Jikson Cullamat (Screengrab from 3rd Special Forces Battalion, Philippine Army FB page)
MANILA – Jikson Cullamat, son of Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Eufemia Cullamat, has cited the various community programs put forward by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for indigenous peoples (IP) communities.
In a video statement on Facebook posted by the 3rd Special Forces Battalion of the Philippine Army on Nov. 17, Jikson said soldiers have not committed any violation since they arrived in Sitio Han-Ayan (Km. 16) in Barangay Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur, a Lumad community where a series of NPA harassments have been reported.
"As a matter of fact, they even helped with providing water in the mining area, they built a dam," Jikson said in the local language.
Jikson said the presence of military personnel in their community has brought peace to IP communities.
"For our part, for those who live here, we are thankful for the presence of the soldiers who have been helping us with our needs, most especially in providing us roads, electricity and (addressing) other issues we have at the moment here in the community," he said. "For our other (problems) that are, until now, not responded to by the government, we hope that we will be assisted by the soldiers in solving these kinds of problems in our community."
Jikson said the relationship between the IP communities and the soldiers so far "seems to be okay."
"For now, with our condition, with what the behaviors the soldiers are showing, things seem to be okay," he said. "This is what we are thankful for, for the other side. For now, we are hoping that the soldiers will help us so that roads will finally reach us. The lack of electricity has also been a persisting problem for the people here.”
‘Pay attention to needs’
Jikson, meanwhile, asked the government to pay attention to the needs of the IP communities.
"We hope that this reaches the government – the national and local government – through our soldiers, that projects will be delivered to us faster, most especially in terms of the (provision of) roads and electricity," he said.
The NTF-ELCAC has been introducing the Barangay Development Program (BDP)— a counter-insurgency plan aimed to deliver various government programs in conflict-afflicted and geographically isolated villages that have been considered "cleared" from the influence of communist rebels.
Meanwhile, NTF-ELCAC spokesperson and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy called on the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and its allies to lay down their arms and move away from extremism "to live in genuine peace and understanding."
Badoy made this call after a 22-year-old Jevilyn Cullamat, youngest daughter of Rep. Cullamat, died in a recent clash between soldiers and communist terrorists.
"This senseless rebellion has escalated and poisoned all sectors of Philippine society - and most tragically, this unwinnable war has devoured our children," Badoy said in a statement on Sunday.
She said there are no victors in the war.
"Indeed, there are no victors in this war created by old men and hardened ideologues who have deeply wounded our country with an ideology centered on the Doctrine of Hate and that has deeply and bitterly divided us as a people- more so when it is our children who are offered up as a sacrifice in this altar of radicalism where Filipinos have been taught to hate then kill fellow Filipinos for over 52 years now," she added.
Badoy, meanwhile, condoled with the Cullamat family following the death of Jevilyn.
"Perhaps alone among the Makabayan party-listers, Congresswoman Cullamat knows now, first-hand, the same kind of loss and grief experienced by all those parents whose activist children were killed in violent pursuit of a misguided cause," Badoy said, adding that it's not too late for Cullamat "to try and save her own brother from the same fate."
Cullamat, for her part, said Jevilyn was a strong and independent person who fought for the sake of the indigenous peoples (IPs).
“Pinalaki namin siya na maging makabayan, matapang, at may sariling pag-iisip at paninindigan. Sa aming mga Lumad, bawat bata ay inaaruga para maging kapaki-pakinabang at mag-ambag sa komunidad (We raised her to be patriotic, brave and with an independent mind. In our Lumad community, every child is nurtured to become beneficial and someone who can contribute to the community)," Cullamat said in a statement.
A grieving Cullamat said her daughter's decision to join the armed movement was due to witnessing abuses and extreme poverty.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
