Eufemia Campos Cullamat (born August 13, 1960), also known as Ka Femia, is a Filipina farmer, activist, and politician. She was a member of the
Philippine House of Representatives for the 18th Congress under the
Bayan Muna
Bayan Muna () is a party-list in the Philippines, a member of the leftist political coalition Makabayan. The motto of the party is ''"New Politics, the Politics of Change"'', against "traditional, elitist, pro-imperialist politics". Its platform i ...
party-list group. She is the second
Manobo
The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous people in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially adopte ...
to serve in Congress after former Cotabato Representative
Nancy Catamco
Nancy Alaan Catamco is a Filipina politician and the incumbent governor of the Province of Cotabato. She became the 25th governor and the 3rd female governor of the province when she was elected to the position in 2019. She is also the 1st governo ...
.
As a tribal leader and activist, she has been active in movements to fight for the rights of
indigenous peoples in the Philippines since the 1980s. She was chair of
Lumad
The Lumad are a group of Austronesian indigenous people in the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous". The term is short for Katawhang Lumad (Literally: "indigenous people"), the autonym officially adopte ...
organization
Kahugpungan sa Lumadnong Organisasyon sa Caraga (Kasalo Caraga).
Biography
Cullamat is a member of the Manobo people from the mountains of Barangay Diatagon in
Lianga, Surigao del Sur
Lianga, officially the Municipality of Lianga ( Surigaonon: ''Lungsod nan Lianga''; tl, Bayan ng Lianga), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 33,869 pe ...
. She has been active in movements to fight for the rights of indigenous peoples in the Philippines since the 1980s.
She was a community development worker at the Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS).
She helped found Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang sa Sumusunod (MAPASU) in 1996 and served as one of its council members. She was also chair of Lumad organization Kasalo Caraga.
Political career
Cullamat authored or supported a number of bills and resolutions as a member of the 18th Congress. She co-authored the anti-endo bill seeking to give security of employment to workers by ending the practice of endo or
labor contractualization.
She also co-authored the
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill, which aims to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Cullamat supports the
renewal of ABS-CBN's TV and radio broadcasting franchise.
She supports
climate justice
Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and its mitigation and responsibilities to deal with climate change. "Justice", "fairness", and "equity" ar ...
and is one of the principal authors of a House of Representatives resolution declaring a climate and environmental emergency. The resolution gives the Philippine government justification to pursue climate justice from industrialized countries whose actions have triggered destructive climate change effects.
Advocacies
Cullamat is involved in the fight for the rights of national minorities and is active in Indigenous peoples organizations. She campaigns to protect Lumad schools in Mindanao and continues to protest the persecution and
red-tagging of Lumad communities and their leaders.
Cullamat has called for an end to mining and logging on ancestral lands, where Indigenous peoples are harassed and face displacement.
Death of Jevilyn Cullamat
On November 29, 2020, her youngest daughter Jevilyn Campos Cullamat died in an encounter with the
3rd Special Forces “Arrowhead” Battalion of the
Philippine Army
The Philippine Army (PA) ( Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...
in
Marihatag, Surigao Del Sur
Marihatag, officially the Municipality of Marihatag ( Surigaonon: ''Lungsod nan Marihatag''; tl, Bayan ng Marihatag); (Indonesian: Kotamadya Marihatag) , is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to th ...
. The battalion alleged that she was a medic for
New People's Army
The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...
unit in Surigao Del Sur. The battalion also allegedly recovered firearms, ammunition, and subversive documents at the encounter site.
Antonio Parlade Jr
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
. of the
National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is a task force organized by the government of the Philippines to respond and raise awareness to the ongoing communist rebellion in the Philippines.
Background
The Na ...
alleged that Jevilyn's death is proof of
Bayan Muna
Bayan Muna () is a party-list in the Philippines, a member of the leftist political coalition Makabayan. The motto of the party is ''"New Politics, the Politics of Change"'', against "traditional, elitist, pro-imperialist politics". Its platform i ...
's role in recruiting the youth to the NPA.
Jevilyn's death was a subject of controversies. The
Makabayan
Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Makabayan; ) is a coalition of twelve party-lists in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It was founded on April 16, 2009. The founding assembly was held at UP Theatre, Diliman, Quezon City.
Party-l ...
bloc condemned the manner of the rebel's corpse after photographs were posted depicting what they say as Jevilyn's "obviously artificially posed body" along with confiscated paraphernalia. The bloc said that the remains were treated as a
war trophy __NOTOC__
A war trophy is an item taken during warfare by an invading force. Common war trophies include flags, weapons, vehicles, and art.
History
In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, military victories were commemorated with a display of captu ...
. Defense Secretary
Delfin Lorenzana
Delfin Negrillo Lorenzana, OLH, KGOR (born October 28, 1948) is a retired Philippine Army general who served as Secretary of National Defense in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2022. He served in the Philippine Army from ...
has called for the investigation on the body's treatment and a review protocol in handling bodies of rebels killed in battle.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cullamat, Eufemia
1960 births
Living people
Filipino human rights activists
Women human rights activists
Filipino women activists
Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines for Bayan Muna
People from Surigao del Sur
Visayan people
Women members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
21st-century Filipino politicians
21st-century Filipino women politicians
Indigenous rights activists
Manobo people