Development Story

Of Conflicts and Adversities:

Chronicles of Hope for the Walitan Tribe

Rogerson Dennis Fernandez

Sadanga, MT. PROVINCE – Cultural communities account for the insurmountable character of the Filipino in all facets of human existence. The indigenous fiber is seamed deeply within the weaves of the tribal civilizations in the mighty Cordilleras. As development makes it ascend in the lives of these communities, there are the critical slopes that will define the entire climb – challenges brought by age, by living traditions…

The Tribal Sadanga

The Municipality of Sadanga is home to four indigenous tribes that have persistently preserved their ethnic heritage. Nestled in the Mountain Provinces, Sadanga remains to be an underdeveloped town, with resources hanging in scarcity and its barangays living in near isolation.

Sadanga is inhabited by the Awangan tribe in the barangays of Bekigan and Belwang, the Mason-ay in the barangays of Betwagan and Anabel, the Ayuma in Poblacion, Demang and Sacasacan, and the Walitan of Saclit. The existence of these tribal groups embodies the rich cultural heritage of the municipality. Moreover, it serves a light to the present Sadanga community with the cultural practices still aflame in the hearts of its people. While the community undergoes rapid change brought by technological and social exchanges, there are practices, traditions that have evolved to create difficulties in people’s quest for true progress. Challenges continue to unfold in the town’s history, like those of conflicts and adversities in the chronicles of the Walitan tribe.

The Foshor

Tribal communities narrate records of foshor (tribal conflict) which in the past resulted to full scale tribal wars in the absence of a resolution by peaceful means. The Sadanga culture has raised its men to be warriors; a belief that has survived to the present times. In the current Walitan-Ayuma foshor, two lives were claimed from each of the conflicting tribes due to a violation of an existing Pagta (peace pact). The agreement was made from an earlier water conflict in the last decade. The Pagta, which ended the tribal hostilities, provided that no further damages should be committed by both sides. Early this decade however, with a murder of an Ayuma man allegedly by a Walitan, a foshor rose anew.

Research conducted through the participatory assessment in 2006 revealed “there is existing perception on Walitan (the Saclit tribe) being different – that is, it does not belong to Sadanga.” Historically, this tribe has engaged war (with the other three) more often than any of the Sadanga tribes. “This created the marginalization of the barangay, at least from how the Saclit people were perceived by the other tribes,” Former Mayor Gabino Ganggangan said. Because of the conflict, people of Saclit could not enter Poblacion (and vice versa). The people’s social and economic lives faced no hope as the two tribes remained estranged. The geographic location of the barangay has greatly aggravated the people’s stature. And while the foshor lives on, the people of barangay Saclit remained deprived of social services, its development hampered.

KALAHI-CIDSS and the Seeds of Hope

In 2003, Kapit-bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (The KALAHI-CIDSS Project) made frontiers in bringing the seeds of hope for the Sadanga communities. Identified as one of the poorest in the Mountain Provinces, the municipality went through the community-driven development process, an action that has contributed to the mitigation of the growing foshor amongst the Walitan and the Ayuma.

Measures to control the foshor were reflected in the venues and activities of the Project. Municipal inter-barangay forums (MIBF) were held in neutral grounds at first and then, finally in Poblacion. At a gradual pace, the hostility of the conflicting tribes started to be pacified. The capability-building activities enabled the participants from both barangays to start mingling with each other again, setting aside the issue. Volunteers from both barangays even said in a training, “Uray a nu agko-conflict tayu, bay-an tay pay lang.”(Let’s set aside the conflict and work.) From being aloof to each other, the Walitan and Ayuma people were able to fill the cracks in their relationship.

KALAHI-CIDSS started to bring the barangays together in one goal – that is to bring to their homes the development they need. Non-prioritized for two cycles, the Walitan has started to win back the faith of their fellow Sadanga tribes. Without losing hope, they were able to implement a drainage canal, the first cycle three project to be completed. The KALAHI-CIDSS process diverted their attention from the foshor to community development work. Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer Beatrice Farong-ey said, “the Project played a big role in mitigating the worsening scenario of the Walitan-Ayuma conflict.” It (KALAHI-CIDSS) improved the relationship of the barangays with each other, and the barangays with the municipal officials. Inter-tribal consultations were also conducted to help facilitate the peace process. “The MIBF was an avenue for inter-tribal ‘meeting’,” Farong-ey added.

Social Inclusion and the Way to Peden

The circumstances involving the Saclit people with their fellow Sadanga tribes and the participation of its people in the community gave way for the approval of a Social Inclusion Project in their barangay. Under the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF), the barangay is set to promote inter-tribal harmony for mutual development. The Project’s components include values formation, women empowerment, capability-building, income generation, establishment of a community rice mill, and establishment of communication technology systems. These components reveal how the people of Saclit struggle to regain confidence. Moreover, the Project shall again provide a venue for the tribes to undergo the process of conflict resolution – they way to Peden (peace process/pact). According to the MSWDO, the conflict resolution hinges in the arrest of the Walitan suspect on the latest fatality. From thereon, further negotiations would take off.

With the Social Inclusion Project on-going, the Saclit people continue to bring hope for their barangay. This intervention which started with KALAHI-CIDSS will not only create opportunities in bringing peace to Sadanga but will begin the process of change. By establishing structures such as rice mills and tribal centers, truly, the Walitan tribe is on its way to genuine peace and development. #