress should not recognize Cullamat’s claim as representative of the ICC/IP of Caraga, particularly Surigao del Sur, and disqualify her.

Florendo said the resolutions declaring Cullamat and the Makabayan Bloc members as PNGs came from the IPs in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Region 4B (MIMAROPA), Bicol Region, Western and Central Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and the Central Mindanao region of SOCCSKSARGEN.

The resolutions, Florendo said, were in retaliation for the Makabayan Bloc’s effort to block the budget of government agencies mandated to serve the indigenous communities.

The groups also dared the Makabayan Bloc to resign as members of Congress, Florendo added (with reports from the Philippine News Agency).