Where We Are
PARTNER COMMUNITIES
Talaandig of Miarayon, Bukidnon
Barangay Miarayon is located in the southeastern section of Malaybalay City, and belongs to the Municipality of Talakag in the province of Bukidnon. The area is composed of six barangays: Baylanan, Lapok, Miarayon, Lirongan, San Miguel and Tagbak. Miarayon covers approximately 22,619 hectares with a total population of around 7,000.
Miarayon is home to approximately 5,000 indigenous families of Talaandig origin, part of the Higaonon ethnolinguistic group. Their primary livelihood is farming, and they are also known for their expressive and artful cultural dances.
Higaonon of Sinakungan, Agusan del Sur
The indigenous Higaonon of Barangay Sinakungan in Esperanza, Agusan Del Sur is one of the many ethnic groups in Mindanao. Sinakungan is known as the heart of the Higaonon because it is where their Holy Mountain is located, believed to have been the dwelling place of the Ininay and Inamay—or mother and father—of their entire lineage.
The Higaonon continue to practice their rituals as a way of living out their cultural beliefs and traditions. In their ancestral lands, traditional Higaonon lifeways are still observed close to their purest form by community members. Despite the richness of this cultural heritage, Sinakungan—one of the province’s most isolated and disadvantaged barangays—has limited access to basic social services due to its geographic location.
Umajamnén of Cabanglasan, Bukidnon
Cabanglasan is home to the Umajamnén tribe of Bukidnon in Mindanao. The Umajamnén refer to the Indigenous Peoples living near the Umajam River located along the border of Bukidnon and Agusan provinces. It is registered as part of Barangay Canangan, 1 of the 15 barangays of Cabanglasan. The 12 or so villages comprising the tribe average about 30 families of five to seven members. They are still semi-nomadic such that they would easily abandon their villages to move from time to time.
The Umajamnén are related to the Manobo and Higaonon, although with their own customs and practices. With access to little resources, they live very much below the poverty line. Their main livelihood is subsistence farming, with most utilizing the slash-and-burn method or kaingin to clear land. Camote is their staple food. They also plant corn and upland rice, but in small quantity. Among those living in villages close to the lowland, a few have carabaos and possess the knowledge of modern agricultural technology for hybrid corn and rice production.
Ichananaw of Kalinga
The Ichananaw Community have made their home in Barangay Dananao, Municipality of Tinglayan, Kalinga Province, Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. The area comprises 4,050 hectares of the Cordillera mountain range, and is home to most of the upland-living Ichananaw, one of the sub-tribes of the Kalinga ethnic group. Located halfway up a very steep mountain slope from a tributary of the Chico River, Dananao can only be reached via a 2 to 3 hour trek along a mountain trail from Tinglayan proper. This has resulted in limited access to education, markets and employment. In addition to farming, a handful of villagers are skilled in the areas of education, auto mechanics, carpentry and midwifery.
Tagbanwa of Culion, Palawan
The Tagbanwa Indigenous Peoples, one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Philippines, can mainly be found in the Province of Palawan. In Northern Palawan, the Municipality of Culion is one of the towns in which Tagbanwa settlements can be found.
Culion belongs to the Calamianes group of islands, and has a total land area of around 415 square kilometers. The Tagbanwa are the original inhabitants of the islands, having lived there even before it was turned into a leper colony during the American occupation in the early part of the 20th century. The whole of Culion was under the Department of Health (DOH) until 1995-1996, when it was declared leprosy-free and became a municipality. The Tagbanwa are now marginalized and are a minority group among the islands’ 18,000 people, which include the Calamianen and Cuyonon from other parts of Palawan. As before, they make a living mainly through fishing and food gathering. They reside in remote parts of Culion, most of which can be reached only by boat. With seawaters separating them from the town proper, they barely have access to the basic necessities of potable water, electricity, and other government services, much less education.
Bajau residing in Lucena, Quezon
The Bajau, sometimes referred to as “sea gypsies”, pertain to a Moro indigenous ethnic group largely found in Maritime Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, the Bajau are traditionally from the many islands of the southwestern region, including the coastal areas of Basilan, Jolo and Sultan Kudarat. They are known to be nomadic in nature, often choosing to reside in one place only for a brief period of time.
In the 1990’s, many Bajau families started to migrate to different parts of the country where ports are located in order to escape the violence inflicted upon them in their places of origin. One of the communities that some Bajau families chose to settle in is Lucena City, which is home to one of Luzon’s biggest fishing ports. The Bajau presently residing in Lucena continue to speak their own language and maintain their indigenous life ways, but illiteracy also remains high among them. Some of them are fishermen, while many make a living by begging for alms. In the months leading up to the holiday season in the Philippines (September to December), Bajau families—including women and children—often travel to Manila or other big cities in order to beg in the streets, making them exposed to increased risks and vulnerabilities.
Sama-Bajau of Zamboanga City
In September 2013, a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front encroached in Mariki, Rio Hondo and other four other coastal villages in Zamboanga City, engaging in prolonged firefight with government troops. Now known as the “Zamboanga Siege,” the armed conflict has resulted in fatalities and injuries among combatants and civilians, and have displaced around 35,000 people.
Of the total displaced families, over 600 were from the Sama-Bajau tribe, with children and youth who are typically not able to go to school due to financial constraints. Their situation was further aggravated by the Siege, which forced them to live in congested evacuation camps and made them more vulnerable to diseases. Many of them also frequently loiter and beg on the streets to help their families make a living, rendering them prone to accidents.
Mampang is a coastal area with a distance of 1.5 kilometers from the highway and approximately 7 kilometers from Zamboanga City Proper. It is one of the shelters built by the City Government of Zamboanga for Internally Displaced Persons, particularly the Bajau. There are about 300 bunkhouses built in the transitory site, more than 228 of which are occupied by the Sama-Bajau. The site has been equipped with communal kitchen centers, functional water points, wells/hand pumps, and permanent/temporary latrines.
While basic facilities have been put in place, the community continues to face challenges in securing long-term housing, sustainable livelihoods, and consistent access to essential services and dignified living conditions.
Sama-Bajau residing in Parañaque City
The Sama-Bajau, sometimes referred to as “sea gypsies,” are a Moro indigenous ethnic group of Maritime Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, they are traditionally from the islands of southwestern Mindanao. They have had a long history of displacement and uprootedness due to conflict and unrest.
In the National Capital Region (Metro Manila), where many Sama-Bajau families have migrated, the transitory nature of their dwelling and their exposure to life in the streets have made them prone to accidents and diseases.
One of the Sama-Bajau settlements in Metro Manila is located in Barangay San Dionisio—an old barrio in Parañaque City. Since the 1980s, San Dionisio has served as a site for transient Sama-Bajau families who migrated from Mindanao to escape conflict and social unrest. These families reside in a compound beside the Mohammad Mosque along Ninoy Aquino Avenue, an area now commonly referred to as the ‘Muslim Area.’ Approximately 70 Sama-Bajau families live in the compound, with many relying on alms as their primary source of livelihood while in Metro Manila.
