Tribes join Baragatan games

• Source: http://palawan-news.com/tribes-join-baragatan-games/
• Monday, June 19, 2017

By Kia Johanna Lamo

Five indigenous groups from 11 municipalities in Palawan joined the Tribal Olympics on Sunday, June 18, 2017 as part of the ongoing Baragatan Festival.

The competition was organized by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP-Western Command), National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

Jordan Mijares, Civil Military Operation Officer of the Third Marine Brigade, said the event aimed to showcase the indigenous communities, foster unity, and help preserve the roots of the Palaweño culture. “This event aims to show their culture and we required them to be in their tribal outfit to really show how they dress in their tribes,” Mijares said. Mijares also said that the Tribal Olympics also wants to strengthen cooperation with the tribal communities and to discourage them from being recruited by armed groups. “The IP’s (Indigenous People) are vulnerable. Usually, the NPA target them for recruitment that is why we wanted to create awareness,” said Mijares.

Cheryl Tindog, Western Command Spokesperson, said that it is always necessary to keep the IPs attached to the security forces to prevent them from getting recruited by the NPAs.

“Usually, sila ‘yung may rant — the lack of the government support for their livelihood, health — that’s why others join the NPA. But we let them know that we are a friend to them,” said Tindog.

She added that the Armed Forces of the Philippines only wants to promote peace among the community and the tribes.

“We don’t want a situation where we will be shooting our IP’s (Indigenous People) in a war. They are the roots of our culture,” she said.