Case History: Verginia Saguitan Tugay
In the Philippines, seven land and indigenous peoples' rights defenders face legal charges of “convincing” local communities to evacuate their homes – despite the residents themselves denying these accusations.
Verginia Saguitan Tugay is the leader of the grassroots indigenous organisation Tagdumahan, which has been campaigning against the entry of large-scale mining ventures into their ancestral domain.
In the Philippines, seven land and indigenous peoples' rights defenders face legal charges of “convincing” local communities to evacuate their homes – despite the residents themselves denying these accusations.
On 21 March 2015, 969 Banwaons returned home, two months after fleeing their homes in San Luis, Agusan del Sur. Over 900 members of the Lumad community left the villages of Kimambukagyang, Tabon-tabon, Tabanganan, Nakadayas, Pig-ulingan, Mimpalaos, Maputi, Kandiisan, Tambo, KM 48 and Sitio Agduka in late January 2015. Residents reportedly left the municipality in protest against human rights violations committed by the army in San Luis, including intimidation, harrassment by parailitary groups, occupation of indigenous peoples' homes, and “military operations are aimed at paving the way for the entry of mining corporations” according to local news sources and rights groups.
The seven defenders charged in this case led a campaign calling for the military to leave San Luis.
Members of the community report that the seven charges leaders successfully negotiated for the military pull-out and return home of Banwaon evacuees. The Lumad community members returned three days after the military announced that it would leave the town following negotiations with the above-mentioned human rights defenders. Around 115 members of the Banwaon community allegedly remain at an evacuation site at the Bunawan Brook village Multipurpose Hall in Bunawaon town.
Following the return of evacuees, on 26 March 2015, activists Jomorito Goaynon, Julieto Tawide Gomez, Reyjoy Precioso, Junrey Precioso Manlikayan, Melissa Amado Comiso, Verginia Saguitan Tugay and Tina Julieta Tawide Gomez, announced that charges had been filed against them. The charges were filed by a member of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) of the 26th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the battalion previously occupying San Luis. The human rights defenders believe the petition to have been filed in response to the return of the indigenous peoples on 21 March 2015, although it is dated 23 February 2015.
Piya Macliing Malayao, spokesperson for KATRIBO, an alliance of indigenous peoples and organizations in the Philippines, said in a statement:
"This petition for habeas corpus and a writ of amparo is an act of harassment. We are certain that the military, the reason why the Lumad people in San Luis, Agusan del Sur decided to evacuate their homes, are behind this ludicrous charge. We are disgusted at the lengths that the military would go to impede us from seeking and asserting our rights,” she said."
Indigenous peoples' rights defenders in the Philippines face repeated targeting, including killings and harassment. Most recently, on 9 February 2015, Mr Anjo Bacarisas, a staff member of RMP-NMR, was the victim of surveillance and intimidation.
