IP leaders appeal against retaliation, seek justice for slain Teduray

COTABATO CITY — Leaders of the Teduray and other Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (NMIP) in the Bangsamoro have chosen restraint over revenge after two more of their members were gunned down in Maguindanao del Sur last weekend, urging grieving families to leave the matter to the law while pressing authorities to deliver justice and protect their communities.

Joel Magtud, a village councilor of Barangay Mahantao in Datu Hoffer, was shot dead in neighboring Datu Unsay on Saturday night, Oct. 17. Less than a day later, gunmen struck again in the same town and killed Cyril Tomas, a farmer from Barangay Limpogo, also in Datu Hoffer.

Tomas’s cousin, Jayjay Guiaman, a member of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU), was seriously wounded in the second attack.

Supreme Tribal Chieftain Leticio Datuwata of the Timuay Justice and Governance (TJG), who was elected to the incoming regular Bangsamoro Parliament, said the TJG has recorded 111 IP killings from 2019 to date.

Wilfredo Fantingan, a tribal chieftain in Datu Hoffer, said IP leaders and communities continue to feel unsafe because of the persistent violence against their members. He advised NMIPs to be cautious when traveling and not to travel alone.

“The community is seeking not revenge but justice for the victims,” Fantingan said.

Probe underway

Police Colonel John Michael Mangahis, Maguindanao del Sur Police Provincial Director, said the two attacks were unrelated and that investigators were still determining the motives and the suspects.

Mangahis said the police have identified a person of interest in the Magtud killing but did not name the individual. A Special Investigation Task Group has been formed to handle the case.

MIPA condemns attacks

The Bangsamoro Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MIPA) condemned the attacks.

“These acts of violence are deeply alarming and raise serious concerns about the safety and security of IP communities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM),” MIPA Minister Guiamal Abdulrahman said in a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 20.

“We express our solidarity with the affected families and communities during this difficult time and stand with them in their pursuit of truth, accountability, and justice,” he added.

Abdulrahman and Fantingan called on security forces and concerned agencies to tighten security, provide immediate protection to vulnerable communities, and safeguard the lives, rights and dignity of IPs across the region.

“The safety and security of every individual, regardless of ethnicity or cultural affiliation, must be upheld. Violence must not be allowed to instill fear among our communities or undermine the pursuit of lasting peace in the Bangsamoro,” Abdulrahman said.

Call for independent probe

The Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples Youth Network (NMIPYN) urged the Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission to conduct an independent and comprehensive investigation into the IP killings and determine whether human rights violations were committed.

The group also asked the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) to oversee and finalize a proposed executive order establishing a comprehensive protection mechanism for NMIPs in the Bangsamoro.

The TJG is the traditional political and governance system of the Teduray and Lambangian peoples in BARMM. It is recognized as an Indigenous Political Structure under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997.