Katribu, rights groups mark 5th year of Tumandok Massacre with candle-lighting protest
- Katribu Nasyunal
- Dec 30, 2025
- 2 min read
December 30, 2025 - Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas, Sandugo - Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination, Bai Indigenous Women's Network, Siklab - Philippine Indigenous Youth Network, Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino, Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay sa Katutubo, and allied organizations held a candle-lighting protest on Tuesday in Quezon City to mark the fifth year since the Tumandok Massacre and to demand justice for its victims.
On December 30, 2020, joint police and military operations in Capiz and Iloilo, Panay Island resulted in the killing of nine Tumandok leaders and the arrest of sixteen others. The operations were carried out under the Synchronized Enhanced Management of Police Operations (SEMPO), led by then PNP Regional Director Debold Sinas and approved under former Philippine National Police chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
Dumagat woman leader Kakay Tolentino of the Bai Indigenous Women’s Network said the massacre exposed the violent role of state security forces in Indigenous communities. “The PNP and AFP do not serve and protect Indigenous Peoples. They harass, criminalize, and kill the rights defenders while protecting violators. That is impunity,” Tolentino said.
The groups stressed that the killings were further enabled by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which vilified and red-tagged the Tumandok prior to the massacre. At the time, both agencies were headed by retired military general Allen Capuyan. Instead of protecting Indigenous rights, the groups said, these agencies contributed to militarization and attacks to communities.
They reiterated calls to hold former PNP chief and now Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa accountable, stressing that no political position should shield him from responsibility for the crimes committed under his leadership.
Balangao youth Ephin Falyao of Siklab - Philippine Indigenous Youth Network said the continued killings of Indigenous Peoples show that the Marcos Jr. administration has carried on the same violent policies of the Duterte regime. “Walang pinag-iba ang rehimen ni Marcos Jr. at ni Duterte. Iisa ang linya at patakaran: militarisasyon at pagsupil sa karapatan ng mamamayang lumalaban,” Falyao said.
Moreover, Amirah Lidasan of Sandugo - Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination underscored the impact of counter-insurgency programs, saying Moro and Indigenous communities experience the same realities of militarization, displacement, and criminalization of resistance.
Meanwhile, Ryan Serquiña of Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino linked state violence to land-grabbing and so-called development projects such as the Jalaur Mega Dam, noting that attacks against community advocates, including the attempted killing of human rights lawyer Atty. Angelo Guillen, are meant to silence opposition.
In a statement, Beverly Longid, national convener of Katribu, said this year’s commemoration reclaims December 30 as Tumandok Day. This transformed a day of massacre and mourning into a day of remembrance and resistance. “Ang Tumandok Day ay kolektibong pahayag na ang mamamayan ay hindi mapapatahimik at mapapaalis sa kanilang lupang ninuno,” Longid said. “Sa harap ng panunupil, patuloy ang pakikibaka ng mga Tumandok at buong Katutubong mamamayan sa bansa para sa lupa, buhay, at sariling pagpapasya.”
The groups lit candles to honor the Tumandok leaders who were killed and to reaffirm their call for justice, accountability, and an end to state violence against Indigenous Peoples.
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