Group hits "rigged" congressional inquiry on Oceana Gold abuses

By Sherwin De Vera

BAGUIO CITY — The Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (KPNE) assailed the public hearing of the House of Representatives on the reported human rights violations committed by OcenaGold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI) on February 28, inside the compound of the Australian mining firm.

The Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples (ICC/IP Committee), led by Kalinga solon Allen Mangaoang, initiated the investigation on OGPI's rights abuses that reached the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

"It was a rigged hearing from the beginning. Critics of Oceanagold's Didipio gold mine in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, did not receive information on the hearing and its agenda," said KPNE National Coordinator Leon Dulce.

He said there was "no substantive discussion on the broad array of Oceanagold's rights violations of commission, omission, and lack of due diligence" during the hearing. This absence, he said, "resulted in a sham proceeding" and became OGPI's "platform to call for the renewal of its Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA)."

According to him, it was only through the insistence of Bayan Muna legislators that the committee informed and invited critics of OGPI for the hearing. Bayan Muna was also informed just four days before the event.

The KPNE leader was among those invited by the committee to speak during the proceedings.

Members of the House who attended the hearing were Reps. Junie Cua (Quirino), Maximo Dalog, Jr., (Mountain Province), Solomon Chungalao (Ifugao), and Ferdinand Gaite (Bayan Muna).

Dulce also criticized the committee for holding the event inside OGPI's compound "against the ICC/IP Committee's own rules of holding hearings in government facilities."

Gaite also expressed concern about the venue during the inquiry. He said many stakeholders did not attend because the place creates a perception of the "lack of neutrality."

It was not clear who he was referring to, but Governor Carlos Padilla, Rep. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma, and Kasibu Mayor Romeo Tayaban did not attend the inquiry. Also, most of the residents opposing OGPI chose to protest than take part in the proceeding inside the mining company's compound.

The Bayan Muna solon stressed the committee should take into account the rules when determining the venue for the next hearing.

"The selection of place for this is important because the venue would also dictate the conditions or possible neutrality of the discussions," Gaite said in mixed Filipino and English.

Rule III Section of the committee states that "the Committee and sub-committee meetings, conferences or hearings shall be held in the House building or, whenever necessary, in any government office or facility. They may, however, held in any other place when authorized by the Speaker."

Biased proceeding

Dulce also noted that OceanaGold seemed to have control over the program "from the looping CSR videos to the 45-minute business pitch of its general manager, David Way, full of sound bites, photo ops, 3D renderings of undelivered promises and overall little substances."

According to him, the committee chair gave the representatives of groups critical to the company limited time to speak. Meanwhile, the legal counsel and communications officers of OGPI were allowed all the time they can get to present their side.

"The pro-Ocean gold crowd was allowed to cheer and jeer, often at the expense of the dignity of Oceanagold's critics, to their heart's content," he said.

In an interview, Gaite said the committee hearings usually follow a standard format. He explained that after the chair and members of the committee made their statements on the aim of the inquiry, invited speakers are then allowed to present their positions in a limited time. Then after the resource persons from each side are done, the committee will then proceed with the question and answer portion.

However, this was not the case in the proceeding, which Fr. Vicente Tiam, who represented the Diocese of Bayombong, also noted. The priest expressed dismay on the way most of the committee members handled the hearing.

He said despite Mangaoang's reminder to tackle only the reported rights violations committed by OGPI, he allowed the company representatives to discuss subjects irrelevant to the subject of the inquiry.

"What they did was for the benefit of the company. Mangaoang even admitted that he favors how Oceana operates the mine," he said.

Independent probe

KPNE called for "a genuinely independent investigation into the human rights crisis systematically created by Oceanagold."

"The ICC/IP Committee can and must do better. The CHR can also initiate a fair inquiry into the human rights problems raised by the UN," Dulce said.

He also challenged Malacanang to asked UN Special Rapporteurs who raised concerns to visit the country, noting that the UN "may be the unlikely ally of the Duterte administration" in its campaign to hold mines such as Oceanagold accountable for their transgressions.#