SunStar February 19, 2021 The story on Lumad children “rescued” in Cebu City should go beyond the debates on the legality of the police operation, the alleged slant of the news by mainstream media and the detention of the teachers and Lumad elders. This episode is just the tip of a bigger issue the legacy of exploitation of the Lumads in Mindanao.
Unlike the Muslims who are united by religion and were able to successfully attain their pursuit of an autonomous region, the Lumads were divided by distance, language, traditions and beliefs, thus, were unable to form a united front against abuses committed to them through decades, if not a century. It was during the founding of the Lumad Mindanao Peoples Federation on June 26, 1986 in Cotabato that they found their voice and their collective grievances.