Liberal MP Bill Blair engages church group on human rights issues

Liberal MP Bill Blair engages church group on human rights issues

Scarborough Southwest Liberal MP Bill Blair (right, in black suit) attentively listens to Rev. Bob McElhinney of United Church of Christ during the question and answer portion after a short film screening on mining that caused displacement of indigenous communities.
(PHOTO: L. Queano)

By Lui Queano

Scarborough Southwest Liberal MP Bill Blair attended the ecumenical service event of the indigenous Lumad in Mindanao organized by International Coalition on Human Rights Philippines-Canada (ICHRP) last November 29 from 3 pm to 5 pm at St. Dunstans Church in Scarborough. The ecumenical service, with the opening remarks from St. Dunstans Parish Priest Father Jeff Masterson, was led by Pastor Irene Ty of United Church of Christ (UCC) with concelebrants Rev. Bob McElhinney of UCC and Rev. Dante Coloma of Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI).

The ecumenical service was followed by a one-hour community discussion on Lumad issues and a short film screening on mining prepared by Migrante Coordinator Jesson Reyes. A question-and -answer portion was facilitated by Connie S. Sorio of KAIROS Canada. The Filipino community and guests from other communities participated in the discussion of the human rights violations committed against the Lumad people, including the public executions of community leaders, the killing of advocates, and the massive displacement of the indigenous communities in Mindanao.

In his short speech, MP Bill Blair expressed his concerns on the plight of the Lumad and thanked the organizers for helping him understand the human rights violations being done against the indigenous people in the Philippines.

PHOTO: MARK CADIZ

“Certainly it’s an interesting opportunity to learn about the concerns of the Lumad people in the Philippines and about the support they are getting from the Filipino community and I hope to learn more and we have made arrangements to do that,” Blair said in a brief interview with Radyo Migrante.

MP Bill Blair said that the human rights concerns of the Lumad is as important discussion as those issues concerning the indigenous people in Canada and other countries . Currently there are several Canadian mining companies operating in the Philippines most of which are located in the southern part of Mindanao.

“One of my responsibility is to support and serve the community who helped me get elected and listen to their concerns and to do everything I can to address those concerns. But again I need to have a better understanding exactly what can and should be done by the Canadian government regarding the human rights issues and I pledge to work with the Filipino community so we can address those issues and learn from these issues,” Blair said.

PHOTO: HG

The event sponsored by ICHRP Canada committee in cooperation with Migrante Canada, the Philippine Advancement Through Arts and Culture (PATAC) and KAIROS Canada. It was held as part of the worldwide campaign for the protection of the indigenous Lumad people and their ancestral lands against the destructive mining companies and the escalating militarization in Mindanao. To date, at least 13 people have been killed, including that of the murdered school director and two Lumad leaders in Surigao del Sur.

Advocacy groups have been calling the Philippine government to immediately pull out military troops from Lumad territories and dismantle paramilitary groups operating in the Lumad communities. These demands were echoed in the Open Letter sent to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, a copy of which was sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before the APEC summit in Manila. Bern Jagunos coordinator of ICHRP also sent copy of the said open letter as well as the background material on the campaign to MP Bill Blair in response to the latter’s request.

Musicians and artists Belinda Corpuz and Tim Parayno provided the music during the one-hour service. A cultural presentation performed by Rhea Gamana, Paulina Corpuz, Nelson Crisostomo, Lui Queano and Ben Corpuz also higlighted the event using indigenous instruments kulintang and kubing with native drum and guitar.