Press Release - Dela Rosa: Manifestation

SENATOR RONALD "BATO" DELA ROSA
Indigenous Peoples Day
Privilege Speech: Senator Loren Legarda
August 12, 2024

Mr. President, it is my honor to stand and express my support for the cause being advanced by the good lady Senator from Antique, Senator Loren Legarda. The cultural communities of my beloved Mindanao have even adopted her, naming her as "Bae Matumpis," which translates to 'the one who takes care.' Indeed, Mr. President, down to the last word that she utters, Senator Legarda ensures that it is her care that shines through, be it for the less fortunate, or the environment, and yes, for our indigenous peoples.

Inclusivity. Justice. Ever since the approval of the law in 2015, the celebration of the National Indigenous Peoples Day, as declared by Republic Act No. 10689, has taught all of us to remember, with the rest of the world, what these words truly mean. Bilang anak ng Mindanao, tahanan ng tri-people, buong puso ko pong naiintindihan kung bakit kinakailangan ang tunay na hustisya at pagkakapantay-pantay, sa likod ng ating mga pagkakaiba. More importantly, I understand and I know how important it is that justice and equality are fostered and promoted, without undermining, or canceling out, anyone's rights.

Last week, your Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs conducted a hearing on the sinister recruitment of our youth into left-leaning groups, that espouse the overthrow of the government through the armed struggle. It broke my heart, as a son of Mindanao, to hear how our indigenous peoples, especially their leaders, were taken advantage of, to become mouthpieces and armed fighters of a lost cause.

And so, as we celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, I hope we also stay true to our commitment to justice. The kind of justice that protects culture, land, and identities. The kind that does not aggrandize itself by securing blind adherence to the pseudoreligion that is communism. The kind that does not turn them into rebels and enemies of the State. The kind that Senator Loren, our Bae Matumpis, puts forward -- justice that truly, wholeheartedly, takes care.

Thank you, Mr. President.