KATRIBU urges the Supreme Court to learn from the council of elders' justice system legacy

Press Release | March 23, 2010 | Davao City --- The Supreme Court could take some lessons in the Indigenous Peoples' cultural practices  to untangle itself from the furor caused by its recent opinion that the judiciary is exempted from  constitutional ban on Pres. Gloria Arroyo's appointments, according to the Katribu Partylist.

“The people's opposition to the Supreme Court's obvious act of going around the law to accommodate  Arroyo's electoral agenda is legitimate. We instead urge the SC to learn from the lumads' ways of  consensual decision making and a democratic way of resolving dissenting opinions by upholding the  interest of the people rather than hiding behind the technicalities of the law,” said Diolito Diarog,  KATRIBU Partylist Coordinator who comes the Guiangan – Bagobo tribe from Sitio Kahusayan, Tugbok  District.

According to KATRIBU, indigenous peoples' tribes or clans have a council of elders known as the  “Limpong” or “Rimpong” among the Mandayas and the Agutllen Bagobos, or the “Mgo Igbuyag” among the Ata- Manobos that is responsible for the political and socio-economic decisions that will determine the fate  of the tribe.

The council of elders of the lumads has a legacy of honor, palabra de honor and untarnished integrity. A  break from these codes of conduct could even end up in death or exile.

KATRIBU is alarmed that the SC decision is part of the administration's calibrated design geared to keep  Mrs. Arroyo and her allies in power.

Over the past weeks, the public has seen the positioning of GMA mistahs in crucial AFP posts such as  newly installed AFP chief General Delfin Bangit, Rear Admiral Feliciano Angue, now the AFP National  Capital Region Command (NCRCOM), and General Mapagu who is now the AFP commanding general.

The Supreme Court as the highest ruling body of the land is faced with a bold challenge of ensuring the  people's confidence and trust in the upcoming elections . However their recent decision reflects that  majority of our judicial body, the country's highest 'limpong' kowtows Arroyo's power greed by evading  their crucial role in being an institution independent of Arroyo's machinations," said Diarog. #