MORE NEWS, BENGUET

Tribal elders voice out opposition to mining
By Dexter A See

BAKUN, Benguet – Tribal elders in 10 communities in Barangay Gambang, this town have voiced out their opposition to a mineral exploration project being pursued by a mining company in their villages. They warned that the exploration activities would cause divisiveness in their communities.

The council of elders indicated their opposition to mining in the certificates of rejection which they forwarded to the barangay council of Gambang.

The elders said they are vehemently opposing the controversial mining exploration being undertaken by Royalco Philippines Inc.

However, instead of acting on the certificates of rejection, the barangay council forwarded it to the regional office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples including offices of officials of Benguet and Bakun. The elders said farming is their preferred source of livelihood and employment.

They claimed mining operations would automatically begin after the conduct of the exploration project to confirm the presence of substantial mineral deposits.

They said that once actual mining begins, their source of domestic water and irrigation would be adversely affected, if not depleted.

They also said they are conserving the land for the future generations, and for this reason, they are not ready to allow the land to be destroyed by large-scale mining.

The council of elders warned that mining could ruin the harmonious relationships among communities, fearing that this could lead to acrimonious debates, misunderstanding and even fighting between those who are in favor and those who are not in favor of exploiting the natural resources of their areas.

There are more than 500 elders at Sitios Mabuhay, Pulag, Gold Star, Mogao, Batanes, Nametbet, Bagtangan, Takayan, Liwang, and Bolbolo, all within the jurisdiction of Gambang.

The communities fall within the jurisdiction of Royalco’s Phase 3 mine-exploration areas.

Earlier, the company had drawn the support of the residents at Phase I of the exploration area in Gambang, but the company failed to get the support of the residents of the Phase 2 area which includes Barangay Tineg in Mankayan town. Provincial and municipal officials challenged the mining company to widen its village-based consultation to include all the affected villagers, saying it should not concentrate its efforts on only one or two clans.

The Cordillera office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau earlier granted a two-year exploration permit to Royalco for the conduction of exploration activities in a 98-hectare mineral-rich area in Barangay Gambang.

But some residents questioned the mode of acquiring the endorsement from the affected communities because it was given at a meeting in Bangao, Buguias where the elders were reportedly forced to sign the agreement with the mining company.

Some residents said the company is not capable of pursuing its mining activity in the town because it has allegedly failed to comply with its commitments under the first agreement, and that’s the reason the elders in other areas opposed the project.


Benguet, Ilocos Sur execs told: Solve roadway right tiffs

MANKAYAN, Benguet – The regional Department of Public Works and Highways urged local officials of Benguet and Ilocos Sur to settle road-right-of-way conflicts along the 44-km Abatan-Mankayan-Cervantes Road now undergoing rehabilitation.

Mariano Alquiza, DPWH regional director made this appeal saying this would ensure smooth implementation of the P673 million three-year rehabilitation project being undertaken by the China Harbor Development Corp.

According to Alquiza, local officials of Buguias and Mankayan towns in Benguet and Cervantes in Ilocos Sur have the moral ascendancy over their constituents, thus, they could easily facilitate the immediate settlement of road-right-of-way conflicts that would arise during the implementation of the road rehabilitation project.

The Abatan-Mankayan-Cevantes secondary arterial road is a recipient of a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for its rehabilitation to serve as a shortcut route from northern Benguet and Mountain province to the Ilocos Sur and other lowland areas and vice versa.

The project is part of the Regional Development Council’s Cordillera road Improvement project (CRIP), which is considered as the blueprint of the region’s infrastructure development program throughout the years.

Alquiza said the DPWH has acceded to the RDC’s request to change the programmed asphalt concrete pavement to Portland concrete pavement to ensure the durability of the pavement although there would be a slight reduction on the length of the road to be paved.

The DPWH-CAR official called on all sectors of Benguet and Ilocos Sur to actively participate in monitoring the progress of work by the contractor so that concerned agencies could immediately check on the problems occurring during the implementation of the project.

At the same time, the RDC requested the commuting public to be vigilant on what is happening around them and report to the DPWH vital comments and observations for immediate action so as not to sacrifice the quality of the road projects that would be beneficial to those passing through the road.

Among the woks to be undertaken along the roadline include the construction of concrete pavements in populated areas, improvement of the road’s drainage system, put up of slope protection walls and widening of narrow road sections.

The RDC’s infrastructure monitoring and advisory group will conduct a periodic monitoring on the pace of the work being done by the contractor so that concerned offices and sectors could intervene in case there would be serious problems that would be encountered in the course of the project implementation.

Alquiza also appealed to residents and commuters who are inconvenienced by the on going earthmoving activities along the road to bear with such things because they will be rewarded with better road condition once the project will be turned over to the DPWH for maintenance. – Dexter A See