Subanen People Rise to New Life
By Sister Andrea Catubig
Whenever I visit a family belonging to the Subanen indigenous people in the Philippines, I hear Palad-palad or “thank you” time and again.
More than 10 months have passed since I received a Sisters of Mercy grant for my ministry with the Subanen people, who live on Mindanao Island and suffer countless indignities, from ongoing colonization to exploitation by companies that extract minerals from their lands. But still I hear “palad-palad.”