TWO INDIGENOUS FARMERS DIE IN SARANGANI AFTER DISPUTE RESOLUTION WATER RITUAL

ALABEL, PHILIPPINES — A land ownership disagreement between two members of the B'laan indigenous community resulted in a double fatality on Friday, October 16, 2026, after both individuals participated in a traditional customary justice trial in Sarangani province, Mindanao.

The deceased were identified as Tonny Bulanon Mansag, 69, a resident of Sitio Ulo Tubay, and Gaspar Tusan Palasanon, 49, residing in Sitio Katimbol. Both farmers lived in Barangay Datal Anggas, located within the municipality of Alabel. According to local reports, the two men had been involved in an ongoing dispute regarding the ownership and agricultural use of a plot of land.

Prior to the incident, the parties attempted to settle the disagreement through formal local government proceedings at the barangay level. After failing to reach a mutual consensus, they agreed to undergo a customary trial by ordeal known locally as Sulif (also referred to as Salom in regional dialects).

The trial took place around 10:00 a.m. at the Glamang River in Barangay Datal Anggas. Under the rules of the traditional ritual, opposing parties submerge themselves in water simultaneously and hold their breath. According to ancestral beliefs, natural forces judge the dispute: the person who surfaces first is deemed at fault, while the individual who remains underwater longer is considered to hold the truth.

Witnesses reported that both men remained submerged for approximately 12 minutes without returning to the surface. Observing that neither participant had emerged, onlookers retrieved both individuals from the river in an unconscious state.

Emergency assistance was sought immediately following the retrieval. Tonny Bulanon Mansag was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Sarangani Provincial Hospital. Gaspar Tusan Palasanon was transferred to a medical facility in General Santos City, where he passed away later the same afternoon.

Customary dispute resolution mechanisms including trials by ordeal exist in several indigenous communities across Mindanao when ordinary mediation processes prove inconclusive.

Representatives from indigenous peoples' associations in Sarangani acknowledged that while the Sulif ritual forms part of the B'laan community's historical framework for conflict resolution, custom must not conflict with the protection of human life and national legal standards.

The incident is currently under investigation by the Alabel Municipal Police Station and the Police Regional Office 12 (PRO-12). Law enforcement officers are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the event, the underlying land conflict, and whether criminal liabilities apply.