Some 800 families belonging to the Dumagat tribe on Thursday assailed what they described as an effort that would effectively ease them out of their ancestral domain encompassing the towns of Tanay, Baras, and Antipolo.

In an interview, Alex Bendaña, in his capacity as chieftain of the Dumagat-Remontado group in Barangay San Ysiro, particularly took a swipe at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for its failure to protect the Upper Marikina River Protected Landscape (UMRPL) and their ancestral domain from land grabbers masquerading as environmental advocates.

Speaking on behalf of one of the seven Dumagat tribes living at the southernmost tip of the Sierra Madre mountain range, Bendaña expressed fear over what he claimed was an aggressive effort to shoo them away from their ‘home’ given moves to abolish the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA).

“Nabalitaan namin na may nagsusulong sa Kongreso na i-abolish ang IPRA… yun na nga lang po tanging batas na kalasag ng mga katutubo tapos aalisin pa nila,” Bendaña said.

When asked as to what particular area they are concerned with, the Dumagat-Remontado chieftain hinted at the 13,000 hectares of ancestral domain adjacent to the Marikina Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape.

Sought for further details, Bendaña pointed at large structures constructed well within both protected areas – the watershed and their domain, raising suspicion of a DENR sell-out.

“Nakakapagtaka nga lang po talaga kung paano nakakuha ng clearance sa DENR yung mga may-ari ng naglalakihang mansyon at iba pang istruktura dito sa loob ng protected area,” said Bendaña even as he cited the need for an honest-to-goodness implementation of existing laws – including IPRA and Presidential Decree 324, which segregated portions of the watershed for agroforestry.

A check on the records showed that the UMRPL alone accounts for 26,126 hectares. However, continued forest and habitat degradation is prevalent, caused mainly by illegal tree cutting, construction of residential subdivisions, and establishment of commercial establishments which effectively reduced the watershed area by at least 408 hectares a year.

As for the Dumagat-Remontado ancestral domain, the group said that their area has been slashed by more than half following the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) entered into by the late DENR Secretary Gina Lopez with the Blue Star Construction and Development Corporation (later renamed as Masungi Georeserve) in 2017.

“Wala na po kaming pupuntahan kapag nawala pa ang IPRA. Kung meron man dapat gawin ang pamahalaan, repasuhin at palakasin ang IPRA. Hindi nila yan pwede ibasura kasi wala na kami mapupuntahan… hindi kami mabubuhay kung magpapakalat-kalat kami sa Maynila at magpapalipas ng gabi sa ilalim ng tulay.”