DIGOS CITY – The arraignment of eight individuals, including the barangay captain of Kapatagan, Digos City, accused of selling ancestral lands has been rescheduled to May 23.
In an interview on Tuesday, May 9, Rogelio Manapol Jr., tribal chieftain of the Unified Bagobo Tagabawa, said that tribal chieftains have expressed concern over the selling of ancestral lands which is banned by Republic Act 8371 or The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997.
The arraignment was originally set for May 9 but it was postponed to allow the Regional Trial Court Branch 19 to reevaluate the case if it should be heard before the environmental court.
A criminal case for violating Sections 5, 10, and 72 of RA 8371 was filed on Feb. 3 against the suspects, Barangay Chairman Juanito Morales, Rolando I. Parami, Gaudencio Brobo Sr., Ramon B. Brobo, Milagros B. Ocumen, Gaudencio B. Brobo, Allen Dale Griffin, and Lorize Quindao Lomocso.
The law prohibits, among others, the unauthorized and unlawful intrusion into the ancestral domain and imposes a corresponding penalty of imprisonment of not less than nine months but not more than 12 years or a fine of not less than P100,000 but not more than P500,000 or both.
Manapol and other tribal leaders vowed to protect their sacred ground from rampant selling of ancestral lands in Barangay Kapatagan.
He told the public that they should not buy ancestral lands for investments because ancestral domain is a sacred ground, a source of life for the indigenous communities and the next generation of Lumad.
Manapol said the scope of the ancestral lands belonging to Unified Bagobo-Tagabawa includes those within Digos City, Bansalan, Santa Cruz, portions of Sibulan, and Old Bulatukan in North Cotabato.
He said it was his late father, Rogelio Manapol, a former tribal chieftain, who reported to the National Bureau of Investigation-Davao the alleged illegal selling of ancestral lands on Sept. 23, 2022, resulting in an entrapment operation on Oct. 13, 2022 at the Kapatagan barangay hall.
He alleged that Morales facilitated the selling of ancestral lands and even used the facilities of the barangay hall for these transactions in the guise of Transfer of Rights and Improvements.
Manapol said the accused are not even members of the Bagobo Tagabawa, an indigenous cultural community in the province of Davao del Sur.
After the hearing, Morales declined to comment, saying that his case is already in court.
Matanam Adlrin Adang, a tribal chieftain of Santa Cruz, said the tribal leaders want to put a stop on the selling of ancestral lands and are hopeful for a favorable decision from the court.