By BERNADETTE ILAO
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
STA. CRUZ, Mindoro Occidental.—For the Mangyan tribe of Barangay Pinagtuliran, Sitio Siapo in this province, things will be different in this year’s elections.
Tricked and taken advantage of in past polls, the Mangyans are taking steps to make sure that they would be able to exercise their right to vote. In a voter education session held recently by Task Force 2010 and the Parish of Sta. Cruz, the Mangyans discussed why they were unable to vote in previous elections.
Tribal leaders said certain candidates would intimidate them or employ other means to prevent them from voting.
It was revealed that Mangyans would collectively choose the candidates before trooping to the polls. The elders would be consulted and their advice would carry great weight among the tribe members. While this system is consistent with the culture of the indigenous group, it also enables politicians to know who the tribe is supporting.
As voting day nears, the Mangyans would start trekking from their villages to the polling areas—an activity that takes days. Because they would usually not have enough food with them, politicians, particularly those who know that they do not have the vote of the Mangyan, would offer them food, herd them in a guarded area and prevent them from going to the voting precincts. The Mangyans are thus virtually detained during the elections and released only after the polls have closed.
And because they are a gentle people, the Mangyans would submit to this kind of treatment than risk violence.
Another problem besetting the Mangyan tribe: It is mostly the younger members who know how to read and write. The elders need to be assisted in the process.
While the law requires the Board of Election Inspectors to assist “illiterate” voters, the Mangyans have expressed apprehension over the board’s ability and credibility to help them out during the voting. In the past, some BEI members would choose candidates who were not among those preferred by the voters, they said.
Because there is no candidate coming from the indigenous group itself, it favors those candidates who are opposed to mining. Mining directly affects Mangyans and their right to ancestral domain.
To prevent the Mangyans from again being disenfranchised, members of the religious who work among the tribe will accompany them to the polling stations. They will also be bringing food so the Mangyans would not have to accept those being offered by the candidates.