Listen to Bae Theresa’s Kwentong Tibak, and learn the story of the Manobo Pulangiyon.
According to Manobo-Pulangiyon (MP) their ancestors have lived on their Ancestral land, a property consisting of nearly-1000 hectares, since before the Spanish arrived. There are several key landmarks that members of their tribe alone can identify as having a significant influence in their culture and way of life.
In 1986, this ancestral land was placed under the control of Kiantig Development Corporation (KDC), formerly Cesar Fortich Incorporated, via the awarding of the Forest Land Graze Management Agreement (FLGMA) No. 122. An FLGMA is a product-sharing agreement between a qualified entity and the government to develop, manage, and utilize grazing lands. This FLGMA expired in 2018 and in January 2019, a representative of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) acknowledged that property was no longer in their jurisdiction and that authority over the property had passed to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
The Manobo-Pulangiyon filed for their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) with the NCIP on 5 June 1998 following the enactment of the Indigenous People Rights Act (IPRA) in 1997. Twenty years later, before the FLGMA expired, KDC forced them forced out of the contested area, and drove them away from their community near the banks of the Pulangi River.
In 2023, after an arduous legal battle, the tribe finally received a copy of CADT No.261 issued by NCIP, lawfully certifying their ownership over the land. However to date, the tribe’s peaceful reinstatement to their ancestral domain remain unfulfilled.
Amnesty International Philippines started its involvement in MP’s case when Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) reached out for financial assistance through the Human Rights Defenders Protection (HRDP) project. At the time, Amnesty provided the community – who have been living in the back streets of Quezon with no assistance from the government – with sacks of rice and medical assistance to one of their wounded community members.
Aside from providing material resources to support their community’s ongoing survival, Amnesty has committed to assisting the Manobo-Pulangiyon with reclaiming their ancestral lands from KDC.