Tribal group opposes mine firm’s exploration

By Dexter A. See

BAKUN, Benguet – A tribal group in this remote town urged the Cordillera office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to turn down a request for endorsement of a mining exploration project here because the proponent failed to obtain the consent of affected communities.

Consultations were conducted to seek the consent of affected villages for its exploration project, but the Gambang Indigenous Community and Peoples Organization said Royalco Philippines, a mining company, failed to get the full support of the affected people.

One reason for the company’s failure to get the consent of the villagers was its failure to address concerns about environmental protection and livelihood for the people who would be displaced by the project.

The group said the required majority vote of the affected residents was not obtained when it conducted a referendum, a process required by law to get the people’s consent for the project.

The majority vote depends on the population of the affected communities, and it is an important factor in determining if a mining project is going to be endorsed.

The group said a majority vote for the endorsement of the project was not obtained when the referendum was held last December, but despite the failure to get the required vote, a memorandum of agreement was signed between the elders and the company.

Results of the referendum showed that only 745 voters or 25.69 percent of the total number of voters (2,899) participated in the decision-making exercise, the group said.
This indicated that there was no substantial compliance with the consultation process.

But despite the failure, some elders and Royalco executives reportedly signed an agreement on the conduct of the exploration project.

The signing reportedly took place in Barangay Bangao in Buguias town, a place outside the municipality of Bakun.

The group alleged the company had initiated series of meetings with residents of affected areas, claiming that the consultations were authorized by NCIP.

It was also claimed that some of the residents who attended the series of meetings were allegedly given small amounts of money by some company executives in consideration for their support for the exploration, which is in preparation for actual mining operations.

Bakun is considered one of the highly mineralized areas in the province with a substantial amount of ore deposits, which could sustain viable large-scale mining operations.

The affected the people of the indigenous communities are invoking their rights and privileges provided for under the Indigenous peoples Rights Act.

IPRA requires free and prior informed consent for a mining project so that abuses by the mining companies could be prevented and so that the affected communities would benefit from mining operations.

The NCIP is expected to evaluate the positions of the affected communities in connection with the agreement entered into between some elders of the community and the mining executives before it decides on the question of whether or not to
endorse the exploration project.