TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Against the backdrop of the drawn out and bloody border war of the Betwagan tribe of Sadanga, Mtn. Province and the Butbut tribe of Tinglayan, Kalinga, one of Kalinga’s peacemaking mainstays is proposing that disputed areas just be declared by the government as reservations possibly to be turned to watershed to benefit the wider community.
Luis Aoas, a religious minister and a leader of the Basao tribe of Tinglayan, explained that the proposal was not borne of frustration but is part of the continuing search for a solution that could put an end to the age-old problem of tribes fighting over land.
“It is just a suggestion which, even if found not to be feasible in the end, may help in the exploration of other solutions. What is important is it does not violate any law of the government,” Aoas said.
Aoas said that the main purpose of his proposal is to eliminate the cause of the conflict and thereby bring about peace between the former tribal foes who then will become part of the effort to develop the disputed area into a watershed in the event it is viable for that purpose.
Citing the case of the Betwagan and Butbut where the bone of contention is forested, Aoas said that if the solution is applied, members of both tribe may still benefit from the forest resources but this time following government rules and likewise, there will be a sustained cooperative effort to improve the watershed.
Aoas said that the objective is to stop hostilities over land and boost environmental protection.
He informed that the decades old dispute between the Butbuts and Betwagans had already claimed many lives.
Aoas, one of Kalinga’s most sought after peacemakers, said that the effort to make peace between tribes at war over land is very difficult because for one, boundaries of tribal territories are not technically defined and there is also the inclusion of land area as among the basis in the determination of internal revenue allotment (IRA), the lifeblood of local government units (LGUs) in the Cordillera highlands.
Aoas sees in the proposal a new channel for the usual cooperation of national government agencies specially the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and concerned local government units (LGUs) whenever conflicts erupt between tribes in Mtn. Province and in Kalinga.
“The declaration of the disputed area as a reservation and its protection and sustainable development to maximize its benefits to the immediate and larger community is a heightened assertion of government role and authority in the keeping of peace and promotion of development in the susceptible areas,” Aoas said.
Aoas observed that the line agencies and LGUs always get out of their way to help find a solution and restore the peace whenever tribes go for each other’s throats over land so they might as well find a solution that could set the tribes free from the practice.
Explaining the cultural context of his proposal, Aoas said that the cause of the feud between Betwagan and Butbut being the bugis or tribal territory, the problem is tribal in nature and based on precedents, not even the government can stop cultural tribal conflicts in the area.
Aoas cited several cases when government efforts to restore peace between warring tribes failed such as when then President Ferdinand Marcos hosted in Malacanang the restoration of the bodong or peace pact of the Basaos and the Butbuts which, according to him, was violated upon the return of the representatives to the province.
Aoas recalled that it was only later when the two tribes agreed to exchange sipats or peace tokens that there was an immediate ceasefire and eventual peace.
“Then there was also another example when some generals, governors, and high ranking officials invited Butbut and Sadanga elders to have a bodong in Banaue. It was violated right at the middle of the peace negotiation when someone from Sadanga stabbed the late Macliing Dulag. Several months after the Banaue incident, sipats (peace tokens) were exchanged and peace was restored between the two tribes,” Aoas related.
Aoas also recalled the time in the 70s when then Governor Amado Almazan got tired urging the Butbuts and Sumadels to stop their bloody tribal conflict and was already planning to call in the Army and Philippine Constabulary to compel the two tribes to make peace.
“Knowing that such solution will not work, the late journalist Augustus Saboy and I volunteered to mediate. The bodong was restored which until now the two tribes honor,” Aoas narrated.
He also recalled that during the peak of the insurgency in the province back in the 70s to the early 90s, there was an agreement among the tribes that insurgency-related violence are not covered by the bodong but after New People’s Army lost control of the area, the victims were avenged giving rise to tribal wars.
“This means that when the problem is tribal such as conflicting claims over ancestral domains, not even the powerful United Nation can initiate the restoration of peace because it is not their expertise. It is the exclusive role of the elders as past experiences would show,” Aoas explained.
The peacemaker said that there are cultural usages observed in the process of restoring the peace among the bodong-practicing communities in Kalinga and Mtn. Province only the members specially the elders know.
Aoas said that with the solution he is proposing, the government will avoid the mistake of the past where they tried to impose peace on warring tribes but this time, will take out of the picture the cause of the conflict.
“The two tribes will not lose the land. The government will not take away the land except that this time, there will be rules in the usage of the resources. What is important is the war will stop. Ways will be found to maintain the peace which may mean fencing the disputed area or providing forest guards,” Aoas said.
Because of the strained relationships of the two tribes, the priority after the cause of the conflict is taken out of the picture is make the two tribes smoke the peace pipe through the restoration of their severed bodong and here, the government and other outside entities could play an active part in the negotiation but should do it diplomatically and not dictate on the warring tribes, Aoas explained.
Aoas informed that apart from that involving the Betwagans and Butbuts, there are at least four other known unsettled land disputes involving tribes in the province namely the Tinglayan vs Tulgao, Guinaang vs Balatoc, Balatoc vs Banao and Basao vs Dacalan.
On the question of whether his tribe would agree to forego the area the tribe and Dacalan are both claiming, Aoas said the key is if the elders and the barangay officials support the idea, then he does not see anyone in the tribe holding out.
He said that if the government adopts the idea and is sincere and determined to pursue it, it would succeed because he could not see Kalingas opposing the government.
Aoas said that the area Basao and Dacalan are feuding over could consist hundreds of hectares of grazing and hunting ground where deer and other animal species which no longer exist in other parts of the country could still be found.**By Estanislao C. Albano, Jr.
