BAGUIO CITY – Punong barangays of some four barangays located within the declared mineralized reservations in the city agreed to conduct the required consultations among stakeholders and officials of a mining company that was issued an exploration permit by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to do exploration works in their areas of jurisdiction.
Kias Punong Barangay Timothy Pudlao, Jr., Loakan Apugan Punong Barangay Martin Anglog, Atok Trail Punong Barangay Federico Codley, and Lucnab Punong Barangay Enrique S. Lindaoan informed the members of the City Council that they are willing to accommodate officials and representatives of Golden Era Mining Corporation wanting to conduct the required consultations with their constituents anytime for them to explain to the people the activities that will be conducted in their areas during their planned exploration activities.
However, Happy Hallow Punong Barangay Soriano Palunan and officers and members of the Happy Hallow Indigenous Peoples Organization expressed their vehement objection to the proposed mining exploration because mining or any other related activity is not included as one of the activities allowed under its ancestral domain sustainable development program being the only area in the city that was issued the certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT).
The concerned barangay officials admitted to the local legislative body that they already passed the pertinent resolutions objecting to the golden Era’s exploration activities in their respective areas of jurisdiction even without having been presented by the company with its work and financial program relative to its exploration activities allowed under its permit that will expire next year.
Engr. Fay Apil, MGB-CAR regional director, claimed one of the conditions of Golden Era’s exploration permit is for the company to secure the free and prior informed consent (FPIC) from the affected indigenous peoples in the affected barangays prior to the conduct of its exploration activities.
Officials of the Cordillera office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP-CAR) admitted the affected barangays in the city and the nearby barangay of Gumatdang, Itogon, Benguet reportedly availed of the early rejection pursuant to the revised guidelines for the conduct of the FPIC, thus, the agency is inclined to recommend to the MGB-CAR the non-continuance of the company’s FPIC activities because the people are against the exploration and other mining related activities in their places.
Engr. Ernesto Manguni, who represented Golden Era, affirmed the company’s desire to abide by the law but they are now confused on which law to follow because of the conflicts of existing local and national laws related to mining, thus, the need for stakeholders to get their acts together to find ways on how to collaborate with each other for the realization of their project in the city.
He recommended the creation of a technical working group that will closely work together in finding avenues on how each of the sectors involved will be able to work together for the company’s desired exploration project in the city.
By Dexter A. See