By Alma L. Tingcang
BUUG, Zamboanga Sibugay - Everyone was in a festive mood. The Subanen community, guests,
local folks had a reason to celebrate because September 30 was the 2nd
founding anniversary of the Buug Subanen Workers Association (BSWA).
No
less than Congresswoman Nancy Alaan Catamco of North Cotabato’s 2nd
District, Indigenous Peoples (IPs) committee chairman who is a Bagobo/Manobo
descendant was the keynote speaker of the occasion.
Catamco
was supposed to attend an LP convention but asked to be excused to give way to
the invitation of the IPs in Buug. “We need to unite as a people, the Lumads.
If we are not united, our culture and race will die. This is a great challenge
for us to stand as one,” she said.
The
lady lawmaker recommended a census of all Subanen in the area to have a
baseline data so that whenever government interventions are available, IPs
could be easily located and identified and they will be given immediate
assistance.
Before
the celebration started, the Daga ritual was observed led by the tribal leaders
and witnessed by Catamco, which signifies blessings for everyone who joined and
supported the celebration.
Ms.
Jocelyn M. Chua, president of the BSWA cited the overwhelming support of tribal
leaders, local official, IPs, national government agencies and other
stakeholders making the celebration memorable and enjoyable.
“I
would like to thank all of you for your untiring efforts. You have given me
inspiration, and without your support, I would not have done this on my own,”
Ms. Chua said passionately.
“It
is not easy to lead this organization. They started out with nothing, only
their hearts and minds. They had no capital. From there they moved on, with the
support of government agencies and their efforts were not in vain. The hard
work really paid off,” said Ms. Margie
Baya, chief administrative officer of
the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) representing RD Timuey Lim
P. Wong.
“These
products represent our tribe. I salute your president, Ms. Jocelyn Chua for spearheading the BSWA,” Baya said.
She
is looking forward to the day that these products will be on display at the
duty free shop in international airports. “Maybe a few years from now, we could
see Americans or foreigners buying our products here in Zamboanga Sibugay,” she
said positively.
“This
way, I could say that the Subanen people have not remained primitive, as
believed and perceived by some people. We are moving forward and we are proud
to say that our clients have not remained in the mountains,” Baya went on to
say.
She encouraged the IPs to continue
improving their product with the support of government and partner agencies.
Meanwhile,
The BSWA president Joy Chua said she is grateful for the government support in
putting up a wine and vinegar factory in barangay Manlin, this town. To date,
there are already 100 officers and members of the association and currently
producing pangase wine, special spicy vinegar,
adlai wine and corn wine.
“This
is a rare occasion that we are visited by the IPs committee chair in Congress,”
Board member Boyet Yambao said. He acknowledged that the first settlers of
Zamboanga Sibugay were Subanen so they have a right to govern the province.
Yambao
recalled that when he was a board member in 2005, when the selection process
was not systematized yet, the SP allocated funds so that there will be an IP
representative who will sit as board member. “We were the first to implement
it, nauna pa tayo sa ibang probinsiya,” Yambao quoted.
“Our
province is already 15 years old and we aim to make the province the center of
sustainable agri-industrial growth and model of good governance in the
Zamboanga Peninsula. Let us all ponder on this and think what have we done to
reach this goal,” Yambao challenged.
Yambao
called on all IPs to first unite themselves and all local officials will be
there to help and support their endeavors.
Other
guests who witnessed the celebration were Mayor Jonam Lagas, local officials,
heads of government agencies: DOLE, DOST, DAR, TESDA, PIA, NCCA, Princess
Sunita Ryde and Subanen leaders from the different towns of the province.