“The sacrifices of both our fallen and living indigenous martyrs and leaders to protect and defend their ancestral land, resources and communities should always be remembered and not come to nothing. We must carry on with their fight for our rights as indigenous peoples.”
Former Ifugao Congressman Teddy Baguilat, Jr. made this challenge as indigenous peoples across the globe commemorate International IP Heroes Day today, November 10.
“I join the Panaghiusa Philippine Network in its Unity Statement observing this international event. In the Philippines, we remember most especially, Macli-ing Dulag and Petra Macliing, who opposed Marcos’s Chico River Basin Hydroelectric Dam Project. More recently, we lost Dumagat leader Nicanor Delos Santos, who protested the Kaliwa Dam, and Nelson Mallari, an Aeta hero who resisted destructive mining and eco-tourism projects in Mount Pinatubo,” he said.
Baguilat applauded the perseverance of these martyrs, together with living IP defenders, to keep and protect their ancestral domains and preserve the environment for future generations.
Baguilat aspires to be the first Cordilleran IP Senator in 2022. #
