Tumandok massacre remembered on 5th anniversary

By Juliane Judilla

More than 100 organizations gathered in Iloilo City on Dec. 30 to mark the fifth anniversary of the Tumandok massacre, renewing calls for justice, accountability, and an end to the militarization of Indigenous communities.

The activity, led by the Defend Panay Network (DPN) and the Jalaur River for the People Movement (JRPM), included ecumenical groups, human rights alliances, and multi-sectoral organizations. It was held at St. Clement’s Church in Iloilo City.

Participants denounced the killings of Roy “Allan” Giganto, Mario Aguirre, Eliseo “Unol” Gayas Jr., Reynaldo Katipunan, Garson “Galson” Catamin, Maurito “Mauro” Diaz, Jomar Vidal, Rolando “Lando” Diaz Sr., and Artilito “Tali” Katipunan.

The nine Tumandok leaders were killed during joint police and military operations in the uplands of Central Panay in the early hours of Dec. 30, 2020.

Authorities claimed the raids were based on search warrants, but families and human rights groups have long described them as summary executions.

Sixteen other community members were arrested during the same operations on what advocates say were trumped-up charges.

Denouncing impunity and militarization

Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos and a convenor of the MANINDIGAN alliance condemned the killings as part of a broader pattern of state violence under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

He criticized the continued militarization of rural and Indigenous communities and the deepening culture of impunity.

“You are not the only communities to experience such suffering and such attacks,” Alminaza said.

“We can all stand together. The Tumandok can share strength by uniting with other communities who have been victims of state brutality and human rights violations,” he added.

Alminaza drew parallels between the Tumandok killings and other police-military operations, including the 2018–2019 killings of farmers in Negros under Memorandum 32 and the “Bloody Sunday” raids in Southern Tagalog on March 7, 2021, where nine activists were killed.

He said these incidents followed a common “tokhang-style” narrative of armed resistance, echoing discredited claims used during the government’s anti-drug campaign.

Alminaza also denounced attacks on key individuals involved in the Tumandok case, including the killing of Barangay Captain Julie Catamin of Roosevelt, Tapaz, Capiz—a potential witness; the stabbing of Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen, the case’s lawyer; and the surveillance of JRPM coordinator John Ian Alenciaga.

International solidarity

International support was also expressed at the event.

Korean Transnational Corporations (KTNC) Watch, a network of South Korean civil society groups monitoring human rights and environmental abuses by Korean companies overseas, sent a message of solidarity with the Tumandok people.

KTNC Watch said the controversial Jalaur Mega Dam Project—opposed by Tumandok communities—was funded by the Korean government and built by a Korean company.

The group criticized what it called continued refusals to acknowledge human rights violations and environmental damage tied to the project.

“KTNC Watch stands in solidarity with the Tumandok people in remembering the nine leaders who gave their lives to defend their land, rights, and way of life,” the statement read.

The organization reaffirmed its commitment to justice and international collaboration, citing past advocacy visits to South Korea that highlighted the courage of Tumandok leaders and their allies.

Culture, memory, and resistance

Members of Tumandok nga Mangunguma nga Nagapangapin sa Ila Duta kag Kabuhi (TUMANDUK) attended the event despite reports of continued military presence and harassment in their communities.

Activist, former political detainee, and martial law survivor Adora Faye De Vera launched a translated excerpt of Lahug’s Gintarangban, an epic chant chronicling the Tumandok people’s history of struggle and resistance.

The performance emphasized the importance of culture and collective memory in sustaining Indigenous resistance amid repression.

“Our duty to remember”

In a statement, DPN called on the public to “remember” the killings and what it described as the state’s indifference, saying demands for justice only grow louder each year.

The group recalled its formation in the wake of the massacre, describing how red-tagging, arrests, abductions, and extrajudicial killings created a climate of fear that made organizing difficult—but necessary.

DPN said the Tumandok had long asserted their ancestral land rights, opposed plans to declare their territories military reservations, and resisted development aggression, particularly the Jalaur Mega Dam.

“Their effective organizing, cultural assemblies, and militant opposition made them targets of a state determined to crush dissent,” the statement read.

The group said the killings were preceded by military deployments, intelligence operations, and fabricated search warrants branding Tumandok leaders as “terrorists.”

The Dec. 30, 2020 raids left nine people dead and 16 arrested, displacing hundreds of Tumandok who were forced to flee their ancestral lands and traditional livelihoods.

DPN criticized the government’s continued refusal to ensure accountability, pointing to the lack of transparent investigations, withheld information from the Commission on Human Rights, and internal police probes that cleared those involved.

Despite this, the construction of the Jalaur Mega Dam proceeded, hailed by officials as a symbol of development—even though, DPN said, it was built “on stolen land and bloodshed.”

“For the government, the story of the Tumandok is an inconvenient memory, overshadowed and even justified by infrastructure projects in the name of ‘development’ and ‘water security,’” the statement said.

“For the Tumandok, however, it is anything but over.”

Solidarity and commitment

To conclude the commemoration, attendees signed a Declaration of Solidarity with the Tumandok Indigenous Peoples of Panay.

The declaration pledged to defend the Tumandok people’s rights to ancestral land, self-determination, and cultural integrity.

It also committed to opposing militarization, red-tagging, disinformation, and repression against Indigenous communities and leaders; advancing truth and accountability through independent investigations into the massacre; engaging international human rights mechanisms, including the United Nations; and standing in sustained solidarity with Indigenous peoples resisting land dispossession and environmental destruction.

“Until justice is served for the victims of the Tumandok massacre, and as long as ancestral lands remain under threat, we commit ourselves to the enduring struggle for dignity, life, and rights,” the declaration stated.

“For the land, for life, for justice. We stand with the Tumandok Indigenous People,” it added.

Five years after the massacre, the Tumandok people continue to mourn their dead while asserting their right to justice, land, and self-determination.

For advocates, the commemoration was not just an act of mourning, but an act of resistance—an insistence that the truth be preserved and the struggle carried forward.