ITOGON, Benguet – The Itogon Suyoc Resources, Inc. (ISRI) underscored that all the legal processes in the signed Free and Prior Informed Consent memorandum of agreement (FPIC-MOA) for the Application For Production Sharing Agreement (APSA 103), between the Council of Elders/Leaders (CoEL) of the Itogon Ancestral Domain through the IIPO, the duly accredited indigenous peoples organization in the ancestral domain and the company was followed.
In a statement, the company agreed with the earlier contention of the Itogon Indigenous Peoples Organization (IIPO) that Frankly speaking, the real issues behind the opposition being raised by some residents/financiers, gold buyers and small-scale miners against APSA-103 is between responsible, legal mining versus irresponsible, illegal small-scale mining.
ISRI raised the question on how many so-called ‘small-scale miners’ have already become millionaires without paying any taxes nor taking responsibility of their waste and the damages to their own environment. Some claim about their concern for their environment and that the same are just a veil for self-interest.
It pointed out that the concerns of the residents and small-scale miners could have been easily ignored by the IIPO, ISRI and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) since the time for presenting their demands, terms and conditions, should have been done during the FPIC process and not at the time the MOA has been agreed on by the parties and about to be signed last August 18, 2023.
Earlier, the Itogon-Suyoc Resources, Inc. (ISRI) Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA 103) MOA signing with the Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) of the Itogon Ancestral Domain represented by their validated Council of Elders/Leaders (CoEL), though the IIPO, as authorized by the ICCs/IPs themselves, had been having some unfortunate negative media attention because of questionable claims that certain residents of Barangay Ampucao, particularly in Simpa, Dalicno, Tangke, and Lolita have no knowledge at all of the ongoing negotiations and that they have not been consulted.
In 2018, ISRI started conducting Community Assemblies in all nine (9) barangays of Itogon. The process was delayed due to the TS Ompong tragedy in Itogon, followed by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Because of the long delay, in early 2021, ISRI conducted another round of refresher Information Education Campaigns (IECs) in all the barangays. Immediately after these, the consensus building started wherein the CoEL of the three (3) directly impacted Itogon barangays namely Poblacion, Virac, and Ampucao disapproved the project. It is a rule in Itogon that whatever any directly impacted barangay for a project would decide, the CoEl of other barangays would support. Thus, the APSA 103 was rejected by the Council of Elders/Leaders of the Itogon Ancestral Domain.
A Motion for Reconsider (MR) was filed but was delayed due to the May 2022 presidential elections.
On May 30 2022, a dialogue between the IIPO, CoEL of the 9 Barangays of Itogon, and representatives of ISRI was held at the ITC Bua. The MR on the resolution of non-consent adopted by the Elders/Leaders of Itogon Ancestral Domain on the proposed was discussed.
During the dialogue, ISRI addressed the 14 issues and concerns which led to the resolution of non-consent. During the open forum, representatives of MGB-CAR and ISRI answered clarifications as well as other queries and concerns raised.
The late Mayor Victorio T. Palangdan even attended and expressed his hope that if the IPs were to reconsider their non-consent, it should be a win-win solution. He also explained that the fears of the residents are well-founded as it is based on real life bad experiences with other mining companies and their irresponsible mining and business practices.
While some CoELs have manifested their non-consent, others wanted to study further the paper submitted by ISRI and to conduct additional discussions on the matter. This was the first of a series of dialogues which continued until 2023 when the CoELs of the 3 directly impacted barangays changed their decision to “YES” to negotiations. Had they not manifested such, the FPIC process wouldn’t have pushed through.
The first negotiation meeting was held on April 4, 2023 starting with the customary ritual. The CoELs from the 3 directly impacted barangays presented their terms and conditions. This was followed by a meeting among the CoELs of the 6 other barangays of Itogon on April 12, 2023 to agree on their own terms and conditions which were presented on May 2, 2023. Additional issues from CoELs of Virac, Poblacion, and Ampucao were also discussed. A meeting with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to discuss issues with Small Scale Mining (SSM) followed.
The IIPO elder continue that this series of meetings and consultations went on until the 5th and final formal FPIC negotiation on August 2, 2023 wherein the validated CoELs agreed to have the MOA translated into Ibaloy since the NCIP Guidelines necessitates the MOA to be translated into one of the Indigenous languages recognized in Benguet. The MOA and translation were set to be reviewed on August 15, 2023.
Some residents of Dalicno who are involved in small-scale mining attended and complained that they have not been consulted. One of their leaders was himself their representative during the first consultation; he didn’t attend the succeeding activities despite notices sent to him. Another representative was therefore chosen by the Indigenous People’s Organization of Barangay Ampucao to replace him.
On August 18, 2023, during the supposed MOA signing, a marathon meeting was held at the other building of the ITC Bua between the IIPO and leaders of Dalicno and 3 other sitios of Ampucao when they again disrupted the process, while the rest were at the main building waiting for the signing ceremonies to commence.
The signing wasn’t stopped due to the petition they presented. It was mutually deferred by the NCIP, IIPO, and ISRI because of the unruly behavior of the small-scale miners, and to give them a chance to submit their own terms and conditions which they agreed to submit by August 22.
While the media had been reporting on the rejection of the Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA 103) of the ISRI, the August 24 petition signed by about 300 residents of the community, were merely requesting for a dialogue to discuss three (3) main issues to discuss namely: The protection of Livelihoods and Resources; Mitigation of Environmental Impacts; and Sustainable Development.
All of these concerns had actually been addressed in the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the ICC/IPs of the 9 barangays comprising the Itogon Ancestral Domain, represented by the IIPO who are the recognized holders; and the proponent, ISRI; which was negotiated for Five (5) long months. The signed FPIC-MOA contains short and long-term conditions, benefits and opportunities for the ancestral domain, and important environmental safeguard conditions set by the CoELs and agreed to the ISRI. It also provides for periodic reviews of the agreement as room for improvement of the conditions in the future. True to our goal, the MOA contains win-win provisions for the Itogon Ancestral Domain and its ICCs/IPs, residents of Itogon and the company.
ISRI emphasized that it isn’t just 5 months of negotiations being continuously posted on social media and attended by representatives of the 9 barangay Indigenous People’s Organizations (IPOs) but considering all the months spent on IECs and consultations in all barangays, that’s 5 long years of work. Considering that the FPIC process started in 2014, the FPIC process is 9 years old and counting!
The company stipulated that with what had been outlined as the history of the FPIC, there is no excuse for ignorance to those who claim to have not been informed about the said application. By Dexter A. See