TRIBAL HALL. The tribal hall of the Higaonon Indigenous People nears completion as of Wednesday (Dec. 11, 2019) as it stands overlooking the Higaonon community in the hinterland barangay of Pigsag-an, Cagayan de Oro City. The Philippine Air Force's Technical Operations Group-10 led the construction of the hall as a way of making government services more accessible to tribal communities in the area. (PNA photo by Nef Luczon)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The Philippine Air Force's Tactical Operations Group-10 (PAF TOG-10) is set to inaugurate on Saturday the tribal hall or "tulugan" for the Higaonon Indigenous People (IP) in the upland village of Pigsag-an here.
Lt. Col. Derrick Ablog, TOG-10 commander, said Wednesday the facility aims to serve the Higaonon communities in Pigsag-an and nearby areas, as well as serve as a deterrent against the recruitment activities of communist rebels.
Ablog said the project is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order 70, which mandates a "whole-of-nation approach" in ending the communist insurgency.
The tribal hall was set up on a strategic location because this was where reports of communist guerillas used to pass in between the city and Iligan City, as well as Misamis Oriental province, Ablog said.
"Not only will this be their (Higaonon IPs) place of preserving their culture and traditions, but this (tribal hall) will also be a place of convergence for government services to be reached to them," he added.
The facility cost only about PHP50,000, as Ablog said most materials were provided by the community.
NPA recruitment, threats
With a distance of 38 km. from the city's commercial center, Pigsag-an and its neighboring villages are inhabited by about 98 percent Higaonons.
The city's IP representative, Demetrio Orasan, said the area has long been known as a flashpoint for activities of the New People’s Army (NPA).
"I was told by the residents that there (are) recruitment and rebel presence (in the area)," Orasan said in the vernacular.
Sonny Rogdajan, the village leader, expressed gratitude for the establishment of the tribal hall, saying it would serve as a "landmark for safety" against the NPA.
Rogdajan said he himself has long been under threat from the rebels, who have contacted him several times to establish a connection.
"This (hall) would also become a meeting place of the different Higaonon leaders coming from the 16 barangays in the city where (peace) agreements will be brokered," he said.
Partnership
The TOG-10 thanked its private partners, real estate developer Primavera City and the Italpinas Development Corp. (IDC), for helping them construct the tribal hall.
France Mae Galvez, IDC's brand manager, said their company started their corporate social responsibility projects by helping the IP communities, and the construction of the tribal hall in Pigsag-an is one of them.
"Other than helping construct this hall by donating materials, we also help the IP children by giving school supplies, and footwear, like slippers, because some of them go to school barefoot or wearing old, broken slippers," she said. (PNA)
