UPB USC I.P-Cultural Desk 2015-2016

29/06/2016

[NOTICE]

For updates on the UPB USC IP-Cultural Desk, please like the page below. All issue-based committees of the USC are now under a single page.

Official page of University of the Philippines Baguio University Student Council Issue-Based Committees AY 2016-2017.

16/06/2016

[USC UPDATE: CALL FOR DONATIONS]

Last June 14, 2016, a construction worker passed away after being accidentally buried alive while working on the extension of the UP Baguio Residence Hall. The victim was identified as Mr. Arthur Banyez. According to the reports, the victim was rushed to the hospital and was declared dead on arrival.

The UPB USC extends its deepest condolences to the family of the victim. It is in these times of tragedy that we are again called to help.

For anyone interested to give monetary assistance
to the family of Mr. Banyez, you may deposit
at the following accounts:

DBP 4665 3651 0003 6008
BDO Cash Card 601853 908 2612247
Account name: MICHAELANGELO MEDINA

08/05/2016

[UNITY STATEMENT AGAINST BBM AND HISTORICAL REVISIONISM]

We, the three political organizations of the University of the Philippines Baguio, with the united ranks of the Iskolar ng Bayan, strongly condemn the gross denial of Vice Presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos of the atrocities committed by the Marcos regime especially during the Martial Law. We attest that the myth of the Solid North is an illusion, and no Marcos shall be put back in power.

September 21, 1972 dated the death of Philippine democracy. Through aggressive means, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos ratified our Constitution, and turned his back on every oath he swore to his people as he declared the Philippines under Martial Law to fulfill his fascist agenda. For the next 20 years, the Marcoses, through illicit, illegal and inhumane means, benefited from the collective suffering of the Filipino people by siphoning funds for the people. They have effectively denied service and social justice to the people and seemed to have treated critical thinking as a sin during this dark ages. According to CARMMA (Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacañang), around 3,000 were killed and more than 30,000 were detained, brutally tortured, r***d, or suffered various forms of abuse – all because of their resistance.

Meanwhile, this turning point has forged unity among the Filipino people waging the struggle for freedom and national democracy.

The Iskolar ng Bayan was one of those who stood at the forefront to topple down this dictatorship. Furthermore, contradictory to what the Marcoses are swaggering, the Solid North has always been an illusion beginning from Ama Macliing Dulag’s leadership in the Chico Dam struggle to the indigenous peoples of Abra’s unwavering resistance against Cellophil Corporation, among others. Ultimately, the student movement and the Northern Luzon movement have proven the strength of collective action and its commitment to the people despite the bloody period of Martial Law.

As we get nearer to the upcoming National Elections on May 9, we call every Iskolar ng Bayan and the North to not let BBM succeed in his attempt to insult the lives of our kailian. We stand firm that BBM’s denial of his involvement in his family’s dictatorship and his continuous whitewashing of historical realities are an insult not only to our history but to the Filipino people.

NEVER AGAIN TO MARTIAL LAW!
SHATTER THE MYTH OF THE SOLID NORTH!
NO TO B**G B**G MARCOS!

READ: ACS UPB, AKMA UP and CADUA UPB's unity statement through the UP Baguio Council of Leaders. All formations are encouraged to pledge their solidarity and support to our call by adding the formations name in the comments section. Moreover, we call on everyone to unite and campaign with us against the return of the Marcoses to Malacañang.

[UNITY STATEMENT AGAINST BBM AND HISTORICAL REVISIONISM]

We, the three political organizations of the University of the Philippines Baguio, with the united ranks of the Iskolar ng Bayan, strongly condemn the gross denial of Vice Presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos of the atrocities committed by the Marcos regime especially during the Martial Law. We attest that the myth of the Solid North is an illusion, and no Marcos shall be put back in power.

September 21, 1972 dated the death of Philippine democracy. Through aggressive means, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos ratified our Constitution, and turned his back on every oath he swore to his people as he declared the Philippines under Martial Law to fulfill his fascist agenda. For the next 20 years, the Marcoses, through illicit, illegal and inhumane means, benefited from the collective suffering of the Filipino people by siphoning funds for the people. They have effectively denied service and social justice to the people and seemed to have treated critical thinking as a sin during this dark ages. According to CARMMA (Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacañang), around 3,000 were killed and more than 30,000 were detained, brutally tortured, r***d, or suffered various forms of abuse – all because of their resistance.

Meanwhile, this turning point has forged unity among the Filipino people waging the struggle for freedom and national democracy.

The Iskolar ng Bayan was one of those who stood at the forefront to topple down this dictatorship. Furthermore, contradictory to what the Marcoses are swaggering, the Solid North has always been an illusion beginning from Ama Macliing Dulag’s leadership in the Chico Dam struggle to the indigenous peoples of Abra’s unwavering resistance against Cellophil Corporation, among others. Ultimately, the student movement and the Northern Luzon movement have proven the strength of collective action and its commitment to the people despite the bloody period of Martial Law.

As we get nearer to the upcoming National Elections on May 9, we call every Iskolar ng Bayan and the North to not let BBM succeed in his attempt to insult the lives of our kailian. We stand firm that BBM’s denial of his involvement in his family’s dictatorship and his continuous whitewashing of historical realities are an insult not only to our history but to the Filipino people.

NEVER AGAIN TO MARTIAL LAW!
SHATTER THE MYTH OF THE SOLID NORTH!
NO TO B**G B**G MARCOS!

17/04/2016

"April 24 remains a historic and significant date for the Cordillera peoples. It was in the evening of this day in 1980 when soldiers belonging to the Philippine Army's 4th Infantry Division, under Lt. Leodegario Adalem, fired at two houses in the village of Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga.

The attack meant to kill two prominent leaders of the Kalinga and Bontok peoples, Ama Macliing Dulag and Pedro Dungoc, opposed to the World Bank-funded Chico River Basin Hydroelectric Dam Project of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, during martial law. Macliing Dulag, a respected pangat (tribal chieftain) of the Butbut tribe, died from multiple gunshots while Pedro Dungoc survived. Pedro Dungoc later joined the New Peoples Army (NPA) and died a red fighter.

This cowardly act of military terrorism did not cow the Bontoc and Kalinga peoples into submission into the construction of the dams. Instead, the Macliing assassination strengthened the determination of the Kalinga and Bontok tribes to further unite for the defense of their collective rights over their land and resources and against a common enemy - the Marcos dictatorship and the World Bank funded Chico dams.

State fascism since the 1970s was a major factor in firming up the commitment of the Chico communities in the anti-Chico dam struggle. This later broadened into a mass movement of the Cordillera peoples and advocates into the struggle for the defense of ancestral land and for genuine regional autonomy. The Kalinga and Bontok tribes people managed to stop the construction of the four huge hydro-electric dams which were a priority energy project of the Marcos government throughout the long years of martial rule. They were able to stop construction against fearsome odds by asserting their tribal people’s power. In their steadfast and uncompromising defense of their ancestral lands and their indigenous way of life, they earned the respect and support not only of other indigenous peoples in the region, but also those in the Philippines and abroad. The Marcos dictatorship, with its World Bank funding for the project, was caught flat-footed. They did not reckon with the strong communal ethos still existing then between the Bontok and Kalinga, which allowed them to forge agreements among the binodngan – peacepact – practicing communities along the Chico river in opposition to the project. Nor did they expect the people to muster widespread national and international support.

From 1981 to 1984, the commemoration of the death of Macliing Dulag was called Macliing Memorial. But with the broadening of the Cordillera mass movement encompassing all the provinces of the Cordillera, the commemoration started as Cordillera Day in 1985 to symbolize the wideni ng unity and solidarity among the different indigenous peoples of the Cordillera, and with advocate and support groups at the regional, national and international levels. The first celebration of Cordillera Day was held in Sadanga, Mountain Province. It was also in June 1984 that the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) was founded and took the lead in the celebration of Cordillera Day.

Since then, Cordillera Day was held all over the Cordillera region with particular focus per celebration, in consideration to burning regional issues, and major national and international developments as well as the urgent issues of host community. Past celebrations gathered as many as 3,000 to 4,500 individuals. It has become the biggest annual political solidarity gathering of indigenous peoples in the Cordillera with friends and advocates. The general programme for the two- day celebration includes workshops on major issues affecting indigenous peoples, presentations on the regional and national situation and challenges; on experiences and lessons from struggles in defense of indigenous peoples rights and human rights and various cultural presentations presenting the issues of communities and sectors; including the tribute to Cordillera martyrs. The two-day celebration includes a lot of community dancing, playing of gongs and community chanting. The festive atmosphere of each celebration remains political but colorful and inspiring.

As a political solidarity event, several host communities were intimidated and harassed by the military and some government officials. But these circumstances did not discourage the communities to prepare and host Cordillera Day. The celebration of Cordillera Day has also expanded overseas which is a clear manifestation of the growing international solidarity for the Cordillera indigenous people's movement. For several years already, Cordillera Day has been celebrated in Hongkong, Belgium, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and Canada. These are being organized by Cordillera migrants and workers together with international solidarity partners and advocates of Cordillera struggles and indigenous peoples rights.

More than just a gathering, Cordillera Day is a political statement on present realities by the militant Cordillera peoples' movement. It carries with it the historical advances of the mass movement for self determination and national democracy. It is the affirmation of principles and struggles for defense of the ancestral domain and for self determination and pursues what the Cordillera martyrs and heroes have fought for. The solidarity and camaraderie forged during celebrations serve to enhance the particularity of the Cordillera peoples struggle and to inspire others. At the same time, it strengthens the unity of the Cordillera peoples with other indigenous peoples and sectors across the region, and at the national and international levels. The struggle for the peoples' aspirations for social justice, genuine development and peace, freedom and democracy are still far from over. Macliing Dulag and all our other martyrs did not die in vain. Cordillera Day and our continuing campaigns and struggles shall be raised to a higher ground until our aspirations become a reality."

-From Cordillera Day Event Page

https://www.facebook.com/events/1250828401612070/

05/03/2016

"How do you create a rapeless society?"

In celebration of the International Women's Month and in commemoration of Kaigorotan Youth Week, the Indigenous Peoples Cultural Desk, together with UPB Kasarian, will be launching Sine Katutubo on March 9, Wed, 10:30 a.m at the Alumni Center Lobby, featuring the acclaimed documentray "Walang R**e sa Bontok". See you there!

05/03/2016

"The more important question to ask is whether the lives of IPs in the Philippines have actually improved during the period of the Aquino Administration. The resounding answer is No. An internal World Bank reports cites that barangays inhabited by indigenous peoples are 28% poorer than those barangays without IPs. The per capita food expenditures of households within barangays inhabited by IPs are 38% lower than those in barangays without IPs."

Source: http://www.ncip.gov.ph/index.php/about-us1/history The protection of indigenous peoples’ rights was not given priority during the entire term of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III. Indigenous peoples’ concerns were never mentioned in President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SO

18/02/2016

"Until this Administration addresses the roots that force communities out and implements actions, like pulling out the military forces from the land of the Lumads, 'bakwit' will still continue and human rights violated."

18/02/2016

"BARYA HINDI BALA"

As part of the Stop Lumad Killings campaign, the IP-Cultural Desk will be conducting a Barya Hindi Bala Donation Drive for our Lumad evacuees. Drop by UPB Main Lobby on February 19, 2016.

Again, Iskolar ng Bayan, let us stand in solidarity with our Indigenous Peoples.

Yutang Kabilin, Depensahan, Panalipdan!

[Also, the IP Situation Exhibit is moved to UPB Main Lobby.]

15/02/2016

"Dakami Dagiti Nainsigudan nga Umili"
(We are the Indigenous Peoples)
An exhibit on the Indigenous Peoples' Situation

Visit the Alum Lobby on February 17-19, 2016 from 8 am to 5 pm and be aware of what our Indigenous Peoples are struggling for. See you there!

10/02/2016

"Daga, Biag, Kinabaknang! Salakniban!"

See you at the Alumni Center Lobby on February 17-19, 2016.

09/02/2016

"Land is Life."

See you at the Alumni Center Lobby on February 17-19, 2016.

08/02/2016

"We are more than entertainment."

See you at the Alumni Center Lobby on February 17-19, 2016.