LIBERAL MP BILL BLAIR PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR CAMPAIGN AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED ON LUMADS

By LR Queano-Esguerra
Scarborough-Canada
December 2, 2015


Scarborough Southwest Liberal MP Bill Blair declared his commitment to advocate for the beleaguered indigenous people of Mindanao after listening to discussions after an ecumenical service in Toronto held for the Lumads. 

Organized by the International Coalition on Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Canada committee, the service was held last November 29 from 3pm-5pm at St. Dunstans Church in Scarborough. The service, led by Rev. Irene Ty of the United Church of Canada (UCC), was also concelebrated by Rev. Bob McElhinney of the UCC and Rev. Dante Coloma of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI).

The ecumenical service was followed by a one-hour community discussion on Lumad issues. There were cultural presentations and a short film screening on mining. A question and answer portion was also facilitated by Connie Sorio of KAIROS Canada. The Filipino community and guests from other communities participated in the discussion of the human rights violations committed against the Lumad people, including the public executions of community leaders, the killing of advocates, and the massive displacement of indigenous communities in Mindanao.

Member of Parliament Bill Blair expressed his concerns on the plight of the Lumads and thanked the organizers for helping him understand the human rights violations being done against the indigenous people in the Philippines.

          "Certainly it's an interesting opportunity to learn about the concerns of the Lumad people in the Philippines and about the support they are getting from the Filipino community and I hope to learn more and we have made arrangements to do that", Blair said in a brief interview with Radyo Migrante.

MP Bill Blair said that the human rights concerns of the Lumads are as important a discussion as those issues concerning the First Nations of Canada and of other countries. As MP Blair learned, currently there are several Canadian mining companies operating in the Philippines, most of which are located in the southern part of Mindanao.

"One of my responsibilities as Member of Parliament is to support and serve the community who helped me get elected and to listen to their concerns and do everything I can to address those concerns. But again I need to have  a better understanding of exactly what can and should be done by the Canadian government regarding the human rights issues and I pledge to work with the Filipino community so we can address those issues and learn from these issues", Blair added.

The event was sponsored by the ICHRP Canada committee, in cooperation with Migrante Canada, the Philippine Advancement Through Arts and Culture (PATAC) and KAIROS Canada. It was held as part of the worldwide campaign for the protection of the indigenous Lumad people and their ancestral lands against the destructive mining companies and the escalating militarization in Mindanao. To date, at least 13 people have been killed, including the murdered school director and two Lumad leaders in Surigao del Sur.

Advocacy groups have been calling on the Philippine government to immediately pull out military troops from Lumad territories and dismantle paramilitary groups operating in the Lumad communities. These demands were echoed in the Open Letter sent to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, a copy of which was sent to MP Justin Trudeau before the APEC summit in Manila. Bern Jagunos coordinator of ICHRP Canada also sent a copy of the said open letter as well as background material on the campaign to MP Bill Blair in response to the latter's request. ###