The Lumads are the largest indigenous group in the Philippines. They live in Mindanao in the south and are often accused by the military of harboring and supporting communist insurgents. This smear campaign against Father Ambray attempts to falsely brands him as an active supporter of communist rebels.

Father Ambray is teaching the Lumads about their rights set out in the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, which aims to protect their claim to ancestral domains or ethnic lands. The law says that no indigenous people can be relocated without their consent.

In a social media post, Father Ambray said:

“The education I equip them with is so they can assert their rights… The help that I am offering them is small when compared to the enormous scale of their fight. Yet I am being accused of being an influencer or manipulator of them.”

Please read the full article here.