TVI

By Raymond Acopiado, TVIRD Public Affairs Officer

 

July 17, 2008, was a memorable day in my life.   That day, the Dangen Subanen Gasal Gukom de Bayog or the Traditional Council of Elders of Bayog municipality in Zamboanga del Sur, ordained me as a Timuay – a Subanen tribal chieftain like the members of the Council.  It was an unexpected but nonetheless pleasant surprise. Until now I still ask myself, am I worthy of this title?

Timuay Sulom. That is what the Subanens of Bayog call me now.  “Sulom” means “refuge” or “sanctuary”, a place or a person offering protection or safe shelter from something.

My path to Timuay-ship began when I joined TVI Resource Development (Phils.), Inc. (TVIRD) in February 2007 shortly after I resigned from the Dapitan City government to seek for proverbial greener pastures.   I was appointed Public Affairs Officer, tasked to help provide information about TVIRD and its activities to critical stakeholders in the Zamboanga Peninsula. 

 

 

 

Above, Mitubosan Casiano Edan, the highest ranking Timuay of Bayog, leads the ordination rites for new Timuays in the municipal and barangay levels.  Below, Timuay Edal (extreme right) wipes chicken blood on the hands of Raymond Acopiado, a.k.a. Timuay Sulom (in blue), and other new Timuays as part of the rites.  To Acopiado’s right is Timuay Sulom, son of Timuay Edal, who will inherit the latter’s rank. 

 

 

 

 

Being a Roman Catholic seminarian once myself, I have many friends whom I met in the seminary.  They could not believe that I agreed to join a mining company that they said is destroying the environment, particularly in Canatuan, a Subanon homeland in the mountains of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.  I did a lot of explaining, stressing that much of what they thought about TVIRD are mere misconceptions – or products of misinformation.  Before TVIRD hired me, I had visited Canatuan as part of a Department of Trade and Industry delegation that toured the mine site.  In that tour, I saw for myself the management and protection initiatives that the company has been implementing to mitigate the effects of mining on the environment.  As expected, I was able to convince some of my friends.  Those whose minds are already closed simply refused to listen.  I pity them.

In Canatuan, I have also witnessed how the company nurtures the lumad (indigenous people) and strives to uplift their quality of life in the areas of education, health and sanitation, livelihood, and infrastructure.  As I have Subanon blood running in my veins, I can empathize with my blood brothers and sisters who, prior to the entry of TVIRD in Canatuan, were deprived access to the most basic of services for many generations.  My being part of TVIRD, which is doing its best to help the Subanons, therefore, gives me great pride.

 

In TVIRD, we are expected to make our IP hosts our priority when it comes to service and development.  In every activity and program we plan, we always consider the implications to the tribe and to the environment.  The benefits of the earth must be shared with those who were appointed to oversee it, while the earth itself must be protected. 

While my job description doesn’t include community relations – another group, the Community Relations and Development Office (CReDO) handles that – Public Affairs covers many CReDO activities and writes about them.  That was how I became close to the Subanens of Bayog, where I was subsequently assigned (note the difference in spelling -- SubanEn of Bayog from the SubanOn of Canatuan.  Why? I still don’t know as I have heard many different, sometimes contradicting, explanations and interpretations). 

Bayog town is host to Balabag, an area that TVIRD is currently exploring in the hope of one day being able to develop like Canatuan.  In the course of doing my job covering CReDO activities, I had many opportunities to exchange thoughts with the IPs, some of whom are Timuays whose advice I sought and who, in turn, sought mine.  Because of the strong bond I was able to forge with some of them, they eventually felt comfortable in asking help from me.  Whenever I could, I extend help to them, as I do with my non-IP friends.

In Bayog, I saw that many of our brethren in the mountains have fallen prey to opportunists who lure them with sweet words and promises in exchange for their approval of projects that never benefited them.  As in Canatuan, where the Subanon ancestral domain holders became virtual slaves in their own land from illegal small-scale mining in the ‘80s and ‘90s, many Subanens are now experiencing that exact same plight in Balabag.

As a Christian, I feel it is my duty to warn my IP friends to be cautious of wolves in sheep’s clothing.  As a TVIRD employee, I believe my IP friends will be much better off if they partner with a company with a proven track record in the promotion of IP rights and their socio-economic development.  The company, by the way, has reminded me to be conscious of the need to strike a balance between my being a Timuay, and my being an employee. 

After my ordination, I asked Mitubosan Casiano Edal, the highest-ranking Timuay in Bayog, why they conferred on me such an honor.  He just smiled.   I love this job.

Now that I am a Timuay, I can already perform the Subanen rituals for weddings and act as judge to resolve conflicts between the members of the tribe.   But as Timuay Sulom, my main task, I believe, is to be a sanctuary, whatever that may mean to “my people”.

I hope I can live up to their expectations.  Challenging indeed, but I’m ready.