The Cordillera indigenous people declared the success of their 2-day noise barrage in the national capital launched on November 25 and 26. The action aimed to convey the region’s indigenous peoples’ grievances to government agencies, departments, and Congress. The Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) led the noise barrage.

On November 25, CPA participated in a forum at the University of the Philippines in Diliman which discussed issues faced by national minorities. Joining them were indigenous leaders from Caraga who also face the grabbing of their ancestral lands. Indigenous peoples in both regions suffer from the aggressive land and resource grabbing by foreign corporations and their local partners.

The next day, the delegation of Cordillera women and other indigenous leaders held a noise barrage in front of the offices of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

At the DOJ, they held the department accountable for the injustice in addressing human rights violations in the Cordillera.

At the NCIP, Jillie Karl Basan, an Ibanag from Kabugao, Apayao, condemned the agency for defending the Gened 1 and Gened 2 dams, which are destructive to the environment and their communities.

“You know that Kabugao does not want Gened 1 and Gened 2, but you keep coming back,” she said during the protest in front of the office. “You present us with fake benefits of these projects… You even red-tag us. You are part of the problem.”

Connie Licyag from Ifugao demand halting the construction of the Alimit Hydropower Complex in the Alimit River Basin. The project it set to cover the towns of Mayoyao, Aguinaldo, Lamut, and Lagawe in Ifugao, and some lowland areas in Isabela.

Indigenous peoples from Mt. Province opposed the impending large-scale mining operation of Cordillera Exploration Corporation and the geothermal project of Energy Development Corporation. Emerlita Razon of CPA-Mt. Province denounced the red-tagging and the filing of fabricated cases against resisting residents in the province.

“You are accomplices of large-scale mining companies. You act as brokers for these companies, facilitating the processing of their permits,” KAIABANG (CPA Benguet)’s Rima Mangili said. Indigenous peoples are the ones most harmed by the destruction caused by large-scale mining, she added.

That day, indigenous leaders also trooped to the House of Representatives in Quezon City to seek the support of legislators for the struggle for indigenous rights. Lawmakers from the Makabayan Bloc expressed their full support and shared ongoing efforts to pass laws to protect the environment and national minorities.

CPA also reported that its delegation spoke with Rep. Mauricio Domogan and Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr regarding the privatization of Baguio Public Market. They raised with them the NCIP’s manipulation to secure fake Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) related to dam and mining projects. Domogan is the congressman for Baguio’s lone district, while Dalog represents Mt. Province.

“Our noise barrage continues, and in the end, we can only rely on our own strength,” said the CPA.

On November 30, the indigenous people will join the Baha sa Luneta 2.0 anti-corruption protest.