'("'" . ;;..

"
Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
., Sixteenth Congress
Second Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 14 Q 9
"'
Introduced by Gabriela Women's Party
Representatives Luzviminda C. Ilagan and Emmi A. De Jftsus
A RESOLUTION CALLING ON THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS 1'0
CONDUCT AN IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION ON THE RELOCATION AND
RESETTLEMENT OF THE BADJAOS DISPLACED BY THE THREE-WEEK ARMED
CONFLICT BElWEEN THE MORO NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (MNLF) AND THE
ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES (AFP) IN ZAMBOANGA clTY IN SEPTEMBER
2013, TO THE MOUNTAINOUS AREAS Of THE PROVINCE, FAR FROM THE SEA WHICH
IS THEIR HOME AND SOURCE .OF LIVELIHOOD, THUS POSING A THREAT TO THEIR
CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE
WHEREAS, on 9 September 2013, armed conflict sparked between the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Zamboanga City.
Lasting for three (3) weeks, it affected four (6) villages - Mampang, Mariki, Rio Hondo, Sta.
Bar.P.ara,_ Sta. Catalina, and Talon-Talon - and repulted in the death of 140 people and the
injury of 264 others. More than 10,000 homes were destroyed during the conflict, while more
than 110,000 people were displaced and forced to take shelter in evacuation camps and
transitional shelters;
WHEREAS, the Human Rights_. Watch (HRW), in their April 2014 report, cla:ims that 64,000
internally displaced persons (IDPs) remain in evacuation camps along Cawa-Cawa Boulevard
and the Joaquin Enriquez Sports Complex, where evacuees continue to experience inhumane
conditions. Mqre than a hundrecfhave died due to diseases and accidents, most of whom were
children;
\ ' .
WHEREAS, a number of those displaced belong to the Badjao tribe whose way of life depends
on the sea. These so-called "sea gypsies" of Zamboanga City live in boathouses or stilt houses
in the coastal areas of Mariki and Rio Hondo, and earn a living mostly through fishing, deep sea
pearl diving, and seaweed farming;. .. .
WHEREAS, the Badjaos are prohibited from returning to their homes and sources of livelihood.
The local government of Zamboanga City has declared certain parts of the villages as "no-build,
no-return zones". These areas were also designated for .environmental protection under
Republic Act No. 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (NIPAS Act). The
Local Inter-Agency Committee (LIAC) also issued a resolution to strictly impose this policy in
Sta. Catalina, Sta. Barbara, Rio Hondo,r ana Mariki , until such aJime that a development plan
has been finalized;
'
..
WHEREAS, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer published on 26 April 2014,
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Biodiversity Management Bureau
(BMB) Director Theresa Mundita Lim said the NIPAS Act "did not necessarily forbid human
settlement in protected areas"; \
WHEREAS, hundreds of displaced Badjao; are set to be relocated to the village of
Tulungatong, Mampang, as well as to other villages far from the sea;
;r
WHEREAS, in an article published by the Pq,ilippine Daily Inquirer on 30 November 2013,
Janari Hadjirul, a leader of-the Badjao evacuees said "The government failed to consider what
the Badjao really wanted." Arpa Husaying of the Philippine Council of Samah and Badjao, said
Tulungatong, the resettlement site, is "a foreign place for the Badjao. My people cannot live in
the mountains. It's the same as putting mountain people on the sea, they cannot survive too";
"'
WHEREAS, Rio Hondo, Mariki, and 'other areas in Zamboanga City affected by the September
confl ict were designated for the construction of buildings and infrastructure, base for
the Philippine Navy, under the city government's Roadmap to Recovery and Reconstruction
(Z3R);
WHEREAS, numerous interviews with the media reveal that no genuine consultation was
conducted regarding the relocation and resettlement of the Badjaos;
WHEREAS, according to the HRW, the displaced Badjaos were -excluded in the decision-
making process for the city government's post-conflict interventions and were only informed of
the decisions regarding their relocation and resettlement
WHEREAS, media , reports indicate that the ' Badjaos "consented" to the relocation and
resettlement due to threats from armed security forces, including agents of the military and the
police;
. .
WHEREAS, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer on 13 April 2014, Badjao leaders
Asikal Maasiral and Panglima Tadjirun Sabturani said that they readily agreed to be relocated
to the bunkhouses as they "did not want their people to get hurt". The same article quoted a
certain Cql. Andrelino Colina, commander of Task Force Zamboanga, that the Badjaos who will
strongly resist "will be dealt with accordingly"; .
WHEREAS, Article XIII, Section 10 of the Philippine Constitution states that "No resettlement of
urban or rural dwellers shall be undertaken without adequate consultation with them and
communities where they are to be relocated"; '
WHEREAS, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Qisplacement states:."states are
under a particular obligation to protect against the displacement of indigenous peoples,
minorities, peasants, pastoralists and other groups with a special dependency on and
attachment to their lands." In order to protect the internally displaced persons (IDPs), the
Guiding Principles likewise states "the'free and informed consent of those to be displaced
shall be sought";
(
...
WHEREAS, the International Humanitarian Law also recognizes the right of the Badjaos as
I DPs to return to their home as soon as the reason for their displacement, in this case the
armed conflict between the MNLF and the AFP, ceases to exist;
WHEREAS, in a study by Oxfam; 92% of 899 women in evacuation centers prefer to return to
their original settlements prior to the conflict in September 2013;
WHEREAS, in an interview with the online news agency Rappler published on 21 April 2014,
evacuee Muktar Juljain, 24, said "What we want is for us to go back to Rio Hondo directly [and]
not to be shuffled in and out of tem'porary shelters." Likewise, Hamdurai Sairali said "We want
to go back to our homes. we:can'tlive the city. We. are Badjao";
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, THAT THE HOUSE
COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONDUCT AN IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION ON THE
RELOCATION AND RESETTLEMENT OF THE BADJAOS DISPLACED BY THE ,THREE-
WEEK ARMED CONFLICT BETWEEN THE MORO NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT (MNLF)
AND THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES (AFP) IN THE ZAMBOANGA-CITY IN
SEPTEMBER 2013, TO THE MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF THE PROVINCE, FAR FROM THE
SEA WHICH IS THEIR HOME AND SOURCES OF LIVELIHOOD, THUS POSING A THREAT
TO THEIR CULTURE AND WAY OF LIFE.
Adopted,
REP.
-r:Q,. I

Gabriela Women's Party
Women's Party
'
;._

(
.......