Kalinga folk block entry of mine firm BAGUIO CITY – Tribal folks in barangay Balatoc, in Pasil town, Kalinga denied the entry of Carrascal Nickel Corporation (CNC) after the firm’s exploration was not given a formal “go” signal. “There was no Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC),” said Balatoc villager Victoria Gumisa-Kaloci. Barangay Balatoc is one of the 14 barangays in Pasil, which formerly hosted the Batong Buhay Gold Mines Inc. (BBGMI). June 23, 2013 in Cordillera, land rights, mining By ACE ALEGRE nordis.net In 2007, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) granted the indigenous peoples of Balatoc, a sub-tribe of Kalinga, the priority rights to develop and exploit the natural resources located in their ancestral domain at Balatoc, Pasil, Kalinga covering the mineral land which was once covered by mineral rights granted to BGMI. Batong Buhay was sequestered after the ouster of the late president Ferdinand Marcos. Resolution number 017 series of 2007 by the NCIP provides priority rights ti the IPs over the 10,670 hectares within the ancestral domain. Villagers halted the alleged drilling or exploration activity in Balatoc February this year, after some residents cut off the water supply prompting the operators of the drilling machine to cease their operation in the area. “We do not want this to blow into a violent situation,” Kaloci lamented aas she asked why the mining company failed to conduct the necessary FPIC before commencing with any mining operations in the area. Kaloci’s father Victor claims that CNC entered into an agreement with two supposed tribal leaders, Arsenio Malannag Sr and Washington Bakidan for an exploration project without consulting the rest of the community. The younger Kaloci further claimed that the supposed Memorandum of Agreement between the CNC and the two individuals (Malanag and Bakidan) was hidden from the community. “We do not even know any of the contents of their agreement, we were not shown any of it even,” she added. Deceit Kaloci accused that prior to the exploration, CNC conducted medical missions in the barangay to which they gathered attendance sheets signed by the beneficiaries which were used as approval attachments between the company and the two (Malanag Sr. and Bakidan) who supposedly represented the Balatoc community. Kaloci further explained that when they approached a company representative identified as Jacob Arroyo to explain, he claimed it was a government project and if the community want to ask they could seek the Philippine Mining Development Corporation (PMDC), to which the CNC had a contract with. The Kalocis have already lodged a complaint to the NCIP-Cordillera and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) regarding the issue. # nordis.net
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 17:31:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015