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Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City

., Sixteenth Congress

Second Regular Session

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.

14

Q

9

'

Introduced by Gabriela Women's Party

Representatives Luzviminda C. Ilagan and Emmi A.

De

Jftsus

A RESOLUTION CALLING ON THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS 1 0

CONDUCT AN IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION ON THE RELOCATION AND

RESETTLEMENT OF THE BADJAOS DISPLACED BY THE THREE-WEEK ARMED

CONFLICT

BElWEEN

THE MORO NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (MNLF) AND THE

ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES (AFP) IN ZAMBOANGA

clTY

IN SEPTEMBER

2013,

TO

THE MOUNTAINOUS AREAS O f THE PROVINCE, FAR FROM THE SEA WHICH

IS THEIR HOME AND SOURCE .OF LIVELIHOOD, THUS POSING A THREAT TO THEIR

CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE

WHEREAS, on 9 September 2013, armed conflict sparked between the Moro National

Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Armed Forces

of

the Philippines (AFP) in Zamboanga City.

Lasting for three (3) weeks, it affected four (6) villages - Mampang, Mariki, Rio Hondo, Sta.

Bar.P.ara,_Sta. Catalina, and Talon-Talon - and repulted in the death of 140 people and the

injury

of

264 others. More than 10,000 homes were destroyed during the conflict, while more

than 110,000 people were displaced and forced to take shelter in evacuation camps and

transitional shelters;

WHEREAS, the Human Rights _ Watch (HRW), in their April 2014 report, cla:ms that 64,000

internally displaced persons (IDPs) remain in evacuation camps along Cawa-Cawa Boulevard

and the Joaquin Enriquez Sports Complex, where evacuees continue to experience inhumane

conditions. Mqre than a hundrecfhave died due to diseases and accidents, most of whom were

children;

\

' .

WHEREAS, a number

of

those displaced belong to the Badjao tribe whose way of life depends

on

the sea. These so-called sea gypsies of Zamboanga City live in boathouses or stilt houses

in the coastal areas of Mariki and Rio Hondo, and earn a living mostly through fishing, deep sea

pearl diving, and seaweed farming ;. .

WHEREAS, the Badjaos are prohibited from returning to their homes and sources of livelihood.

The local government of Zamboanga City has declared certain parts

of

the villages

as

no-build,

no-return zones . These areas were also designated for .environmental protection under

Republic Act

No.

7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (NIPAS Act). The

Local Inter-Agency Committee (LIAC) also issued a resolution to strictly impose this policy

in

Sta. Catalina, Sta. Barbara, Rio Hondo,rana Mariki , until such

aJime

that a development plan

has been finalized;

'

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WHEREAS in

an interview with the

Ph

ilippine Daily Inquirer published on 26 April 2014,

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Biodiversity Management Bureau

(BMB) Director Theresa Mundita Lim said the NIPAS Act did not necessarily forbid human

settlement in protected areas ; \

WHEREAS

hundreds of displaced Badjao;

~ m i l i e s

are set to be relocated to the village of

Tulungatong, Mampang, as well as to other villages far from the

sea;

;r

WHEREAS

in an article published by the Pq,ilippine Daily Inquirer on 30 November 2013,

Janari Hadjirul, a leader of-the Badjao evacuees said The government failed t consider what

the Badjao really wanted. Arpa Husaying of the Philippine Council of Samah and Badjao, said

Tulungatong, the resettlement site, is a foreign place for the Badjao. y people cannot live

in

the mountains. It's the same as putting mountain people on the

sea,

they cannot survive too ;

'

WHEREA

S Rio Hondo, Mariki, and 'other areas in Zamboanga City affected by the September

confl ict were designated for the construction of buildings and infrastructure,

i n c l u d i n g

base for

the Philippine Navy, under t

he

city government's Roadmap to Recovery and Reconstruction

(Z3R);

WHEREAS

numerous interviews with the media reveal that no genuine consultation was

conducted regarding the relocation and resettlement of the Badjaos;

WHEREAS

according to the HRW, the displaced Badjaos were -excluded in the decision

making process for the city government's post-conflict interventions and were only informed of

the decisions regarding their relocation and resettlement

WHEREAS media ,reports indicate that the ' Badjaos consented to the re location and

resettlement due to threats from armed security forces, including agents of the military

and

the

police;

. .

WHEREAS

in an

interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer on 13 April 2014, Badjao leaders

Asikal Maasiral and Panglima Tadjirun Sabturani said that they readily agreed to be relocated

to the bunkhouses as they did not want their people to get hurt . The same article quoted a

certain Cql. Andrelino Colina, commander of Task Force Zamboanga, that the Badjaos who will

strongly resist will

be

dealt wi

th

accordingly ; .

WHEREAS

Article XIII, Section 10 of the Philippine Constitution states that No resettlement of

urban or rural dwellers shall be undertaken without adequate consultation with them and

t h ~

communities where they are to be relocated ; '

WHEREA

S the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Qisplacement states

states are

under a particular obligation to protect against the displacement of indigenous peoples,

minorities , peasants, pastoralists and other groups with a special dependency on and

attachment to their lands. In order to protect the internally displaced persons (IDPs), the

Guiding Principles likewise states t ~ t the'free and informed consent of those to be displaced

shall be sought ;

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WHEREAS the International Humanitarian Law also recognizes the right of the Badjaos as

IDPs to return to their home as soon as the reason for their displacement, in this case the

armed conflict between the MNLF and the AFP, ceases to exist;

WHEREAS in

a study by Oxfam; 92% of 899 women

in

evacuation centers prefer to return

to

their original settlements prior to the conflict in September 2013;

WHEREAS

in an interview with the online news agency Rappler published on

21

April 2014,

evacuee Muktar Juljain, 24, said What we want is for us to go back to Rio Hondo directly [and]

not to be shuffled in and out

of

tem'porary shelters. Likewise, Hamdurai Sairali said We want

to go back to our homes. we :can'tlive the city.

We

.are Badjao ;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

S

IT

IS

HEREBY RESOLVED THAT THE HOUSE

COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONDUCT AN IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION ON THE

RELOCATION AND RESETTLEMENT OF THE BADJAOS DISPLACED Y THE ,THREE

WEEK ARMED CONFLICT BETWEEN THE MORO NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (MNLF)

AND THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES (AFP) IN THE Z MBO NG -CITY

IN

SEPTEMBER 2013, TO THE MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF THE PROVINCE, FAR FROM THE

SEA WHICH IS THEIR HOME AND SOURCES OF LIVELIHOOD, THUS POSING A THREAT

TO

THEIR

CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE

Adopted,

REP.

= D A ~ I ~

-

r:Q .

I

R E P ~ ~ ~ ~ s ~ s

Gabriela Women's Party

~ a b r i e l a Women's Party

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