Tribal leaders in Lakewood town dismayed when NCIP-9 chief did not show up for dialogue

By Gideon Corgue

PAGADIAN CITY, May 20— The tribal leaders in the town of Lakewood have expressed their dismay and disgust when the head of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NICP-9) did not show up for them when they came to the office recently.

More than 30 tribal leaders wearing their traditional costumes led by Timuay Lbon Nhilda Mangilay of the Indigenous Political Structure (IPS) arrived at the NCIP regional office to have a dialogue with acting Regional Director Marita Miñao  to convey their complaints against the management of the agency.

Mangilay said that they sent an official letter to Miñao in her office to request her to attend the meeting of tribal leaders on May 2, but they were refused because she could not attend on that date so they moved it to May 12, but the said officer still did not attend.

"This is the second time that our request has not been given attention, so we tribal leaders jointly agreed to come to the NCIP office in Pagadian to meet with Miñao," Mangilay said in vernacular.

"Despite the difficulty we experienced in coming to Pagadian where some of us walked for 22 kilometers from our barangays to the town since there is no passenger vehicle that can enter our barangays due to the difficulty of the road but we are trying really hard that we can come to the NCIP office," Mangilay added.

Meanwhile,  Oliver Tumbao, the municipal Indigenous People's (IP) administrator said that the tribal leaders also intend to meet with the regional director because they will clarify the alleged letter of complaint against Timuay Tumanding Ongang, the highest chieftain of the IP in Lakewood that was sent to NCIP from a person, where the letter is fictitious and fabricated.

In the letter of complaint, Tumbao said that it pointed out the 15 tribal leaders who signed the petition letter against Ongang where the names of the tribal leaders who were included in the letter are in the group and they said that they did not sign the letter. He added that the signatures of the alleged complainants were forged.

He said that they were disappointed that the regional director did not show up and they were only informed by her secretary that she was traveling to Zamboanga Sibugay for 3 days. Instead, Mercelyn Hatad, the chief of the Technical Support Management Division, confronted them after they had waited for more than an hour outside the office and she promised that she would inform their regional director of their complaints.

The tribal leaders said that they trooped to the NCIP because they believe that the national government created the agency in order to promote and protect the rights and well-being of the IPs with respect for their ancestral domains and human rights. (gcc/KBP-Zamboanga del Sur)