ITOGON, Benguet – Officers and members of the Council of Elders of the Itogon Indigenous peoples Organization (IIPO) vehemently denounced the alleged false information being circulated by their staunch critics on communities which were supervised and administered by concerned government agencies over the past several years because of their evident personal interests.
“The agreement between the IIPO and ISRI was a product of a series of consultations and negotiations with concerned stakeholders, including the directly-affected communities, because we wanted everyone to share their inputs, suggestions and recommendations that would ensure the welfare of the indigenous peoples in the areas where the project will be implemented. We ensure that no one was left behind in the said consultations, meetings, engagements and negotiations,” Mario Godio, an official of IIPO, stressed.
For her part, IIPO president Rosita Bargaso pointed out that all the meetings, consultations and negotiations conducted prior to the issuance of the FPIC and the signing of the MOA were done in public places in observance of the principle of transparency for everyone to be fully aware of what is happening to prevent future doubts.
She claimed that it is unfair for the oppositors of the APSA 103 to accuse IIPO of not informing them because in the first place, all gatherings organized for the purpose of consultations and negotiations were covered with appropriate notices and advisories to ensure the maximum participation of the IPs in the directly-affected communities.
“It is useless to explain to people who refuse to understand what is being discussed to them. What is important is that all the engagements of the IIPO were done with utmost transparency for our fellow IPs to be fully aware of what is happening during the consultations and negotiations. All the conditions that were imposed for the implementation of APSA 103 came from the people and were products of the assemblies that were conducted for the said purpose,” Bargaso stressed.
The IIPO president emphasized that there is a standing rule in the municipality that whatever will be the stand of the directly-affected barangays will be carried as the stand of the other non-affected barangays and the umbrella organization of indigenous peoples organizations.
Further, IIPO has been recognized and accredited by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) as the umbrella organization of indigenous peoples organizations from the town’s nine barangays to oversee the activities of the ancestral domain of Itogon.
IIPO Council of Elders member Paulino Pal-lay disclosed that as a product of the consultations with concerned stakeholders, the earlier applied area of more than 581 hectares covered by the APSA 103 was significantly reduced to only more than 269 hectares because of the exclusion of built up areas, declared no mining zones, buffer zones, water sources, among others.
He added that the more than 269 hectares which will be the coverage of the company’s APSA 103 is the land area stipulated in the signed agreement between the IIPO and the mining company.
According to him, the barangay-based indigenous peoples organization and the IIPO already did their part in involving the concerned stakeholders in all the undertakings done prior to the MOA-signing but it seems that there are some individuals who refuse to understand and realize that the primordial consideration in deciding to sign the agreement is for the welfare of the present and future generations in the municipality.
Oscar Pel-is, Virac Council of Elder, described the processes leading to the MOA signing as well-organized and that all sectors were consulted and heard on their issues and concerns that were addressed by the company and the NCIP.
He admitted that there were extensive debates and discussions on the APSA 103 and what was evident was there had been active participation from the people as they were informed on the gatherings for the said purpose.
Andres Panayo, a member of the IIPO Councilor of Elders, stated that the consultations and negotiations on the signed MOA was actually interrupted by Typhoon Ompong in September 2018 followed by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 3 years that warranted the company to conduct a refresher to the affected communities in 2021 and various community assemblies that eventually resulted to the signing of the MOA, thus, there had been substantial consultations with all the concerned parties.
Gina Pili, a Council of Elder of barangay Ampucao, revealed that there had been series of consultations and dialogue between the company, the IIPO and the barangay regarding the issues and concerns being raised against the APSA 103 which were eventually clarified and paved the way for those who were earlier against to give their consent for the project.
He said that it was not easy to convince the ones who were against but they patiently went to them to explain the benefits of the project which they later understood.
The MOA between the ISRI and IIPO was forged last September 20, 2023 where more than 400 members of the Council of Elders from the town’s nine barangays authorized the IIPO officers to enter into the said agreement.