2 Teduray tribesmen killed in South Upi attacks
Peace and Order • 15:45 PM Fri Nov 6, 2020
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By:
John M. Unson
MAGUINDANAO --- Two more ethnic Teduray tribesmen were killed in separate attacks by armed groups trying to take over ancestral domains of non-Moro indigenous people in South Upi town.
Deric Jan Datuwata and Rejie Maelon were killed one after another on Wednesday and, subsequently, on Thursday in Barangays Lamud and Kuya in South Upi, Maguindanao, respectively.
Brig. Gen. Samuel Rodriguez, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said Friday he has directed the Maguindanao provincial police to probe on the incidents and prosecute the culprits once identified.
No fewer than 20 Teduray farmers were killed in a seemingly never ending cycle of attacks right in their tribal enclaves in Maguindanao province since 2018.
Datuwata and Maelon both owned farms in their tribal domains in South Upi, scenes of recurring deadly clashes since last year between native inhabitants and "newcomer" armed groups with very new Torrens titles covering lands of Tedurays.
Romy Saliga, a Teduray member of the interim Bangsamoro parliament, said Friday he has asked the Army’s 6th Infantry Division to help secure the indigenous communities in South Upi from marauding armed groups trying to control Lumad ancestral lands.
“We condemn the brutal murder of these two Tedurays,” Saliga said, referring to Datuwata and Maelon.
He said he is optimistic the Bangsamoro regional government will focus attention on the plight of the Tedurays in hinterlands in Maguindanao.