Missionaries expressed outrage yesterday over a recent spate of deadly attacks by a paramilitary group on tribal villages in Mindanao. The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP), said it was appalled by the attacks, the most recent of which was on a Higaonon community in Agusan del Sur province on June 30. “These incidents clearly show what the government means by ‘development,’” they said in a statement. “We condemn the continuing repression of indigenous peoples. We condemn the attack on a community that has been trying to develop through peace-building efforts,” the group added. The missionaries reported that a paramilitary group called the “Wild Dogs” killed tribal leader Arpe Belayong and his son-in-law, Soltie “Amang” Daguingan. The tribal leader’s children, Michelle, 14, and Longlong, 6, were wounded in the attack. Belayong was the younger brother of Mampaagi Belayong who was killed in an earlier attack. Both actively campaigned against mining operations in tribal communities. The RMP said members of the “Wild Dogs” have been trying to force communities to acknowledge a “pro-mining” leader to be the head of their tribe in an effort to get their land. “Communities, however, have refused to give up their ancestral domains,” the group said.
