Various groups have opposed the appointment of (ret.) Col. Allen Capuyan to head the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.
The Sandugo Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination said Capuyan formerly headed the national secretariat of the national task force to end local communist armed conflict, the presidential adviser for indigenous peoples’ concerns in 2018, and the commander of task force Gantangan, a special group formed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines “specifically to set up Lumad paramilitary groups in Mindanao” as part of a counter-insurgency program, that was behind the killings of many Lumad leaders opposing the entry of mining companies and agro-corporations in their ancestral lands.
“Capuyan played a major role in the reign of terror in Mindanao. Now as head of the NCIP, he can legitimize further militarization and terrorize indigenous peoples communities nationwide,” the group’s statement read.
“Capuyan’sappointment is very timely now that China funded projects are being railroaded in areas of the indigenous people's communities. As NCIP chief, retired colonel Capuyan can easily coerce communities to approve a fake free prior and informed consent for the construction of the Chico River Water Pump project in Pinukpok, Kalinga and the Kaliwa Dam project in General Nakar, Quezon and Tanay, Rizal. These projects are strongly opposed by the affected local residents and IP communities,” the movement said.
Last May 27, President Rodrigo Duterte named Capuyan as the NCIP chairperson.
“The appointment of Capuyan will add to the more than 60 former police and military officials in Duterte’s Cabinet. The likes of Capuyan revel in the tradition of militarism and warmongering. He will operate NCIP as if it were still an intelligence-gathering unit—weaponizing the agency’s people and resources to co-opt, harass, displace, destroy, and deny indigenous communities of their right to development and self-determination. The NCIP has likewise never been the bastion for indigenous rights, but having Capuyan at its helm will completely steer the agency off course, at the expense of indigenous communities and in the interest of military operations and economic plunder,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.
She said the continued appointment of former military and police officials is aimed to keep with the Duterte government’s “whole-of-nation” approach, implemented alongside counterinsurgency program Oplan Kapayapaan.