Speck in the Vast World of Economy and Politics: An Economic Anthropological Study of the Mamanwa in the Philippines

This study will focus on one commodity – rattan, which is the main source of income among the Mamanwa in San Francisco Southern Leyte, Philippines. An indigenous economy may seem like a speck in the political economy of the mainstream society, but it is greatly affected by it. Thus, this study aims to understand how the Mamanwa, an Indigenous People living outside their ancestral domain, cope with the existing laws and policies that somehow affect their traditional subsistence activities. This paper will present first the study of INBAR and USAID about the status of rattan in the world economy and in the Philippines, and the rules imposed by the Philippines to regulate rattan related economic activities. Furthermore, it will discuss how these rules influence the decision-making process of the Mamanwa and how it affects their traditional subsistence activities. As a result, laws, and policies to further develop rattan industry in the country and the laws provided as a way of recognizing the rights of the Indigenous people are not of much help to migrant Indigenous People like the Mamanwa. In this case, inequality of development expansion is correlated to the unequal enjoyment of rights provided by the state whichsupposed to be accessible to all Filipinos. Unfortunately, for those small-producers who are having

difficulties in converting their economic activities into a formal economy remain stagnant. They will remain a speck in the vast world of economics and politics. Data were gathered using anthropological research methods, such as key informant interviews and field observations.

Keywords – Indigenous People, Decision-making, Development, Rattan Industry