Alim M Bandara
The Tëduray, Lambangian and Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples of southern Philippines have been struggling to restore their customary self-governance system and strengthen guardianship of their ancestral territories. Alim Bandara writes about the Timuay Justice and Governance (TJG) system and the importance of connecting local movements with a global network of communities working on radical democracy, autonomy and self-determination.
Introduction and Historical Context
The Tëduray and Lambangian Indigenous peoples have always lived in what is now Mindanao, the major southern island in the Philippines. At present, the Tëduray and Lambangian are situated in both the Philippine nation-state and the Bangsamoro sub-national state. These nation-state structures have greatly impacted the ways we have always governed our communities.
The “alangkat” is a Tëduray and Lambangian security and defense mechanism against the Moro kidnapping for slave trading activities in the 1800s, which our ancestors called the “sunggud.” This resistance has been met with much hostility from the Philippine Commonwealth during the United States occupation. In the 1920s, several Tëduray and Lambangian communities were raided by the Philippine Constabulary (PC) on suspicion that they were preparing for an uprising against the Philippine Commonwealth due to their practice of alangkat. Some of the leaders were killed, and others were put into prison cells. As a result, leadership structures were deeply disrupted, and many communities resorted to exercising their governance in a clandestine manner to avoid becoming targets of state forces. For this reason, the different structures of governance weakened.
With the establishment of the Philippines as an independent nation-state in 1898, the installation of “glal” or leadership titles was limited or, more accurate, changed to the government titles like teniente del baryo, captain, and konsehal, among others. For several decades, this became a popular practice among the Tëduray and Lambangian, which largely contributed to the weakening of the Timuay system of governance within the Ingëd (territory), now the fusaka ingëd (ancestral domain).
The historical restoration started in the early 1990s and culminated in the clandestine Timfada Limud (assembly of leaders) held in 1995. When the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA)1 was finally enacted, the Kësëfanangguwit Timuay or the Timuay Justice and Governance (TJG) launched the first open Timfada Limud in 2002. It was there that the Tëgudon, Ukit, and Dowoy were formally adopted in a written form, as products of a decade-long documentation by young Tëduray professionals together with the support from authoritative elderly Tëduray and Lambangian narrators.
The TJG and the Bangsamoro
In Mindanao, the Bangsamoro peoples are still struggling to establish an independent Bangsamoro state. It is currently expressed in the form of an “autonomy,” namely the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 1989, which was later replaced by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in 2019. The autonomous regions were the result of decades of armed struggles by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) against the Philippine government.
On the other hand, the Tëduray, Lambangian, and other Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (NMIPs) have struggled to restore and strengthen the customary self-governance. This was finally recognized by the Philippine state through the passage of the IPRA in 1997.
The TJG is a non-state governance structure operating within the Bangsamoro autonomy, with a claimed ancestral domain area. It is a self-sustaining governance system without financial or logistical support from the state. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), a government agency for Indigenous Peoples created by the IPRA, cannot disburse funds to NMIPs simply because, in their view, the autonomous region is not within their jurisdiction as a national agency.
Despite these limitations, the TJG, with assistance from the community and Non Government Organizations (NGOs), was able to consolidate its ranks and files from the Fënuwo (village level), Rëmfing Fënuwo (clusters of villages), and the Ingëd (whole ancestral domain). It is, however, noted that the consolidation process is slow, especially now that the new Bangsamoro autonomy is still in its transition period. We are deeply affected by major issues emerging in the new autonomous region.
The TJG, as an Indigenous institution popularly known as the Indigenous Political Structure (IPS), is not alone in the BARMM. There are other practitioners of the Indigenous self-governance system with similar experiences with the Tëduray and Lambangian. In terms of control, power, and protection of their ancestral domains, practitioners of Indigenous self-governance view territories as the main source of livelihood; they also view the genuine implementation and practice of a customary governance system and justice, including security or guardianship of the territory, the community, and all their properties. In our current inventory of IPS in the BARMM2, there are four IPS with a defined territory, which includes the TJG.
The TJG as Part of the Broader Network of Political Alternatives
Our engagement with the Global Tapestry of Alternatives (GTA) is a source of inspiration and strength. Through our local, isolated movement for genuine autonomy, we found that we are not alone in the quest for an alternative governance to the exploitative system established globally. The Global Alliance of Radical Democracy and Autonomy (GARDA) is the perfect network for building a non-hierarchical, holistic community-based governance structure that respects and recognizes humanity and the whole of creation. A governance that understands and appreciates nature as Earth’s apparatus to bring forth life and not for sale to earn profit for the few.
In our region, the ancestral domains of Indigenous Peoples are the last frontiers in defending nature against extractive activities. All other areas with natural resources have already been extracted by investors. The state and capitalists introduce development frameworks in exchange for the exploitation and extraction of natural resources. For us, the resistance depends on the strength and influence of customary practice in every individual and community, how we value things, especially between having a simple living while preserving the natural environment over the destruction of nature for profit by the few in the name of so-called “development”, with unequal and unjust shares to the host community, which has become the source of conflicts. These are continuing challenges in our territories. It is a timely engagement with the GTA to realize our crusade tag, “act locally and think globally.”
Our crusade perfectly matches the GARDA framework. We are more confident in pursuing this local initiative, for we see it can help lay the foundations of radical democracy. Our confrontations with oppressive and exploitative regimes can best help develop mechanisms to ensure that the oppressed of today will not be the oppressors of tomorrow– that injustice, inequality, and discrimination are a permanent enemy.
Concretely, we will continue our decades-long struggle for recognition through legislative platforms at the state level. Some were attained, and still others are pending. Moreover, control and power over the ancestral domains remains the most difficult goal to achieve. Despite all these callings, we can still commit to participating in online learning sessions; issuing and signing solidarity messages; supporting fellow movers with alternatives; and, if given the opportunity, attending meetings and conferences at the local, national, and international levels.
Alim M Bandara, born at sitio Lahangkeb, Rempes, Upi, Maguindanao on May 20, 1958, married and currently Member of the Minted sa Inged (Supreme Council), Timuay Justice and Governance (TJG). He was Head Researcher/documenter of the Tegudon, a Teduray and Lambangian Customary Laws. He has contributed to several global forums including World Social Forum in Mumbai, 2003); Asia-Europe Meeting of Leaders or ASEM in Vietnam, 2004; and the UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples in Geneva, Switzerland, 2006.
References
- Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) or Republic Act No. 8371 is a landmark 1997 Philippine law that recognizes, protects and promotes the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs). It established the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), an agency of government for Indigenous Peoples. ↩︎
- The Teduray and Lambangian under the Timuay Justice and Governance; the Manobo Dulangan under Kena Menuwa; Blaan under the Kab-kabenwe Blaan, and the Erumanene ne Menuvu under their Kamal. ↩︎