Early opposition

In 1974, residents of Sadanga, Mountain Province and Tinglayan, Kalinga were surprised when teams from the National Power Corporation began appearing in their villages, conducting preparatory surveys for the Chico River Dam Project of then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos. They had not been consulted when a technical feasibility study for the project had been completed a year before, in 1973.

The communities, composed of indigenous Kalinga and Bontoc people, objected to the project when they learned that the project called for the construction of four hydroelectric dams along the Chico River, with the priority being the construction of the Chico II dam in Sadanga, and the Chico IV dam in Tinglayan. The UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples later estimated that 300,000 people would have been affected by the project.^[8]

As a pangat of the Butbut, Macli-ing was one of the first leaders to oppose the project, organizing a bodong (peace council) in Barrio Tanglag in 1974 as an attempt to rally opposition against the dam.

In May 1975, the Episcopal Commission on Tribal Filipinos of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines helped organize another bodong involving 150 Bontoc and Kalinga leaders alongside church-based support groups, at St. Bridget's School in Quezon City.^[2] The Quezon City bodong resulted in an agreement (Pagta ti Bodong) which united the Bontoc and Kalinga people in opposition against the dam and the Marcos Administration.^[9] These early opposition efforts forced the Marcos administration to temporarily pull the NAPOCOR survey teams out of the area in 1975.

Militarization of Chico IV areas

Frustrated by the project delays caused by the opposition, Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree no. 848 in December 1975, constituting the municipalities of Lubuagan, Tinglayan, Tanudan, and Pasil into a "Kalinga Special Development Region" (KSDR),^[10] in an effort to neutralize opposition to the Chico IV dam.^[3]

Marcos had placed the entirety of the Philippines under Martial Law in 1972, so the areas affected by the dam project were easily militarized.^[2] Aside from the provincial constabulary forces, paramilitary units (the infamously violent Civilian Home Defense Forces) were activated in communities opposed to the dam. By 1976, the 60th Philippine Constabulary (PC) Brigade had been brought into the Chico IV area to suppress opposition to the dam project.^[3]: 8

Empowered by Martial Law to conduct warrantless arrests, the 60th PC Brigade had arrested at least 150 locals by April 1977, accusing them of supposed subversion and of obstructing government projects, and various other offenses such as boycotting the October 1976 Constitutional Referendum. Individuals arrested included tribal papangat (leaders/elders), young couples, and in at least one case, a 12-year-old child.^[3]: 9 Macli-ing was one of 16 Bugnay villagers incarcerated for two months by the PC that year.^[2] Pressure from groups such as Amnesty International finally forced the PC to release these prisoners - some of whom had been incarcerated for 8 months - in June 1977.

By December 1978, parts of the Chico IV area had been declared "free fire zones", no-man's-land areas where the army could freely fire on any animals or permit-less humans at will. The 51st Philippine Constabulary Brigade was brought in from the conflict area in Sulu, to replace the 60th.^[3]

Macli-ing and the other opposition leaders were undaunted, and more bodong pacts ceremonies were organized - including two of the largest bodong councils ever, in June 1978, and December 1979. The December 1979 bodong was attended by 2,000 Kalingas and Bontocs and saw Macli-ing officially designated as the official spokesperson for the opposition effort.^[2]

Furthering the militarization of Tomiangan, the Philippine Constabulary forces were replaced by the 44th Army Infantry Brigade, which had previously been assigned to Isabela.^[3]

Bribery attempts

Even as the armed forces were focused harassing the Bontoc and Kalinga into relinquishing their lands, government officials also attempted to get the locals to leave by bribing tribal leaders, achieving only a little success.^[3]

Since Macli-ing was a prominent figure within the opposition, many of the Marcos administrations' efforts at bribing the opposition focused on him.^[3] He was offered a plush job as coordinator of the KSDR, which would have given him a large monthly salary, but he rejected the offer.^[2] In another instance, he was invited to a meeting at the Panamin Foundation headquarters; upon arriving he was shocked when he was led to a room full of "young and beautiful women," and told to "choose one for the night." He refused and asked to be allowed to leave.^[2]

The best known of these bribery attempts describes a meeting between Macli-ing and Manuel Elizalde Jr., the Presidential Assistant on National Minorities. According to the account documented by Doyo, Elizalde handed Macli-ing an envelope, but Macli-ing refused to accept it, saying:^[2]

There can be one of two things in an envelope: letter or money. Since I am illiterate, this is hardly a letter. As for money, it is only given to someone who has something to sell. I have nothing to sell.

Trial of Macli-ing Dulag's murderers

His attackers were eventually identified as men under the command of Lieutenant Leodegario Adalem^[2] of the 44th Infantry Battalion,^[15] a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy's class of 1978.^[16] (Adalem and his men were identified more broadly in most media reports as elements of the "4th Infantry Division").^[11][2]

Under pressure from the international community to solve Macli-ing's murder, the Ministry of National Defense informed Amnesty International in 1981 that it had recommended the filing of cases against Adalem, two sergeants, and two draftees, the "reversion to inactive duty" of another (unspecified) officer and three of his men, and the administrative reprimand of the commander of the 44th Infantry Battalion, although Amnesty International was unable to ascertain whether these recommendations had been acted upon.^[15]

In August 1980, Adalem, along with Sgt. Angeles Tanag anad draftees Francisco Garcia and Robino Galleno, were detained for their involvement in the murder. They were later brought before a court martial at Martinez Hall in Camp Henry T. Allen in Baguio City. Adalem and Tanag were charged for violation of Articles of War No. 94, which covers murder, frustrated murder and robbery. The other two draftees were not charged. They were later found guilty, but Adalem was later covertly reinstated in the army. Later, however, Adalem was restored to active duty^[2] and was eventually able to retire with the rank of Major in the Philippine Army. He was killed in an ambush in April 2000.^[17]

Impact on Martial Law press coverage

Coverage of Macli-ing's murder proved to be a watershed moment in the mainstream press' coverage of Martial Law. The story of Macli-ing's murder was most actively pursued by journalist Ma Ceres P. Doyo^[18][19][20] and playwright Rene O. Villanueva, who got the story out in the press, and were interrogated by the military as a result. Editor Leonor Aureus, writing in 1985 for the National Press Club,^[21] noted that in the decade since 1972, there had been "no open and serious confrontation between the [mainstream] press and the military following the wave of arrests after martial law was declared."

Abandonment of the dam project

Macli-ing Dulag's murder unified the various peoples of the Cordillera Mountains against the proposed dam, causing both the World Bank and the Marcos regime to eventually abandon the project a few years after.^[8]