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 platf ...

party-list group. She is the second

Manobo The Manobò (sometimes also spelled Menobò, Manuvù , Menuvù , or Minuvù) are an indigenous peoples from Mindanao in the Philippines, whose core lands cover most of the Mindanao island group, from Sarangani island into the Mindanao mainland in ...

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 gover ...

. 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 peoples 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 ado ...

organization Kahugpungan sa Lumadnong Organisasyon sa Caraga (Kasalo Caraga). On December 4, 2024, Cullamat and 74 others filed the second

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

complaint against Vice President

Sara Duterte Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio (, ; born May 31, 1978), commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who is the 15th and current vice president of the Philippines. She is the third female vice president (after Gloria Macap ...

, submitting one article of impeachment: betrayal of public trust.

Biography

Cullamat was born on August 13, 1960 in Lianga,

Surigao del Sur Surigao del Sur (Surigaonon language, Surigaonon: ''Probinsya nan Surigao del Sur''; ; ), officially the Province of Surigao del Sur, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Caraga Regions of the Philippines ...

. She is a member of the Manobo people from the mountains of Barangay Diatagon of Lianga. 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 type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or otherwise vulnerable populations. Climate justice seeks to achieve an equitable distribution of both the burdens of clima ...

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) () is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. , it had an estimated strength of 143,100 soldiers The service branch was established on December ...

Marihatag, Surigao Del Sur Marihatag, officially the Municipality of Marihatag ( Surigaonon: ''Lungsod nan Marihatag''; ); ( Indonesian: Kotamadya Marihatag) , is a municipality in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines The Philippines, officially the Rep ...

. The battalion alleged that she was a medic for

New People's Army The New People's Army (; abbreviated NPA or BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeo ...

unit in Surigao Del Sur. The battalion also allegedly recovered firearms, ammunition, and subversive documents at the encounter site. Antonio Parlade Jr. 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 in 2018 as part of its " Whole-of-Nation approach" to respond to and raise awareness about ongoing communist ...

alleged that Jevilyn's death is proof of Bayan Muna's role in recruiting the youth to the NPA. Jevilyn's death was a subject of controversies. The

Makabayan Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan () or simply 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 the Bahay ng mga Alumni, UP Dil ...

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 capt ...

. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana 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 climate activists Filipino human rights activists Filipino women human rights 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