WHEN Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte wore the traditional “Bagobo Tagabawa” attire to the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on July 29, she was not only conforming to the tradition of wearing a “terno” that reflects the Filipino culture but a statement of support to the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) who were “victims of terrorist organizations”.

Duterte explained it was a form of lobbying in the open public for the “welfare of IPs who have always been the favorite darling of the NPA (New People’s Army) for their recruitment and attacks—which happen every time they register their resistance.”

“I wore that traditional Bagobo Tagabawa dress to the State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr in honor of one of the tribes that form the 11 groups of people of Davao City, apart from the Christians,” the Vice President said in a statement posted by his spokesman Atty. Reynold Munsayac on his official Facebook account.

The Vice President said she wore it also in solidarity with the Lumads of Mindanao and the many other indigenous peoples groups all over the country who have been uprising against the NPA’s “chronic exploitation” of their children.

Duterte said the children were given arms as new recruits, even if they were still minors.

“I wore the traditional Bagobo Tagabawa dress to raise awareness of the victimization of the IPs by the NPA and the Communist Party of the Philippines [CPP] and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines [NDF],” she said.

“It was to hold a space for another narrative unknown to many Filipinos and to bridge public awareness of what is horribly happening to the IPs in remote places — deceptions, recruitments, and killings are carried out without mercy by the NPAs and their supporters.”

Duterte added, “this brings me to Eufemia Cullamat, the mother of an NPA fighter who died in Mindanao in 2020.”

Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Cullamat’s daughter, 22-year-old Jevilyn, died during an encounter with the government troops in Surigao del Sur in Nov. 2020.

“As an IP herself, Cullamat should apologize to her fellow IPs for allowing a ‘terrorist’ group like the NPA to strip them of their dignity as a people and dragging them into a war that serves them nothing as IPs,” the Vice President said.

Duterte noted before she stepped down as mayor, Davao City was declared “insurgency-free”.

She said IPs in the Paquibato District and other hinterlands of Davao are now living a life “free from NPAs”.

“And I will continue to borrow and wear traditional dresses from IPs and other groups I want to honor and stand in solidarity with against terrorist organizations like the NPA and people like Cullamat,” Duterte said.

She stressed, “I will not waver. In fact, you will see me even more relentless because I have a responsibility to the Filipino people, especially to the Filipino children” adding “and I promise not to stop so that parents like Cullamat do not bury the bullet-ridden bodies of their children — killed in a war perpetuated by a senseless and idiotic ideology.”