Subanon (Subanen or Subanun) is a tribe indigenous to the Zamboanga peninsula area, particularly living in the mountainous areas of Zamboanga del Sur and Misamis Occidental, Mindanao Island, Philippines.
The Subanons have been living on Mount Canatuan since the 17th century.
The Subanon people speak the Subanon language. The name means "river people", which is derived from the word "suba" or river, and the suffix “-nun” or -non” which indicates a locality or place of origin.
The Subanon of western Lanao originated one of the country's highest tradition of pottery. The 50,000 Bukidnon of east Lanao are a tribe of fiercely independent highland dwellers.
Guardians Of Our Remaining Rainforests
In 2010, the European Union (EU) and Anthropology Watch (AnthroWatch) spearheaded the program “Consolidating Forest Corridors through Sustainable Ancestral Domain Management” in northern and central Mindanao. The initiative was carried out in partnership with Upholding Life and Nature (ULAN), Rain Forest Restoration Initiative (RFRI) members, Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Program (NTFP-EP) and the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE).
The project had a reforestation component using “rainforestation,” a forest restoration strategy promoted by the RFRI network that us ...
12d / A / F / Higaonon People / FPE / Misamis Oriental
Subanen Share Positive Changes In Life To World Bank
Indigenous People (IP) belonging to Subanen tribe here share positive changes in their lives brought about by Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid Pamilya) to World Bank representatives during a recent visit here.
Rogelio Montac, village chief of Barangay Namut in Tudela town, Misamis Occidental province, said Pantawid Pamilya has encouraged IP parents to send their children to school.
Before, Montac said parents were hesitant to enroll their children in school because they cannot afford to buy school supplies and uniform.
Also, parents require their children in doing the cho ...
3Mo / A / F / Misamis Occidental
DOT Announces Various Activities For 6th Pasungko Festival In MisOcc
The Department of Tourism (DOT) region 10 through its travel advisory announces various activities for the 6th Pas’ungko S’g Festival in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental from 2 November 2015 to 2 December 2015.
According to DOT Regional Director Catalino E. Chan III, this event showcases the rich culture of the Subanon Tribe, the river dwellers and is a commemoration of the provincial anniversary of Misamis Occidental highlighting the developments, achievements and accomplishments of the province.
Among the most sought after presentations of this month long activity is street danci ...
4Mo / A / F / Misamis Occidental / Pasungko Festival
Philippine Eagles in Zamboanga del Norte
In a nutshell, our trip to Barangay Linay was perspective-altering. We went there interested only in seeing the Philippine Eagle family, but we came home with a deep respect for the Subanons who look after these birds and for the DENR team who do their jobs with passion despite the logistical challenges.
When we think of the Linay eagles now, we recall not only their fierce beauty but also the inspiring story of collaboration between government wildlife workers and the small indigenous community that collectively “owned” the majestic birds that have made a home in their midst.
I put ...
5Mo / A / F / Zamboanga Del Norte
MGB and NCIP stop mining in IPs ancestral domain
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) issued a cease and desist order (CDO) stopping mining operations within the ancestral domain areas of the indigenous peoples (IP) in Zamboanga del Sur.
Timuay Langhap Rio Olimpio Lingating, head of the Pikumpungan Subanen Gataw Tebed Inc. (PSGT), said that covered by the joint CDO are the mining operations in the villages of Deborok and Lourdes, Pagadian City; Mati, Tigbao; and Langapod and Noboran in Labangan.
The PSGT is a ...
9Mo / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Subanen leader decries govt inaction vs rampant illegal mining in Zamboanga del Sur
A chieftain of the Subanen tribe expressed alarm over what he called the rampant intrusion of illegal miners within their ancestral domain in Pagadian City and the nearby towns of Sominot and Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur as he accused government agencies of inaction.
Timuay Langhap Rio Olipio Lingating said there has been no response to a resolution they had passed addressed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and other concerned agencies into their territory, which is covered by a Certificate o ...
10Mo / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Riverine People Of Mindanao
The study of the riverine people of Mindanao Island known as Subanon (var., Suba’anun, Subanen) has been insufficiently conducted except for some accounts: Emerson B. Christie (The Study of the Subano in Lower Half of Zamboanga) is one such chronicle who wrote a full length account of the Subanon. But his thesis primarily deals with but an aspect of social practices that is peculiar to a partisan group.
With the coming to Mindanao of the Spaniards in the 16th century, the Subanon were pushed farther in to the forests to join their fellowmen who had already settled in it. The Spanish occup ...
10Mo / A / F / Zamboanga Del Norte
Ten YIP College Grantees Graduate From Pamulaan
Ten college grantees from ethnic groups all over the Philippines under the Young Indigenous Peoples (YIP) Leaders Program of Cartwheel Foundation, Inc. (CFI) graduated with a degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP)-Pamulaan Center for Indigenous Peoples Education in Mintal, Davao on March 31, 2015. Their batch boasts of 33 graduates in total, with the rest being given support by other partner organizations.
CFI Team members Pia Ortiz-Luis, Celia Jurado and Rainey Sarmiento joined the pre-graduation festivities as well, while Co-Founder and ...
11Mo / A / F / Binongan People / Davao Del Sur
Zambo Sur tribe urges probe into illegal mining
The Subanen tribe is calling on the government to investigate a miner's cooperative that has begun illegal operations in its ancestral land in Zamboanga del Sur.
The tribe, represented by the Pikumpongan Subanen Gataw Tebed Association Inc. (PSGT), said the illegal miners are in the village of Deborok and Lourdes in Pagadian City, the provincial capital.
Timuay Braulio Anlimon, the PSGT chairman, said the miners belong to the Zamboanga del Sur Small-Scale Mining Cooperative.
The miners are not Subanen and do not have the right to mine in the tribe's ancestral domain land, which covers ...
11Mo / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Illegal mining rampant in Subanens ancestral domain area in Pagadian City
The Subanen indigenous people asked the concerned agencies of government to investigate rampant illegal mining operations within their ancestral domain area.
In a resolution, the Pikumpongan Subanen Gataw Tebed Association Inc. (PSGT) said illegal mining takes place in Barangays Deborok and Lourdes, this city.
Timuay Braulio Anlimon, PSGT chairman, on Monday said the mining operations are in violation of Republic 8371 known as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 and RA 7942 known as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
Anlimon named the group that is allegedly mining illegally wit ...
11Mo / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
1st Subanen Tribe Festival Launched In Zamboanga Sibugay
Subanen tribe officials with the titles of Datu, Timuay, and Gohom from all over Zamboanga Sibugay province converged here Tuesday for the first “Subanen Tribe Festival.”
Present in the occasion was Datu Labi Julius M. Cayon, president of the Indigenous Peoples’ Mandatory Representative (IPMR)-Zamboanga Sibugay chapter, who served as the guest of honor.
With the theme, “Preserving the Culture and Tradition of the Subanen People,” the activity hopes to maintain and pass on to the next generation the ideals, beliefs and practices of the Subanen tribe.
Moreover, some six “Goh ...
1Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Sibugay
Sibugay IPs To Assign Focal Person In Schools
Princess “Bae Labi” Sonita Ryde of the Zamboanga Peninsula Subanen Tribe bared that her group is planning to assign an IP (Indigenous People) focal person in every elementary school in Zamboanga Sibugay to help promote and preserve IP culture, and to boost the morale of IP students.
“It is high time for the Subanen tribe to be exposed to the world and be identified,” she remarked.
Sonita said the IP culture would be enriched through educational awareness and introducing to the IP youth their inherent culture for them to understand their unique origin.
Sonita, who is also known ...
1Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Sibugay
Subanen Youth Group Formed In Region 9
The Subanen youth are the hope of the tribe and strength to keep their culture and traditions,” said Pastor Allan B. Mangangot, Zamboanga Peninsula Subanen youth adviser in a statement.
The Subanen tribe has recently formed the Subanen Youth Organization for region 9 during the 1st Subanen Youth Congress held at Roderic’s Resort here recently.
Around 80 participants from Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga City attended the event.
Mangangot said the gathering of the Subanen youth from all provinces in the region proved the oneness and unity of t ...
1Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Sibugay
Zamboanga Del Sur Tribal Subanen Community Joins Mindanao To Beat India For Guinness World Record
In September 27, 2014, at least eight Tribal Subanen communities from five municipalities in Zamboanga del Sur joined the Mindanao-wide one hour Tree Planting of 4.6 million trees in a quest to beat the record holder in India in the Guinness World Records for most trees planted simultaneously (multiple locations), where 1.9 million seedlings where planted in one hour.
The municipalities of Tigbao, Dumalinao, Pitogo, Kumalarang and Bayog participated in the tree planting, which covered an area of 205 hectares. Romeo Ansale, Forest Specialist of the Community Environment and Natural Resources ...
1Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
A Celebration of Philippine Indigenous Cultures
Most of the indigenous groups of the Philippines will gather together from October to November to celebrate their traditional cultures and heritage in celebration of National Indigenous Peoples’ Month.
Said to be biggest gathering of Philippine indigenous peoples (IP) by far, Dayaw 2014: The Indigenous Peoples Festival, annually held by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), will showcase traditional cuisines, games, rituals, dances, songs, practices and crafts in an effort to engender wider awareness and appreciation for indigenous cultures, which are constantly under t ...
1Yr / A / F / Gaddang People / National
Lumad groups and NGOs demand justice for slain tribal leader
Several tribal groups and non government organizations have taken a unified stand in calling for the speedy investigation of the suspects responsible for the September 13 killing of Cagayan de Oro Higaonon tribal leader Fausto Orasan.
Orasan, 64, who was also popularly known as Datu Sandigan, was shot to death at Sitio Cabalang, Barangay Tuburan, while on his way home to Barangay Pigsag-an.
City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (Clenro) chief Edwin Dael said Orasan’s slaying could be due to his staunch stand against illegal mining and logging activities in the city’s hi ...
1Yr / A / F / Higaonon People / Misamis Oriental
A Smile of Hope
One hundred year-old Badjao SawiraBiddin, otherwise known as Babu, which translates as grandmother in Sinama language, sits contentedly outside her new, seafront home. Asked the reason for her beaming smile, she waves at the new hut made of pandan leaves that she shares with six others.
“Them,” pointing to her great-grandchildren tossing coins on ‘dry land’ now that it is low tide. “And them,” referring to her neighbors, who stop by to buy cooking ingredients or to simply have a chat with her.
Babu was among the people displaced during the September 2013 Zamboanga City crisis ...
1Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Adlai Champion Crop Of The Subanen Tribe
As most of us have neither seen nor heard of a crop called adlai, the Subanen tribe has known it all their lives. Adlai (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) is their staple crop. Adlai grains are pounded, threshed, and winnowed, cooked and served it steam just like rice. The grains are also fermented and served as pangasi (adlai wine) to the datu and timuay (traditional leaders) during buklog (Subanen festival) and other special ocassions including, weddings and funerals.
The Subanen people are known as the aborigines of the Island of Mindanao and considered as the first inhabitants of Pagadian City in Z ...
1Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Only 1 percent of lumad moms get maternal health services
Only less that one percent of lumads in far-flung areas were able to avail themselves of giving birth by a skilled birth attendant, as shown in the result of the Indigenous People's (IP) Baseline Demographic Survey done in 2013.
Data showed that 95 percent of IP mothers living in the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) resort to giving birth through the help of traditional birth attendants or hilot and the difference of 3.8 percent is for no one in attendance at all.
The baseline study was done by the IP Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) Project-Mi ...
1Yr / A / F / Lumad People / Davao Del Sur
Subanens flash green light for Balabag mining project
Tribal leaders in Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur, have approved of the Balabag Mining Project of TVI Resources Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD), finally giving consent to the Canadian miner to dig for gold and silver mineral ores in their ancestral lands.
Subanen leaders Lucenio Manda and Casiano Edal entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with TVIRD on August 19 in Dao, Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.
TVIRD President Eugene Mateo and Director Michael Regino signed the agreement.
The signing was witnessed by officials of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), led ...
1Yr / A / F / TVIRD / Zamboanga Del Norte
Indigenous Tribe In Zamboanga Benefits From Wine And Vinegar Factory
Through the Department of Science and Technology-Region IX’s Community Empowerment Thru Science & Technology (CEST) Project, the Buug Subanen Tribe in Zamboanga Peninsula have a good source of livelihood.
CEST established the Pangase Rice Wine and Coco Water Vinegar Processing Facility for the Buug Subanen Workers Association via funding worth P 679,152. Technology training and equipment were also provided.
Among these equipment are stainless steel tables, drums for vinegar fermentation, two large vats, pots, stainless steel casserole, burners, and 300 jars. This intervention was for v ...
1Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Piksalabukam Bansa Subanen (PBS) spearheaded advocacy program on the Bangsamoro Basic Law
On May 6, 2014, the Piksalabukam Bansa Subanen (PBS) spearheaded advocacy program on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) held at at Malubai, RT Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay in support to the public engagement activities of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC).
The public consultation was undertaken in collaboration with Mindanao Civil Society Organizations Platform for Peace (MCSOPP) funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) attended by 150 participants from Zamboanga peninsula belonging to the Subanen and Kalibugan ethnic tribes.
The consultation seeks to enlighten and educa ...
1Yr / A / F / Mindanao Peoples Caucus / National
Indigenous people in Mindanao, like the Subanen, are still struggling in order to earn a better living in their remote and ancestral lands.
1Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Sinakbang Festival History of Subanen people
We celebrating "Sinakbang Festival 2014", with participation, hard-work and unity of everyone I and my other dancers got the trophy of champion and best performer. As you know , celebrating festivals are traditional here in Philippines (as I know) and everyone are very happy. I tell you a story how Subanen people started.
Subanen (read as Subanon) people are native to the Zamboanga Peninsula, Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Subanon are the biggest group of Lumad or non-Muslim indigenous cultural community on the island of Mindanao. The ...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Wisdom Weaving Defending Ancestral Domains Through Integrating Indigenous Peoples Practices With Philippine Laws
For too long, the traditional decision-making practices of the Indigenous People (IP) have come into direct conflict with the governing laws of the Philippines, especially when it comes to determining their rights with respect to and the use of their lands. Despite much talk of having control over their Ancestral Domain, mining companies and other extractive industries and agribusiness used existing laws to encroach upon and exploit the lands and resources of the Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines, often leading to violent confrontation.
On February 28, 2014, tribal leaders, advocates, g ...
2Yr / A / F / Higaonon People / Misamis Oriental
Bukidnon Hosts First Ever National Language Summit
Lordjane Caballero-Dordas from the Panay-Bukidnon tribe was pleased to get acquainted with other indigenous peoples (IPs) in the country.
Known in her tribe as Lagdungan (meaning “cannot be overshadowed”), the granddaughter of a “Binukot” (well-kept maiden) is just one of the hundreds of IPs from all over the Philippines who gathered here for the country’s first ever language summit.
Members of different ethno-linguistic tribes such as the Aeta, B’laan, Sama-Bajau, Panay-Bukidnon, Manobo, Tagakaolo, Higaonon, and Subanen, among others, were here for a three-day summit that te ...
2Yr / A / F / Aeta People / Bukidnon
Zamboanga City Wants Lumad Representative In City Council
The Zamboanga City council has asked the National Commission on Indigenous People and the Department of Interior and Local Government to call a convention of the lumad to select a representative to sit in the local legislature.
Councilor Melchor Rey Sadain, who authored the resolution, said indigenous people have a right to representation in the council under Republic Act 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997.
In fact, he said the city’s 2014 budget includes an allocation for an IP representative.
The city’s indigenous people include the Subanen, Samal-Badjao, Sama ...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Zambo City Councilors Call For Selection Of IP Representative
The City Council has passed a resolution Wednesday calling the National Commission in Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to hold an Indigenous Peoples (IPs) convention to enable the IPs to select a representative to sit in the City Council.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Melchor Rey Sadaian, was approved after majority of the members of the City Council have voted in favor of the measure.
Sadain said Thursday in an interview that the IPs are entitled to have a representative in the city Council based on Republic Act 8371 otherwise ...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Dapitan Celebrates 7th Hudyaka Event
The 7th year celebration of the Hudyaka sa Pag-Handuraw (Recalling of the Joyous Past) in Dapitan City ended Monday.
The city government of Dapitan held this year’s Hudyaka sa Pag-Handuraw in Barangay Ilaya, where the revival of the festival was held seven years ago in honor of the first settlers headed by Datu Pagbuaya.
Historically, the Hudyaka festival originated during the Spanish occupation after the Pagbuaya-led Subanen settlers embraced Christianity.
“The Hudyaka sa Pag-Handuraw was revived on December 28, 2006, to give tribute of the first settlers, and this is the first t ...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
On the Struggle of Indigenous People for their Ancestral Land and the Struggle for Genuine Reform
Ednar Dayanghirang, who heads the present Philippine government’s part in the Government of the Republic of the Philippines – National Democratic Front of the Philippines Reciprocal Working Committees on Socio-Economic Reforms (GPH-NDF RWCs on SER), has come out either totally lying all the way or else totally knowing nothing, or a combination of both, in his statements to the media in an interview last Saturday with the DZRH radio station.
Dayanghirang stated that the New People’s Army (NPA) has been killing indigenous people, even if what is true is the other way around – – it i ...
2Yr / A / F / Blaan People / Genesis Ambason / Task Force KITACO / Davao Del Sur
Cultural Practices And Beliefs Of Indigenous People In Dumingag Zamboanga Del Sur
This study was conducted to determine the demographic characteristics, culture practices and beliefs of Subanen people in Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur. Triangulation method was utilized using direct participatory observational approach, informal or indepth interview and a focus group discussion.
The study found out that majority of the Subanens’ educational attainment are elementary level, and farming is their source of income. Most of their houses were made of light materials. Subanens had several instruments and dances which are played and performed during gatherings and special occasio ...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Subanen Tribe
Introduction / History
Although the various people groups that live in the Philippines have similar cultures, there are many small language groups. These are scattered primarily on the islands of Luzon and Mindanao, and are primarily tribal in nature. For the most part, they have remained isolated from modernization and still live a lifestyle based on survival.
Like most tribal groups, language is the chief distinguishing feature within their culture. Although many of the groups speak a language from the same family, their particular dialects may not be understood by neighboring tribes.
...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Tabak Division Holds Free Cataract Operation Benefits 54 Indigent Patients
Some 54 indigent patients availed of free cataract operation conducted by the Army’s First Infantry “Tabak” Division in partnership with Mabuhay Deseret Foundation and Alpha Phi Omega-Southern Zamboanga Alumni Association.
Capt. Jefferson Somera, spokesman of the First Infantry Division, on Thursday said the free cataract operation was held from Sunday until Monday at Camp Cesar Sang-an Station Hospital in Pulacan, this municipality.
Somera said that 54 individuals from among the 311 pre-screened patients have qualified to undergo free surgery operations and subsequently entitled f ...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Subanen Celebrate Nature And Life On Mt Malindang
To the Subanen, Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park, which spans the provinces of Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte in Mindanao, is home. Long considered the first caretakers of this mountain environment, the Subanen expressed pride in their ancestral domain and in its declaration as an ASEAN Heritage Park.
The Subanen (read as Suban-ons) are the indigenous peoples of the mountainous areas of the Zamboanga Peninsula, Mindanao, Philippines. They are divided into five sub-groups: Central Subanen, Northern Subanen, Koligugan Subanon, Western Subanon and Southern Suban ...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Sibug Sibug Festival Zamboanga Sibugay
Sibug Festival is celebrated during their foundation day on the province of Sibugay on February 26, with colorful Ethnic Street dancing with rituals illustrating good harvest, wedding and healing rituals. During the festival, it endorses it’s number one product which is the oyster or talaba in tagalong which has been known to be the biggest, juiciest, and meatiest oysters in the country. In this two week celebration, in the town of Ipil, “Talaba Longest Grill” has been the main attraction of the visitors and viewers. In this manner, Zamboanga can promote their oysters to the world. Zambo ...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Sibugay
Subanen Tribe
Cultural History Zamboanga City
The evolution of the name "Zamboanga" provides an interesting insight into its historical background. The early Malay settlers called the region "Jambangan",which means Land of the Flowers. These Malays who built their settlements by the river banks were the subanons, that is the "People of the River".
Their chief Saragan, lived with his family atop the legendary Mount Pulumbato that today lords over Pasonanca and Climaco Freedom Park (formerly Abong-Abong Park) then later on, the Samals and the Badjaos who came on their frail vintas also settled here, bui ...
2Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Norte
Killing of indigenous leader bares ugly face of Boracay development
"Dubbed as “party island,” Boracay has been rated as Asia’s top beach destination for relaxation and spa treatment, third in nightlife entertainment, and the Philippines’ second top tourist destination, according to Agoda, an international hotel-booking website.
Boracay’s four-kilometer powder-fine white sandy beach and crystalline waters have made it a tourist haven and an overdeveloped coastline of multimillion investments of the hotel and restaurant industries.
Boracay is also the site of the killing of Ati cultural community leader Dexter Condez. He was believed to ...
2Yr / A / F / Ati People / Dexter Condez / Aklan
The Cafe With a Heart
All food establishments follow a certain recipe. In the case of the Advocafe Coffee Shop it is mostly water, coffee, tea and 100 percent love for the indigenous peoples (IP) in the Philippines.
Six stores down from the corner of Quintos and Mabini streets in Manila is the 56-square meter coffee and pastry shop called Advocafe. Even from the outside, passersby and customers can already get an idea about the shop with a sign that says: “We serve for a cause. Your patronage of Advocafe will provide for education for indigenous children and youth!”
2004 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Emerge ...
2Yr / A / F / Bagobo People / Manila
International Music Festival Of Gongs Bamboo Opens In Dipolog
The resonating sound of the gong, a traditional Asian instrument, has brought here some 250 Asian music artists and scholars for the five-day First International Gongs and Bamboo Music Festival.
Dubbed “Tunog-tugan,” the festival will showcase performances of local and foreign musicians using gong and bamboo instruments.
So far, groups belonging to the Bagobo, Cordillera, Tausug, Teduray, Maguindanao, Panay Bukidnon, Yakan and Subanen ethnic tribes have arrived. They are joined by ethnomusic artists from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Br ...
3Yr / A / F / Bagobo People / Zamboanga Del Norte
Technology In The Service Of Cultural Diversity Science And Environment
The Philippines is one of the richest countries in terms of cultural diversity. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples reports that we have 110 indigenous communities while the Summer Institute of Linguistics counts more than 170 ethno-linguistic groups in the country.
Each indigenous or local community possesses its own body of traditional knowledge and practices which have been developed throughout the ages and hopefully have been passed down to succeeding generations. This wealth of traditional knowledge and practices (which includes those which pertain to health, disease, and hea ...
3Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Subanen Tribe Music And Dance
For the Subanens, music and dance are inseparable. From the simplest ritual (PEKANO) to the most important and expensive ritual (BUKLOG), music and chanting always go hand in hand with traditional dance and performance.
Their musical instruments include the AGONG, a big single brass gong, the KULINTANGAN, a set of eight small brass gongs of graduated sizes, the DURUGAN, a hollow log or bamboo tube which is beaten like a drum, the SIGITAN, a hallow bamboo with few slits on the sides as strings to be flucked, the KUTAPI, an improvised guitar-like instrument with two strings, and TAMBOL, the n ...
3Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Subanen Tuboy In Philippines
Introduction / History
The Tuboy Subanon live on the island of Mindanao, the second largest island of the Philippines. They generally live in scattered farm settlements in the forested, mountainous interior of the Zamboanga Peninsula. The Tuboy Subanon are a small branch of the Subanon ethnic group and speak various Subanon dialects.
The history of the Subanon is obscure until the 1600's, when they are mentioned in the writings of Spanish Jesuit missionaries. Prior to the twentieth century, their only contact with the outside world was with Muslim merchants who lived along the coast of t ...
3Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Health And Hope For Mothers
In the fourth-class municipality of Lapuyan in Zamboanga del Sur, about 80 percent of the residents belong to the Subanen tribe. The Subanen practice various birthing rituals and hold a lot of pregnancy-related beliefs. Sometimes, these rituals go against what modern science dictates, resulting in poor maternal health and placing a lot of new mothers and infants at risk.
Mayor Daylinda Sulong, a Subanen herself, knows only too well that culture has to be a factor in formulating the health policy in her municipality.
In 2010, the local government partnered with the Zuellig Family Foundati ...
3Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Aquino launches terror blitz vs indigenous peoples
The wave of killings of indigenous peoples (IPs) in recent weeks signaled the launching by the Aquino administration of its own brand of terror against these minorities. The most recent massacre of a B’laan family in Datal-Ayong, Tampakan, South Cotabato last Oct. 18, raised to 30 the number of IPs in the Philippines who have fallen victim to extrajudicial killings during the two-and-a-half years of the Aquino presidency.
Juvy Capion, 27, who was two months pregnant, and her two children, Pop, 13, and Janjan, 8, were killed by elements of the 27th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Arm ...
3Yr / A / F / Blaan People / John Capion / Glencore Xstrata / South Cotabato
Green groups to Canadian PM mine your own business
Environmental activists trooped to the Canadian Embassy today to greet the arrival of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper with protests decrying long-standing environmental crimes of Canadian mining corporations in the Philippines.
Calling for the immediate pullout of errant Canadian miners from the country, the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), joined by the Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas, Promotion for Church People’s Response, AGHAM-Advocates of Science & Technology for the People, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Task Force-Just ...
3Yr / A / F / Jordan Manda / Barrick Gold / National / Boac River
Subanen Leader Timuay Lucenio Manda Dispels Fake Statements Branding Him as Anti Mining
Below this post is a transcript of the actual press conference where Manda dispelled attempts to label him as a anti-mining. We will be publishing video of his interview separately in another post.)
Timuay Lucenio Manda
Timuay Lucenio Manda: “As an IP leader on the issue on mining, since we have it in our ancestral domain, I am not anti nor I am pro-mining. I am not an activist too like the opposite side. For me, if they would mine inside our ancestral domain, they should undergo due process.”
Parachute and phantom journalists should probably be wary of copy-pasting press releases ...
3Yr / A / F / Jordan Manda / LPMCI / Zamboanga Del Sur
Gunman shoots environmentalist activist Dr. Isidro Olan opposed to destructive mining
An unidentified gunman shot and wounded the head of an environmental group who was opposing destructive mining and illegal logging operations in the southern Philippines, according to Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.
It said Dr. Isidro Olan, executive director of the Lovers of Nature Foundation, was shot while he was driving home in the town of Carmen in Surigao del Sur on Monday afternoon.
“Dr. Olan was a passionate environment defender who opposed destructive and large-scale mining as well as illegal logging activities in Cantilan and other areas of Surigao del Sur. ...
3Yr / A / F / Dr. Isidro Olan / Surigao Del Sur
Protecting IPs Rights to Ancestral Domains and Lands
The significant yet often marginalized and neglected Indigenous Peoples (IPs) of the Philippines continue to struggle for the protection of their rights, rights that they feel are being ignored by the government. Their sentiment is one of disappointment as they were one of the glaring omissions in President Benigno Aquino III’s State of the Nation Address last July 23, a mere two weeks before the commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9.
While the protection and fulfillment of basic human rights is one of the more widespread campaigns worldwid ...
3Yr / A / F / Higaonon People / Carlito Chavez / Alyansa Tigil Mina / National / Chico River Dam
Timuay Lucendo Manda Affidavit of Complaint Against AY 76 Security Agency
We have gotten hold of Timuay Lucendo Manda’s Affidavit of Complaint against illegal mining firm Lupa Pigigetawan’s Security Agency, AY-76 – an agency owned by Retired General Alexander Yano.
For those of you who have just discovered this blog, Timuay Manda is the Subanen Leader and Barangay Captain of Conacon, Bayog, Zamboanga Del Sur who is fighting against illegal miners in his village. On September 4, several men tried to gun him down as he was driving his 11 year old son Jordan to school. He survived the shooting, but his son died instantly.
A few days later, police arrested t ...
3Yr / A / F / Jordan Manda / AY 76 Security / Zamboanga Del Sur
Tribe leader Lucencio Manda ambushed and 11 year old son Jordan killed
At present, the ancestral domain of the Subanen’s in Bayog has eight mining permit applications, three approved Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSA), one approved Exploration Permit and numerous illegal small-scale mining operations. Anti-mining groups have decried the ambush of a Subanen tribe elder and leader and the killing of his son in Zambonga at 7:20 a.m. on September 4.
The 11-year old Jordan Manda was killed while his father, Subanen chieftain Timuay Lucencio Manda, sustained minor wounds when they were ambushed by unidentified men, in Barangay Conacon, Bayog town, Zamboa ...
3Yr / A / F / Jordan Manda / Alyansa Tigil Mina / Zamboanga Del Sur
Weaving a New Future
Columban sisters, priests and lay missionaries have been working for decades in the remote mountain Parish of Midsalip in Northwest Mindanao. The parish was founded within the ancestral homeland of the Subanen tribe who are the indigenous population of the area. Since the 1950s the Subanen homeland has seen an influx of settlers from the lowlands. First came the loggers then, following the logging roads, came land-hungry farmers. These loggers and farmers, with their powerful bulldozers, chainsaws and chemical fertilizers, quickly exploited the forested hills and fragile soil of Midsalip. The ...
3Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Subanen People Of Zamboanga Del Sur
The Schools for the Living Tradition is a project of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Dumendingan Arts.Its objective is to promote peace and culture through the preservation and cultivation of the arts and crafts of the Subanen (indigenous people) and Maguindanao (moro group) of ZAmboanga del Sur.
4Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Celebrating IP Day With Grace And Poise
The IPRA Anniversary kicked off with a Gigal Subanon contest where delegates from the different municipalities of Zamboanga Peninsula perform the tribe’s traditional dances. At the end of the day, female students of Canatuan National High School were hailed 1st place. Delegates from Baliguian, Zamboanga del Norte got 2nd place while male students from the same high school emerged 3rd place.
“It’s my 2nd time to perform the Subanon traditional dance in front of many people. My first time was when I was in kindergarten. This time, dancing it is an honour for we, (the youth) must also do ...
4Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Norte
Indigenous People Seek Markets For Products
For the indigenous peoples of the Philippines, their carvings, accessories, delicacies, clothes and fabrics are more than just items for sale. They are also tangible expressions of the culture and traditions that they steadfastly hold on to even in these times of high technology when most everything can be done in an instant.
Some women leaders from indigenous groups, however, admit that these traditional arts and crafts are slowly fading away because of their dwindling economic value. They have the skill and the unique product line, but they seriously lack a market for them, thus discourag ...
4Yr / A / F / Alangan Mangyan / Manila
Boklug A Once In A Seven Years Subanon Ritual
In Canatuan, Siocon Zamboanga del Norte the Subanen Tribe. Boklug is the most significant of all Subanen religious rituals. The buklog, which also stands for "Ceremonial Platform," is a thanksgiving festival of the Subanen.
4Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Norte
Oldest Zamboangueno Can Compete In Guinness
Si puede pa iyo alcansa 200 anos mas bueno.” (If given the chance, I want to reach 200 years old).
This was declared by 115-year-old Ongonan Gumandao believed to be the oldest Zamboanga City resident when recently interviewed by Discovery Zamboanga.
Gumandao, a farmer from Barangay Limpapa, the last barangay of Zamboanga City which is about 47 kilometers west coast bordering Zamboanga del Norte, could be feted as the oldest man in the world through the World’s Guinness Book of Records if properly documented.
Discovery Zamboanga, a local group of development communicators headed by ...
4Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Norte
Lady Mayor Promotes TB Prevention Among Subanens
Daylinda Sulong, a Mathematics teacher by training, is on her second term as mayor of Lapuyan Municipality, a poor coastal town in Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao. Most of Mayor Daylinda’s constituents (71%) are Subanen indigenous people. Although only married to a Subanen, Daylinda adopted the Subanen culture as her own and prioritized bringing health education and services closer to the Subanen in her town. In fact, health has the biggest budget in her municipality.
Since 2007, USAID, through its TB control project (TB LINC), has provided Lapuyan with technical assistance in drawing up the ...
4Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Illegal Mining In Zamboanga Del Sur Closed
The Subanen community in Barangay Conacon here said they were overjoyed that the provincial government had finally put a stop to the operations of Lupa Pigegetawan Mining Co. (LPMC), which they described as a stubborn mining firm.
LPMC, which has been operating in the village for years now, has repeatedly defied a cease and desist order issued by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Western Mindanao against its illegal extraction of mineral ore.
The latest of the order was dated April 15, which the company had also ignored.
On Friday last week, acting on complaints against its continue ...
4Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Cool School For IP Students
Talaandig, Suanen, Badjao, Mandaya, Mansaka, Tagakaolo, Mangyan, Aeta, Tiduray, Bagobo, Ifugao. Many of the Philippines’ indigenous communities are represented in this special campus. Here about a hundred young people from some 30 tribes from all over the Philippines are studying to earn college degrees in order to become useful to their communities.
The Pamulaan Center for Indigenous Peoples (IP) Education is a campus within a campus devoted to the college education of IPs. I wrote a feature story about Pamulaan a couple of years ago but I am again writing about it as we prepare for scho ...
4Yr / A / F / Aeta People / Davao Del Sur
Tribal leaders press end of large scale mining and other projects destroying lumad culture
Some 100 lumad leaders from Mindanao gathered for a Datu-Bai Conference calling for the stop of large-scale mining and other development projects that are destroying the ecology and Lumad ancestral domain.
The gathering continues at the San Isidro Labrador Parish, Digos City with a cultural gathering today and press conference tomorrow.
The traditional leaders include tribes from the Bagobo, Ata-Manobo, Matigsalug, Obo and Manobo in the Davao Region, B'laan and T'boli in Socsksargen, Higaonon, Kaolo, Banwaon and Talaandig in Northern Mindanao, Subanen in Zamboanga Region and Manobos in C ...
4Yr / A / F / Aeta People / Aboitiz Power / Davao Del Sur
Villagers live in fear following killing of mine protestor
Residents of a former small-scale mining village in Siocon, Zamboanga Sibugay, said they now live in fear following the March 6 death of a farmer at the hands of a guard working for Canadian mining firm TVI Resources.
As this developed, TVI said the guard, identified as Arnie Omongia, acted in self-defense because Rudy Segovia had attacked him with a machete.
Segovia was part of a group that picketed the road leading to a mine pit in Sitio (district) Canatuan in a bid to stop TVI activities, which they said were polluting their community.
But Rocky Dimaculangan, TVI public affairs dir ...
5Yr / A / F / Rudy Segovia / TVIRD / Zamboanga Sibugay
TVIRD opponent shot dead in Siocon firm says guard acted in self defense
A small-scale miner in Mount Canatuan of Siocon town, Zamboanga del Norte was gunned down 12:30 p.m. Sunday allegedly by a security guard of a mining company there.
Rudy Segovia, leader of small-scale miners opposed to the mining operations of TVI Resource Development Company, was shot five times and died on the spot.
The suspect, identified only as Omongia and employed by the Nemeses Security Agency in Ipil, Sibugay Province, has accordingly “surrendered to Timuay Jose “Boy” Anoy, chieftain and administrator of the 8,213-hectare Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) area of ...
5Yr / A / F / Rudy Segovia / TVIRD / National / Mount Canatuan
Menajak Festival 2011
Finally after a few days of almost everyday practice, the time arrives for the Menajak Festival 2011 contingents to show what they’ve learn from their choreographer that will show the culture and tradition of the Subanen Tribes that settling in Calamba, Misamis Occidental and some parts of Misamis Occidental.
The Local Government Unit of Calamba, Misamis Occidental held the much awaited Menajak Festival 2011 last February 14, 2011 as the main event for the 63rd Araw ng Calamba.
Menajak is a Subanen words which means “LOVE”. The festival is held every two years during the Araw ng Ca ...
5Yr / A / F / Misamis Occidental
Iligan Goes Indigenous In Celebrating National Arts Month
This city is celebrating the National Arts Month by pushing indigenous arts more than popular arts and those from other countries.
“We need to uphold our beliefs and values to promote our indigenous arts and our homegrown artists to know our distinct identities as Iliganons,” said city councilor Michelle E. Sweet, chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s committee on history, culture and arts.
The late President Corazon Aquino signed Presidential Proclamation No. 683 in 1991 declaring February as National Arts Month to show appreciation to the country’s local artists and become a so ...
5Yr / A / F / Manobo / Lanao Del Norte
Lawmakers Seek Inclusion Of Ethnic Origins In National Census
Lawmakers sought yesterday the inclusion of ethnic origins in the national census of the government, as there has been no accurate count of the members of various indigenous groups in the country.
Bayan Muna Reps. Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares said about 9.1 million people belonging to indigenous groups in the country may have not been included in the national census.
Casiño cited the tribes of Tingguian, Isneg, Ibaloi, Kankanaey, Itawes, Malaweg, Yagad, Bugkalot, Gadding, Agta, Ati, Dumagat, Mangyan, Bangon, Tadyawan, Alangan, Iraya, Buhid, Taobuhid, Hanunuo, Ratagnon, Tagbanwa, ...
5Yr / A / F / Aeta People / Manila
Shelayan is The Dance Perform Under The Moon light during the ritual to heal the sick, Only the balyan and Shaman can Perform The ritual Dance, He perform this ritual dance to the flatform, And open ground.
5Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Ifugao Rep Teddy Brawner Baguilat on Mining Companies Using Fake IP Leaders
Privilege Speech of Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat, House of Representatives, 6 June 2010. I would like to address you today on the various violations to the civil and political and collective rights my fellow indigenous peoples in the country brought to the attention of my committee. Majority of the said cases that we investigated involves irregularities in the implementation of the FPIC requirement of many mining applications and the adverse impacts of mining to indigenous communities.
Through our strong struggle to defend our lands, we have survived the colonial rule of the Spaniards ...
5Yr / A / F / Mamanwa People / Florita Caya / Lepanto / Save Palawan Movement / National
19 Subanon Students Finish Traditional Music Course
At least 19 indigenous students have graduated Saturday from a two-month summer class on the Subanen music in Zamboanga del Sur province in the southern Philippines.
Funded by National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Pikhumpongan Dlibon Subanen, Inc., a non-government organization, started the summer classes on the Subanen music through the School of Living Tradition project.
The students graduated at the Provincial Capitol in Pagadian City where Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Pepito Degamo, representing Governor Antonio Cerilles, graced the occasion.
The purpose of this pro ...
5Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Subanen Tribe Drinking And Talk
Gasi is a special Subanen drink. A rice-yeast fermented beverage made of rice, manioc, maize, and/or Job’s tears mash. It is drunk with bamboo straws inserted in the bottom of a Chinese jar containing the fermented mash. Each drinking turn is preceded by the addition of water to keep the jar filled to the brim. When the water is sucked up through the straw it draws an alcoholic mixture from the mash as well.
A festival meal is the usual social context of Subanen drinking. The “gasi” drinking occurs only during festivity and is the focus of the social gathering. Figuratively speaking, ...
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Tribal Tour Diaries Subanen Tribe
Nestled in the interiors of Zamboanga del Sur is Lakewood. The area surrounding this volcanic lake is the ancestral homeland of the Subanen people. Arriving in the afternoon at the St. Mary’s Parish Center, we were met by our host, Nestor Orfilla and the members of Kaliwat Theater Collective, who were engaged in the implementation of Ancestral Domain Resource Management Plan with the Subanen community. That night, we rode to our homestays on motorbikes and ate our meal of boiled chicken, fried fish, rice, and purple mangosteens picked from our host’s yard. Night bugs clamored around the fl ...
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Timuay prepares the ritual ground, the materials and the offerings for the Buklog.
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Timuay prepares the ritual ground, the materials and the offerings for the Buklog.
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Buklog Aurora Zamboanga Del Sur Part 2
The Timuay prepares the ritual ground, the materials and the offerings for the Buklog.
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Buklog Aurora Zamboanga Del Sur Part 1
A documentary on the Subanen community as they revive their tradition on healing ritual every 7 years.In 2006, I stayed with the community and documented the Timuay and the Baylan almost everyday as they built the Buklog for the ritual.
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Timuay prepares the ritual ground, the materials and the offerings for the Buklog.
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Timuay prepares the ritual ground, the materials and the offerings for the Buklog.
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Subanens Original Inhabitants Of Western Mindanao
Immigrants from Luzon and the Visayas, and some from foreign countries who adopted Zamboanga Peninsula their permanent residence are now called Zamboanguenos. And they are all Zamboanguenos for all intents and purposes.
There are hundreds of thousands of immigrants here that made up the chore of economic, social and religious life of this Peninsula. We have to take note that the expertise, investments and presence of these immigrants contributed to the present progress and glitter of cities and towns in the Peninsula that we now enjoy.
What is the physical composition of Zamboanga Penins ...
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Subanen Tribe Drinking And Talk
Gasi is a special Subanen drink. A rice-yeast fermented beverage made of rice, manioc, maize, and/or Job’s tears mash. It is drunk with bamboo straws inserted in the bottom of a Chinese jar containing the fermented mash. Each drinking turn is preceded by the addition of water to keep the jar filled to the brim. When the water is sucked up through the straw it draws an alcoholic mixture from the mash as well.
A festival meal is the usual social context of Subanen drinking. The “gasi” drinking occurs only during festivity and is the focus of the social gathering. Figuratively speaking, ...
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Subanen group from Zamboanga perfomed the SINALIMBA during Indigenous People's Festival Oct. 2009. www.valcaulin.com
6Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Dungog Indigenous People Festival
Held every October since 2007, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts partners with local governments to hold the Indigenous Peoples Festival. First hosted in Davao City and then last year in Isabela, the Provincial Government of Capiz hosted this year’s festival entitled, “Dungog: Indigenous Peoples Festival”.
The word “dungog” means, “honor” in Visayan and through this festival, different indigenous peoples all over the country showcased their unique and culture and heritage. It was a five-day celebration with different activities starting with their parade, forums ...
6Yr / A / F / Ati People / Davao Del Sur
Mining in the Philippines Solution or Illusion
What with the irreversible social and environmental costs, the Arroyo government perilously guns for ‘gold’ or economic salvation in mining.
With the Arroyo administration’s calibrated policy on the revitalization of mining, the Philippines still stands to live up to its reputation as the 5th most mineralized country in the world. And far from abating the sordid, and irreversible, legacy of environmental destruction, social displacement and other correlative grim consequences brought by the countless years of profligate mining and quarrying operations, transnational corporations (TNCs ...
7Yr / A / F / Atlas Mining ACMDC / Zambales / Boac River
Only after three (3) years, the Apu Manglang Glupa Pusaka (AMGP) was able to conduct the harvest ritual inside their territory. Timuay Jose Anoy was prevented by TVI mining company enter inside his territory in the last 3 years because of his strong staunch on the operation of the said mining company. Only this May 26, 2008, the Subanon of Canatuan under the leadership of Timuay Anoy revived the traditional thanksgiving ceremony.
7Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Subanon is a tribe indigenous to the Zamboanga peninsula area, particularly living in the mountainous areas of Zamboanga del Sur and Misamis Occidental, Mindanao Island, Philippines. The Subanon people speak the Subanon language. The name means "river people", which is derived from the word "suba" or river, and the suffix “-nun” or -non” which indicates a locality or place of origin.
7Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Sacred Drink of The Subanen People
The 'pangasi' of the Subanen tribe in LakeWood, ZDS, Mindanao,Philippines. Video made by Filippo Davidde in 2007.
8Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
Government Allots P85M Scholarship Fund For Indigenous Tribes
More than 13,000 poor but deserving Filipino students from indigenous tribes will get cash assistance for school fees from the government, Malacañang said yesterday.
Secretary Domingo Panganiban, National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) chief, said P85 million has been allocated for a scholarship program for indigenous folk next year.
At least 13,100 students from indigenous communities will be given financial assistance worth up to P5,000 per semester through the National Commission on Indigenous People’s (NCIP) Educational Assistance Program (EAP) next school year, he added.
Panga ...
8Yr / A / F / Aeta People / Manila
Philippines is rife with political violence but Canadian mining companies dont seem to mind
Ranked second in the world for political killings -- over 800 since 2001 -- it may seem obvious that the Philippines is not a shining light of democracy. Yet many Western nations hold it in high esteem as exactly this, as well as a major trading partner and an ally in the war on terror.
A group of people from Montreal who travelled to the Philippines for the country’s mid-term May elections noticed this contradiction.
Speaking in front of the St. James church on June 3, delegation participant Stefan Christoff summed up this contradiction: In contrast to the “vibrant, thriving democra ...
8Yr / A / F / Crew Gold CMPI / National
A River Dies in Siocon TVI Mining Company Disrupts Peace among the Subanons
Siocon is like any other town in the Philippines. Endowed with a large area consisting of forests and watersheds, it relies on farming and fishing for livelihood. But the similarities end there. Siocon, located southwest of Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte, is a town with abundant mineral deposits. The deposits are of such quantity that it is now a primary target of big mining companies.
In 1997, TVI Resources Development Philippines, Inc. (TVIRD), a Canadian mining company, acquired mining rights to 486 hectares in Siocon, particularly in Sitio Canatuan. The mining company’s operation ...
9Yr / A / F / Benguet BNMI / Alyansa Tigil Mina / Zamboanga Del Norte / Mount Canatuan
The Project Saksi Students performed their tribal dance to showcase their Subanen Culture/Tradition during the First Graduation Program at Kanangan, Titik, Sindangan/Leon Postigo, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines.
9Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Norte
Breaking Promises Making Profits Mining in the Philippines
A Christian Aid and Piplinks report, December 2004. Over the past eight years the authors have visited and listened to mine-affected communities, company representatives, government officials and groups from many different parts of the Philippines.
They have visited communities in Siocon, Bayog, Sibutad, San Miguel, Midsalip, Pagadian, Leon Postigo, Sindangan and Iligan in Western Mindanao; Mainit, Tubod, Placer and Claver in Northeast Mindanao; and Toledo, Cebu, Palawan, Victoria, Pinamalayan Naujan and Calapan in Mindoro Oriental.
They have also visited Aurora Province and the Cordil ...
11Yr / A / F / Lepanto / National / Boac River
Local People Present a United Stand at Environmental Forum in Siocon Zamboanga del Norte
Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte – On November 12, 2004 the people in Siocon were given a rare opportunity to speak their mind to the Presidential Assistant to Mindanao and other levels of government at an Environmental Forum in Jose Rizal Memorial School. Given the chance to make their voice heard, the people effectively lobbied against the presence of TVI Pacific, a Canadian mining company.
At the end of the forum, 740 observers expressed their opposition to TVI by signing statements addressed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that demanded the cessation of minin ...
11Yr / A / F / TVIRD / Zamboanga Del Norte / Mount Canatuan
Canadian Mining Firm Driving Subanons Off Their Sacred Land
Siocon’s main water source damaged by erosion from open-pit gold mine
“TVI is not concerned about the spiritual aspect…or the ecological aspect. They are only concerned about the economic aspect. Do they intend to live alone and us to die?” – Gody Galos, Save the Siocon leader.
The Siocon River, stilted from erosion
Mt. Canatuan in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte (390 kms. northwest of Davao in southern Philippines) is sacred land to the town’s 2,000-strong Subanon tribe. Having a number of creeks all flowing into the Siocon River, it is the town’s main water source. It is sa ...
11Yr / A / F / SCAA / Zamboanga Del Norte / Mount Canatuan
Subanon Tribe seeks end to mining on holy mount
Members of the Subanon tribe on Saturday called on President Macapagal-Arroyo to order a Canadian firm to stop its mining operations on a Zamboanga del Norte mountain that they hold sacred.
Timuay Jose Anoy, leader of the Subanon tribe, said the group was a signatory to the Indigenous People's Rights Act (Ipra) and had been awarded a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title covering their settlement on Mt. Canatuan in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.
The Subanons have been living on Mt. Canatuan since the 17th century.
"We entered into the IPRA [Indigenous Peoples Rights Act 1997] and were a ...
11Yr / A / F / TVIRD / Zamboanga Del Norte / Mount Canatuan
Statement of the NCCP with the People of Sicocon Against Toronto Ventures Incorporated
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) applauds the people of Siocon, for being united against the mining activities of Toronto Ventures Incorporated (TVI) in Mt. Canatuan, Siocon. We congratulate the municipal officials for standing alongside the people in opposing TVI.
We are inspired by the unity forged by all sectors in the community, both Muslim and Christian in that far away coastal town of Zamboanga del Norte.
The NCCP denounces in strongest terms the indifference of the government agencies to and their buck-passing of the plea of the people of Siocon for the ...
11Yr / A / F / TVIRD / Zamboanga Del Norte / Mount Canatuan
Church Calls for Cancellation of TVI MPSA on Mt Canatuan home of Subanon Tribe
A Call for the Cancellation of TVI's MPSA. DIOCESE OF DIPOLOG Bishop's Residence Sicayab, Dipolog City 7100 Tel. No. 212-2879 Philippines, 23rd October 2004.
I have known the Subanons as a peace-loving and hospitable people. Settled in the wide expanse of Zamboanga peninsula, in Western Mindanao, since time immemorial, these people nurtured the land, took care of it, as they equitably worked and shared its bounties. They are real stewards of this beautiful and prosperous land a land which is truly God' gift to man.
One day in 1994, Canadian mining prospectors arrived in Canatuan like ...
11Yr / A / F / TVIRD / Zamboanga Del Sur / Mount Canatuan
Ethnocide The state of Affairs of the Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines
The Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines. The Philippines is an archipelago and mountainous country approximately covering about 30 million hectares of land. It is comprised of 7,100 islands grouped along three geographical regions of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao that stretch from north to south.
With a population of 75 million, the country is also home to around 42 indigenous peoples groups who comprise approximately 10 – 12% of the total national populace.
Indigenous peoples of the Philippines were borne of colonial period. Strictly speaking, all Filipinos born in the Philippines can ...
11Yr / A / F / Aeta People / National / San Roque Dam
The Situation of the Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines
The Philippines is an archipelago and mountainous country approximately covering 30 million hectares of land surrounded by the Pacific, China and Celebes Seas. It comprises 7,100 islands with major islands grouped into three major geographical regions: Luzon in the north, Visayas in the central region, and Mindanao in the south.
It is home to around 140 ethnolinguistic groups who comprise more or less 10 to 12% of the total population of approximately 72 million Filipinos. Interchangeably, they are called “indigenous peoples” or “national minorities”. Unlike other indigenous peoples ...
11Yr / A / F / Aeta People / Climax Arimco Mining / National / Sierra Madre Mountains
Subanen In Lake Wood
The month of October, ” Indigenous People’s Month, saw an upsurge of activities on cultural regeneration among the Subanen in this town roughly 60 kilometers from Pagadian City.
‘Cultural regeneration’ has recently become a priority concern among civil society groups interested in advancing the cause of the indigenous peoples or the lumad in Mindanao. Fr. Albert Alejo S.J.’s book, “Generating Energies in Mt. Apo: Cultural Politics in a Contested Environment, has provided the framework leading to the popularization of cultural regeneration. In the last weekend of October, rituals ...
14Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur
The Buklog Festival Sounding The Subanens Sacred Lumber
A visit to Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur for the Buklog Festival of the Subanen cultural community is certainly a rewarding (and trying!) experience.
For a cultural worker so much immersed in the bustle of city life, the trip becomes both a breather and a test of physical endurance. For the rough roads along the periphery of the lake give one a fantastic view of the waterline and lush greenery.
Yet one has to endure a one-hour drive aboard a habal-habal (a single-motor vehicle) and bear a four-hour hike up the slopes of Mt. Kulabog to reach the tranquil village of Lanayan—this year's hos ...
15Yr / A / F / Zamboanga Del Sur