PAGADIAN
CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (Oct. 25, 2016) - Environment Secretary Gina Lopez has
assured indigenous peoples (IP) from Mindanao, who have been holding a
series of protest actions in Metro Manila, that they will not be evicted
from their ancestral lands.
“No
one will be evicted from your land. That is your exclusive right,” Lopez
told the IPs as they continued to protest against what they claimed as
continued plunder and militarization of ancestral lands across the
country.
Lopez
made the assurance during a meeting with the IPs at the University of the
Philippines in Diliman on Tuesday. On invitation by the IP leaders and representatives,
Lopez went to UP with other senior officials of the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for a dialogue.
Right
then and there, Lopez directed DENR Undersecretary for Field
Operations Isabelo Montejo to look deeper into issues being
raised by the IPs.
“I want you to investigate the various
issues being raised, and address them,” Lopez told Montejo, who in
turn assured the IPs of immediate assistance from the DENR.
“I
will direct all our regional directors to go and dialog with you. Sila ang
papupuntahin ko sa inyo, at hindi kayo ang pupunta sa kanila,” Montejo said.
Lopez also enlightened the group of the
DENR’s move to engage them in the National Greening Program, the government's
massive reforestation initiative that doubles as a poverty alleviation measure.
“Ang gusto namin ay isama kayo sa National
Greening Program upang magkaroon ng economic activities
– magkaroon kayo ng pera,” she said.
The DENR chief likewise urged them
to help the government in protecting the resources in their ancestral lands.
“Kailangan protektahan ninyo ang mga
resources na nasa inyong ancestral lands upang manatiling malinis ang inyong
ilog, pati na ang kagubatan. Dahil yan
ay para tin sa inyo at sa ating bayan.”
Lopez also introduced to the minority
groups Philip Camara who briefed them on biochar, which the
group may engage in as an economic activity with the help of the DENR's
corporate arm, the Natural Resources Development Corporation.
On the issue of militarization of
ancestral lands, Secretary Lopez phoned Armed Forces Chief of Staff
General Ricardo Visaya on the spot and put him on speaker phone to
explain the side of the military.
Visaya explained to the IPs that
the presence of military in their areas was meant “not to
disturb you but to respond to the presence of the NPA (New People's Army) who
are exploiting you.”
On the clamor of the IPs to stop mining
in their areas, Lopez told them that she has already issued a moratorium for
new mining projects, while assuring them of immediate investigation on issues allegedly
being perpetrated by mining companies against the lumads and other
minority groups in the country.
“No new mining. I wanna go to agriculture and eco-tourism,”
she said.
(By
Jong Cadion with PR)
No comments:
Post a Comment