Bayanga: Dawn of Women Empowerment

In our second time to venture into another place, Sir Cocoi introduced to us another prominent member of the LRC family, in the person of Sir Erwin. Other than that, we, together with some other interns fromo Kaisahan and Balaod Mindanaw were also gathered on that day to meet other representatives from different NGO’s in the country, in fact I have also met the sister of my classmate at law school, she was Ate Neneng, one of the outspoken representatives from the Commission on Human Rights here in Mindanao.

Again, heading on to another place made me giddy up as I would not know what might happen next that makes it all the more exciting. Well, the thing that made me really curious was that moment when IP women from different tribes in Mindanao were gathered at the Samdhana rest house on the second day. I wanted to delve deeper into their thoughts and to witness a ritual they often do as a prayer to seek guidance from the creator in order to make any actions that shall favour the entire tribe in the long run. I am glad that in a secluded place like the ones where they hail from, IP women too have been empowered which makes me very proud as a woman myself.

Given the cozy place for staying overnight, the pleasant accommodation and thorough discussion on AMMB and the MILF framework from effective speakers, I believe the objective of the ALG in trying to educate, inform, update and amalgamate data to solve certain issues amongst our marginalized brothers and sisters of the Indigenous People have been met. The views we had absorbed when we had our first exposure in Cantilan were correlated to that of the issues that the IP’s in CDO have been facing for all these years.

 To have seen that only women have been sent as representatives from each of the tribes goes to show that they too, are empowered as do women in the urban world. It amazes me how firm their beliefs are and how willing they are to fight for what is rightfully theirs. It even shook me to the bones upon hearing their personal stories of their encounters of men with guns and goons. You can see their struggle for acquiring their own lands that they shed blood and lost their loved ones all for the sake of their so-called “ancestral domain”.

These melees were all apparent on how teary-eyed they become when they started to share their untold stories or show the scars left in their bodies as a sign of a bloody bout. I am amazed how they remain tireless for years and years of fighting for their rights despite being denied or perhaps given minute opportunity to be heard regarding their plea.

Thus, I believe the importance of sharing to them our knowledge on AMMB, to protect and help them for their cause is really a precious thing for all of them. I might conclude that some of them have already given up the fight but I realized that Alternative Lawyering Groups such as LRC totally plays a big role in their lives and for me, the team have become their motivation and they to us are our motivation as interns to do best in our studies and help them out soon as administrators of justice in this country.

As always, every activity the LRC initiates, we the interns have always something new to learn about. Just like the previous AMMB consultation we had at Cantilan, I think the process of the discussion brought out in just a span of one or two days isn’t even enough to cover the entire subject. Still, I am rest assured that for the continued enlightenment of LRC & Samdhana towards these aggrieved stakeholders would be a better move to let them be edified of the laws that will help them protect themselves, their families and the future generations to come.

The way the main discussants used the local dialect to expound further the topic on AMMB and the MILF Framework is a stepping stone to make these direct stakeholders feel secured and able to grasp ideas that will help them in their struggle. Having done that, not only will the women be the ones that are empowered but the entire tribe will stand up and justify what is rightfully theirs from the very beginning.

 

Beyond words, these women, their cause and their mundane struggles have made my will stronger for me to focus in my quest to become a lawyer myself. Hopefully, if things work out well, if luck & determination favours a person like me, I will soon come back to LRC and render my services as an alternative lawyer per se.