LETTERS

An open letter to Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan on land claims in Asin

Sir,

We the Tadiangan Nangalisan Asin Hydro Ancestral Landowner’s Association Inc. would like to request your good office to intervene on our behalf, over our concerns including claims of payments for rentals and compensations over the usage of our lands and properties occupied by the hydroelectric pipelines (conveyances, penstocks,), buildings and other facilities introduced by the Americans and later turned over to the City of Baguio by the year 1932.

We are almost 70 Ibalois, Kankanaeys and Bagos who are descendants of original landowners prior to the building of the hydroelectric plants by the Americans under Engr. Eusebio J. Halsema, the first Mayor of Baguio of those years.

Since then, the electric current produced by the hydros were enough to light up the city and neighboring goldmines that brought millions of pesos to the coffers of the city government and left the host Local Government of Tuba and Benguet and even us, the community short changed of these benefits.

Further and more importantly, environmental concerns regarding the hydros have not also been addressed by the City go Baguio to date. Our shy forefathers, as were are all aware of, remained silent and bearing for all those years of neglect, never having claimed the benefits of what is rightfully due them, just silently praying to God. Now, we can not bear any more, we need our prayers heard for we know that God had answered their prayers a long time ago, but Baguio City Government chose to ignore.

We have made numerous requests the city, even seeking the support and intervention of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to validate and assert our cause but until now the officialdom of the City of Baguio has not really addressed our claims despite these concerted efforts.

We are being pushed to the wall with no possible alternative but only to make full use of the water by diverting it to the river for the irrigation of farmlands. Yet, we wish to hope as we assert our rights in seeking help and support from willing people and government entities. Hereunder are notable sequence of events:
1. February 2006 – Landowners, realizing the need to formalize their group in order to be heard, formed the Tadiangan-Nangalisan Hydro Ancestral Landowners Association.
2. September 11, 2006 – The group wrote a letter to the City of Baguoi requesting the city to attend to the concerns of the group before turning over or bidding the hydro plants
3. November 26-29, 2006 – The group having not received any response regarding their claims nor any attention from the city diverted the water from the intake to the river for farm irrigation, a more useful purpose
4. December 7, 2006 – A kapihan sa Benguet was held in Tuba, hosted by the Philippine Inforamtion AGency and Mayor Baluda for a dialogue with the city that failed, the city representative can not commit anything regarding the claims of the group as he was just there to listen to the claims.
5. December 26-29, 2006 -2 hours after the formal turn over of the hydro plants by HEDCOR to the city, the group diverted the water from the in-take to the river for use in irrigation for the second time.

Later Baguio Councilor Rocky Balisong wrote a letter to the group stating diversion of water to the river caused the following: Production losses and management damages of the city, depriving of other beneficiaries like provincial, municipal and barangay government of the share in the operation of the plants and farmers who availed of excess water from the water lines were affected (No true, only the plants stopped not the irrigation.)

Other Balisong contentions: The group has no manifestation and identification of claims (Not true as the group has a letter addressed to the chair of the council, then acting Vice Mayor Leandro Yangot, and each councilor’s office were copy furnished)

The action affects the interest of Roger Sinot in the Lease of Asin Resort (the lease of Asin Resort to Roger Sinot, even being chair of the group, is di8fferent from the hydro plants, and should not be used by the city to stop the group from claiming what is due them.)

The city will let go of the former employees who were tapped to continue to maintain and operate the plants – this confused and angered the operators as another letter sent them said they will continue operating the plants.

On Jan. 17, 2007, the group wrote again the city to reiterate their claims and inform their final demands as the city, according to Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. and City administrator Peter Fianza, claiming in newspapers that the group’s demands were “not clear enough.”

On Jan. 27, 2007, then acting mayor Bautista wrote the group for a meeting at the SP Session Hall slated for Feb. 22, 2007 to for part of the terms of reference when the operations of the plants will be bid (this plan and offer is a way of escape of the city from their responsibilities to the claimants relegating without certainty their obligation to nobody; the group responded through a letter that the office of the NCIP should tackle the dialogues to come up with a memorandum of agreement regarding our claims.)

May we seek the assistance of your good office as our partner in claiming what is due us. We believe that the higher provincial government of Benguet is in a better position to protect the rights and assert the interest of its people especially as it also concerns the environment as we seem to be waiting forever for a response from the City of Baguio. Looking forward to your full support to our cause.

Tadiangan Nangalisan Hydro
Landowners Association, Inc.
Roger Sinot, chairman;
Olga Dangwa, vice chairwoman;
Angeline Olayo Marino,
assistant secretary
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Halsema projects ‘pure baloney’

I was shocked to read the news in your widely-read paper "Ebdane orders DPWH and contractors to correct negative slippages" of Halsema projects. This is pure baloney.

First, the DPWH paid for the contractors 15 percent advance payment for mobilization. There was no credible work done. The contract time lapsed with others expiring in days. It is like ordering the DPWH and contractors to falsify documents to validate lousy performance.

Lack of Portland cement, election ban, road right-of-way are not valid reasons to suspend work. Nor is it valid to reason out that their benefactor got their collections hence they have no more finances to start work? The honorable secretary is not that dumb to order such.

Second, I believe that Ebdane is wise enough to notice during his inspection on the Halsema SONA projects that numerous billboards were newly installed.

If these billboards were placed three months ago when the DPWH paid the 15 percent advance payment of the contractors, it should have been so dirty, full of dust and showed signs of deterioration, but these were obviously new, meaning it was just installed to please the visiting Secretary.

Third, the Secretary for sure noticed the expiry dates of numerous contracts were October and December 31, 2007. These are purely falsification and deceit. Their contract time already expired.

Fourth, the Secretary I think is a civil engineer and he noticed there was not a single road grader in all the road concreting projects. He also might have noticed that the compactors being used in the road concreting were small and compacting capability not commensurate to national roads.

Had the DPWH-CAR-MPDEO paid the substandard projects, then Secretary Ebdane could have seen the worst of the SONA projects.

Juniper Dominguez
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Remembering Alyce Omengan-Claver

We shall not forget July 31, 2006. It was the day when death squads operating under the State policy Operational Plan Bantay Laya (Freedom Watch) staged an ambush against Dr. Constancio ‘Chandu’ Claver’s family.

The ambush happened in a busy section of Tabuk – in front of a school, and around 200 meters away from the Provincial Headquarters of the Philippine National Police. Dr. Claver, Chairperson of Bayan Muna Kalinga was the main target of the ambush. He has been very vocal about the assassination of Cordillera Peoples Alliance leader Rafael Markus Bangit on June 8, 2006 and the killings in the province despite the threats and fear being sown by government forces in Kalinga.

Alyce Omengan-Claver was also a member of Bayan Muna-Kalinga and the Cordillera Peoples Alliance. She devoted her youth in service to the people as a staff of CPA-Manila. She and Chandu shared the same principles.

She died that day. Despite her personal struggle to survive the 26 gunshot wounds. Despite the long line of blood donors whose lives the Clavers touched.

The assassination happened barely a week after Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo condemned the extrajudicial killings in the country but ironically praised Major General Jovito Palparan who has a bloody record of human rights violations against the people.

Then Tabuk Police Director Pedro Ramos, pinpointed as instrumental to the Claver ambush, was a follower of Palparan’s style of confronting people whom the State calls “the enemy” or those critical against the government’s anti-people policies. He formed and led the death squads in Tabuk. He also figured in the killing of Rafael ‘Markus’ Bangit’.

After the ambush, PD Ramos was transferred out of Kalinga to appease the mounting public pressure. But no progress has yet been achieved in the investigation of the case. No perpetrator has yet been punished. This was despite the formation of two task forces: first Task Force Bulanao then another Task Force headed by General Eugene Martin.

A case has been filed in court but witnesses to the incident have been threatened and the defective witness protection program of the justice system has pushed them to retract their sworn statements. Justice has been elusive.

Alyce’s case has been forwarded to the United Nations during the visit of UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston. Her story was heard during the Permanent People’s Tribunal where Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was declared guilty.

We shall not forget Alyce Omengan-Claver. She, who was a loving person to her family. She, who was part of the people’s struggle for a just and humane society.
A year has passed since her death. Victims of extrajudicial killings have reached 884 as of June 30, 2007.

In her State of the nation Address this year, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo again condemns the killings which she can no longer deny. It should be underscored that she has failed to admit that it is a State policy and that she is accountable for the killings.

In the most significant way of remembering Alyce, we continue the struggle to attain justice for her death and the more than 800 other martyrs. We continue to rage against the extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations. Inspired by her memory, we continue the struggle for a just social order.

Justice for Alyce Claver! Justice for all victims of extrajudicial killings!

Imelda Tabiando
Deputy Secretary General
Cordillera Human Rights Alliance
Windel Bolinget
Secretary General
Cordillera Peoples Alliance