Eufemia Cullamat Banned in Surigao Sur for Being a Threat to Indigenous People
Bayan Muna party-list representative Eufemia Cullamat was banned from entering Surigao del Sur over claims that she is a threat to indigenous people.
Surigao del Sur’s Indigenous Cultural Communities/ Indigenous Peoples (ICC/ IP) filed a joint resolution calling for Eufemia Cullamat’s deportation. Cullamat is a member of the Bayan Muna party-list group in the Philippine House of Representatives for the 18th Congress.
In a virtual media briefing of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), the Provincial Tribal Council (PTC) comprising the Manobo, Mandaya, and Mamanwa ICC/IPs announced the resolution they filed to denounce Cullamat. Cullamat was also designated as a persona non grata in their community.
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According to Datu Rico Maca, San Miguel town’s Municipal Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative and municipal tribal chieftain, the resolution received support from 126 IP tribes around the country. Cullamat, according to Maca, is a threat to their youth’s future.
“Kaya kami dun sa unified resolution dito sa Caraga, nagpalabas kami ng persona non grata against kay Eufemia Cullamat na talagang hindi siya welcome dito sa aming ancestral domain dahil siya pala ang banta sa kinabukasan ng aming kabataan dito,” said Maca.
He went on to say that several tribe chiefs and members had been killed, but Cullamat simply wanted justice for the New People’s Army followers who had died (NPA). Leftist groups, terrorists, and their allies have been manipulating, misrepresenting, and tyranny ICCs and IPs in the Caraga Region for decades, according to the resolution.
The communist group also has authority over the tribes and uses their ancestral properties while ostensibly assisting in the development of IP areas. Cullamat is also accused of abusing his position in Congress to further his own and the Communist Party of the Philippines’ interests (CPP).
“Eufemia Cullamat, the representative of Bayan Muna, does not represent the ICCs/IPs of Caraga Region. Her acts and deeds in Congress do not represent the aspirations of the ICCs/IPs,” the resolution stated.
The group also announces its entire support for the Chair of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Secretary Allen Capuyan, and Regional Director Atty. Marlon Bosantog, who has worked tirelessly to promote the rights and welfare of ICCs/ IPs. The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization in the Philippines and other countries.
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