Situation of Lumads in the Philippines
There is no universally-agreed description, and there is still an on-going debate on the
precise definition of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples have argued against the adoption of formal
definition at the international level, stressing the need for flexibility and for respecting the desire and the
right of each Indigenous People to define themselves. Acccording to Martinez Cobo (1982), Indigenous
communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-
colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the
societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sector of
the society and are determined to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral
territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples in accordance with
their own cultural patterns, social institutions, and legal system.
Lumad (“born of the earth”) is the Visayan term for “native” or “indigenous”. The
same term has been coined and claimed by indigenous rights advocates and the Lumad themselves since
the late ‘70s to collectively refer to the non- Christian and non-Muslim Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao.
The term “Lumad” is short for “Katawhang Lumad” or indigenous peoples officially adopted by the
delegates of the Lumad Mindanao Peoples Federation founding assembly on June 26 1986 in Kidapawan,
North Cotabato. The birth of the organization trailblazed the campaign in defending Lumad’s right to
ancestral domain and self-determination. Since then, the term Lumad has been used as an expression of
unity among the diverse ethnolinguistic communities in Mindanao, fighting as on in the defense of their
rights especially their ancestral domains. The Lumad is composed of 18 ethnolinguistic tribes: Ata
, Manobo, Bagobo, Barwaon, B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya,
Mangguwagan, Manobo,Mansaka, Matigsalog, Subanen, Tagakaolo, T’boli, Teduary and Ubo.
They constitute roughly 10% of the population of Mindanao.
Stewards of Mindanao’s remaining lands and forests, the Lumad have been subjected to
centuries of brutal and painful history in defending their lands. They have gone a systematic policy of
driving them out of Mindanao in where they are now a minority. They are regarded as second-classes
citizens, whose legitimate struggle for land and the environment fall on deaf ears, dismissed as plain
nuisance or, worse, as a mere criminal act, or an act against the state. They suffered violence in the name
of pacification so that the resources on their land can be utilized not for their benefit but for entrenched
political and economic interests of the past colonial rulers. They have been marginalized with the right to
self-determination and exclusion confront them thereby narrowing their choices.
The discrimination of the Lumad communities has affected their access to social
services– health, education, infrastructures. Despite the income projected from the companies operating in
their ancestral lands, they are the least served by the local government units and agencies. Moreover, the
Philippine justice system is not accommodating to the Lumad. In some cases, they are not admitted into
government offices simply because they are not properly dressed. Often, they need non-governmental
organizations and volunteer individuals to help them navigate around government establishments.
The ancestral domains of Lumad people in Mindanao sit in vast natural resources.
Eighty percent (80%) of the 131 mining agreements and permits in Mindanao are located in Lumad areas.
The Lumads’ resistance to destructive “development” agendas imposed on their territories resulted to the
militarization and displacement of their communities.
1
There is no universally-agreed description, and there is still an on-going debate on the
precise definition of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples have argued against the adoption of formal
definition at the international level, stressing the need for flexibility and for respecting the desire and the
right of each Indigenous People to define themselves. Acccording to Martinez Cobo (1982), Indigenous
communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-
colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the
societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sector of
the society and are determined to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral
territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples in accordance with
their own cultural patterns, social institutions, and legal system.
Lumad (“born of the earth”) is the Visayan term for “native” or “indigenous”. The
same term has been coined and claimed by indigenous rights advocates and the Lumad themselves since
the late ‘70s to collectively refer to the non- Christian and non-Muslim Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao.
The term “Lumad” is short for “Katawhang Lumad” or indigenous peoples officially adopted by the
delegates of the Lumad Mindanao Peoples Federation founding assembly on June 26 1986 in Kidapawan,
North Cotabato. The birth of the organization trailblazed the campaign in defending Lumad’s right to
ancestral domain and self-determination. Since then, the term Lumad has been used as an expression of
unity among the diverse ethnolinguistic communities in Mindanao, fighting as on in the defense of their
rights especially their ancestral domains. The Lumad is composed of 18 ethnolinguistic tribes: Ata
, Manobo, Bagobo, Barwaon, B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya,
Mangguwagan, Manobo,Mansaka, Matigsalog, Subanen, Tagakaolo, T’boli, Teduary and Ubo.
They constitute roughly 10% of the population of Mindanao.
Stewards of Mindanao’s remaining lands and forests, the Lumad have been subjected to
centuries of brutal and painful history in defending their lands. They have gone a systematic policy of
driving them out of Mindanao in where they are now a minority. They are regarded as second-classes
citizens, whose legitimate struggle for land and the environment fall on deaf ears, dismissed as plain
nuisance or, worse, as a mere criminal act, or an act against the state. They suffered violence in the name
of pacification so that the resources on their land can be utilized not for their benefit but for entrenched
political and economic interests of the past colonial rulers. They have been marginalized with the right to
self-determination and exclusion confront them thereby narrowing their choices.
The discrimination of the Lumad communities has affected their access to social
services– health, education, infrastructures. Despite the income projected from the companies operating in
their ancestral lands, they are the least served by the local government units and agencies. Moreover, the
Philippine justice system is not accommodating to the Lumad. In some cases, they are not admitted into
government offices simply because they are not properly dressed. Often, they need non-governmental
organizations and volunteer individuals to help them navigate around government establishments.
The ancestral domains of Lumad people in Mindanao sit in vast natural resources.
Eighty percent (80%) of the 131 mining agreements and permits in Mindanao are located in Lumad areas.
The Lumads’ resistance to destructive “development” agendas imposed on their territories resulted to the
militarization and displacement of their communities.
1
