Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Malumpine is the farthest upland sitio of Brgy.Old Bulatukan in the municipality of Makilala in Cotabato. It is literally at the foot of Mt. Apo. To reach its peak, one has to hike for 10 kilometers. The Bagobos have an average hiking speed of one kilometer per hour so that it would take them eight hours or less to reach its peak; but it would take more than 20 hours for non-hikers like me to do the same. So, why Malumpine of all places?

The tranquil village of Malumpine resting at the foothills of Mt. Apo

A Sturdy, Gentle Tribe

Subsistence farmer on his way to his upland farm

This village has its own story to tell. The Malumpine’sTagabawa community historically settled in the area in the mid-1930s. They are among the descendants of one Datu Diansig who inherited territories from Bulatukan down to Darapuay River. In the mid-1980s, at the height of militarization in Mindanao, the Bagobos living in the area left to avoid being caught in the crossfire between government forces and elements of the revolutionary movement. Suffering from the effects of internal displacement, as refugees in their own land, they migrated downstream at the national highway in Old Bulatukan. Deprived of their subsistence farms and the forests, with no sight of sustainable source of living, most adult members of the tribe rented out their labor as rubber tappers, among other available odd jobs.

Their return to Malumpine in 2002 was difficult. Without a single house left standing, they started rebuilding their homes and cultivating their farms. These new homes are more like farm huts, a place to rest after a grueling labor in their uma or upland farms. Their meager income out of seasonal upland farming is not enough to meet their basic household needs. Those who cannot afford to reconstruct their houses sacrificed a daily 15-kilometer rugged walk to and from Malumpine to tend their farms.

Datu Charlie and his children tend to their newly planted pechay

Newly harvested eggplants for supper

It was only in July 2009 that residents started living in the area.When I was in the area in May 2011, there were 17 households. According to Datu Charlie, 10 families will be returning in time for their anniversary. “Slowly, members of our tribe are rebuilding their lives from the ashes of war,” observed Datu Charlie.

Before the anti-insurgency campaign in 1980s, Malumpine has 200 family households with an average family size of six; 99 percent of which belong to the Tagabawa-Bagobo tribe. They make a living through upland farming and by rendering farm labor services to nearby barangays. The average land tilled per household is three hectares. The cash crops being planted include abaca, banana, coffee and a mix of temperate vegetables. Corn is cultivated in a few arable lands for food. But even then, income from agriculture is not enough to meet their monthly expenses for food, education and medicine.

Malumpine’s Natural Treasures

The village of Malumpine is literally situated at the boundary between Makilala, Cotabato province and the municipality of Bansalan, Davao del Sur. The Malumpine River divides the two provinces. It is situated in the southern slope and within the Mt. Apo Natural Park. Around 70 percent of its total land area is classified as forest with patches of open grasslands. It is mountainous with an elevation ranging from 600 to 1,200 meters above sea level. Its forests are rich in flora and fauna. Its cultivated/agricultural area covers more than 20 percent of the total land area. It is one of the watersheds of the province with three major river systems, springs and waterfalls.

The crystal waters of the Malumpine River

Its mountains, even after all these years, are full of indigenous forest trees, seemingly undisturbed from human intervention. DatuLasconia Enoch narrates that the Bagobos have a strong bond with nature. The cutting of trees, even for domestic housing materials, is discussed and regulated by the tribal elders. He said that the forests surrounding Malumpine is one of the most guarded forest regions in the province. The watershed that feeds the Malumpine River is the source of electricity for the village. The Renewable Energy Project was installed by the Yamog Development Center, an NGO based in Davao, through the facilitation of PRRM. It also established a similar project in Brgy. Kinarom in Magpet municipality.

Development Interventions

PRRM, in partnership with the Hugpong Kinaiyahan, Inc.,  started working in the area through the National Integrated Protected Areas Project in 1996. Community development organizers surveyed the area, with the assistance of the tribe in locating the boundaries of the declared protected area. Although the tribe has its own indigenous structure for resolving conflicts, a different structure was needed for community development initiatives. This led to the formation of the Malumpine Makilala Tribal Association or MAMATA, which serves as the tribe’s arm in pursuing community development. With the World Bank-funded Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development Protection Project, the tribe through the MAMATA was able to comprehensively plan for the development and protection of its ancestral domain. It also paved the way for the processing of its Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title or CADT, a legal instrument placing ownership of the land to the tribe.

Water is converted into energy through the powerhouse, providing electricity to Malumpine households

In 2010, PRRM, with funding from the European Union’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), selected Malumpine as one of its project sites. The EIDHR-funded project seeks to build a constituency of informed, active and effective citizens’ participation in local governance, particularly in the electoral process. At the local level, it seeks to build capable, responsive and accountable local governments effectively delivering services and enabling all citizens to participate substantively in decision-making processes. It also seeks to determine the compatibility/cultural sensitivity of an automated electoral exercise with the leadership selection processes and systems of indigenous peoples (IPs).

The Manabos of Malumpine, Makilala in Cotabato province have strengthened their tribal cooperation and are regularly accessing basic social services through the MAMATA. In an interview with DatuEnoch, he shared, “Nag-meeting ang mga officers ng Mamata. Pagkatapos, nagpatawag kami ng asembliya, doon sa asembliya gipa-ratify namin sa mga tao kung ano ang balak para suportahan kami. So yun ang process namin na nagawa. Hindi lang ang mga officers ang magdesisyon. Lahat ng doon sa community doon sa ancestral domain, yun ang magdesisyon.”

Capacity building activities are continuously being provided to the MAMATA leaders and members; these are in the areas of leadership and confidence-building, advocacy, claim-making, and livelihood trainings particularly relating to agriculture. The municipal government of Makilala under the leadership of Mayor Rudy Caoagdan established an IP desk as a “one-stop shop”, where all IPs can present their immediate concerns and needs. These are just some of the mechanisms that have been established to sustain the project gains.

Development aggression projects – mining and commercial farm expansion – continue to push IPs further away from their lands, homes and sources of livelihoods.  For now, at least, the Bagobos of Malumpine are rebuilding their homes, cultivating their once-abandoned lands, sending their children to school, fortifying their ranks, and caring for their forests and water resources.

"The Conrado Benitez Institute for Sustainability (CBIS) offers a range of sustainable development courses. Enroll now!"

Latest Articles

• Bill seeks stronger social enterprises
• Japan Assists in the Improvement of Livelihood of Poor Farmers in Nueva Vizcaya
• Japan Assists in the Improvement of Livelihood of Poor Farmers in Nueva Vizcaya
• PRRM’s 60th Anniversary Celebration Schedule of Activities
• PRRM President speaks at the UNDP Experts Roundtable and South-South Exchange Forum
• NIUGAN Quezon Optimistic Following Coco Levy Recovery Ruling
• Forum deliberates on the sustainability of China’s development process
• KASALIKAPA General Assembly forms PO Leaders Council