A PLEA FOR SOLIDARITY OF THE SAMBILOG - BALIK BUGSUK MOVEMENT WITH THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
We strongly condemn the accusations claiming that the SAMBILOG - Balik Bugsuk Movement (SBBM) is undermining a "long history of respect and unity" due to alleged "misconduct." SBBM is an organization of victims of corporate land grabbing and Martial Law abuses. Its members include Indigenous Palaw’an and Cagayanin from Bugsuk and Pandanan, Molbog from Mariahangin, and non-Indigenous fishers and farmers. The Balik Bugsuk Movement was formed in 1986 after the EDSA Revolution to resist corporate land grabbing. In 2000, SAMBILOG was established to combat Jewelmer Corporation’s “water grabbing.” By 2013, the two groups merged, creating the SAMBILOG - Balik Bugsuk Movement.
For 38 years, SBBM has championed justice—from opposing forced evictions in 1974 to pushing for transitional justice post-EDSA. Yet, after five decades, there remains no investigation, prosecution, or reparations for the victims of land-grabbing in Bugsuk. The 1987 Constitution’s provisions on agrarian reform, the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), and the Fisheries Code remain unfulfilled.
SBBM neither accepts favors, salaries, nor incentives from corporations oppressing Indigenous and local communities. It remains independent and committed to justice through active non-violence. Yet, corporate tactics of “divide and conquer” continue to sow division among communities, enabling their control. Instead of protecting Indigenous victims of threats and violence, some representatives side with corporations, supported by local governments and agencies.
We ask: Where was the IPMR of Balabac on June 29, 2024, when armed men invaded and fired at residents of Mariahangin, mostly Indigenous Molbog families?
Currently, SBBM members are fasting outside the Department of Agrarian Reform to urge Sec. Estrella to reinstate the Notice of Coverage (NOC) for lands in Bugsuk, Pandanan, and Mariahangin.
The systematic efforts by corporations like SMC and Jewelmer to legitimize their control by using supposed Indigenous representatives, like Ariel Monsarapa—appointed by Mayor Shuaib Astami, who violated IPRA in 2011—must be challenged.
SBBM is not an enemy of Indigenous communities but an ally in the fight for justice. The baseless accusations against us aim to weaken our advocacy. Still, we remain steadfast in defending the rights of all, regardless of ethnicity.
Our call is clear: reinstate the NOC for the 10,821-hectare land in Bugsuk. Remove armed men from Mariahangin. We urge President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to direct the Department of Agrarian Reform to act swiftly.
Respectfully,
