BUTUAN CITY – The Supreme Tribal Council for Peace and Development (STCPD) Sunday announced their declaration of support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to finish the insurgency problem in southern Mindanao.

The STCPD, led by supreme tribal chieftain Datu George Mandahay, also pledged to extend their all-out support to the government’s peace and development program in Mindanao.

This pledge of support was given to Col. Cesar D. de Mesa, commanding officer of the Army’s 69th Infantry Battalion, during the “Alsa Lumad” assembly held at Sitio Butay in Barangay Tapak, Paquibato District in Davao City.

The “Alsa Lumad” assembly was organized by Datu Ruel Ali, Tribal Deputy Mayor of STCPD.

The native’s assembly was dubbed “Ampingan ang atong yutang kabilin kay bahandi kini nga kabilin sa atong mga katigulangan (Let us protect our land because this was handed to us by our ancestors).”

The assembly was attended by some 200 tribal leaders in southern Mindanao.

“We the Lumads are peace loving individuals who want lasting peace in our ancestral lands. We pledge our support to authorities,” Datu Mandahay said in vernacular.