ITOGON, Benguet – A tribal elder and an official of the Itogon Indigenous Peoples Organization (IIPO) underscored that all the legal process in the proposed memorandum of agreement (MOA) of the accredited indigenous peoples organization and the Itogon Suyoc Resources, Inc. (ISRI) was followed.
Daniel ‘Dane’ Ducayag, IIPO secretary, pointed out that frankly speaking, the real issues behind the opposition being raised by some landowners and small-scale miners against the proposed MOA is between responsible, legal mining versus irresponsible, illegal small-scale mining.
Further, he raised the question on how many so-called ‘small-scale miners’ have already become millionaires without paying any taxes nor taking responsibility for 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,” he exclaimed.
Ducayag pointed out that the concern of the land owners 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 free and prior informed consent (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 Itogon Indigenous People’s Organization (IIPO) 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.
According to Ducayag, in 2018, ISRI started conducting Community Assemblies in all nine (9) barangays of Itogon. After the consensus building, an FPIC would have followed but these were delayed. Early 2021, ISRI conducted refresher Information Education Campaigns (IECs) in all the barangays. Immediately after these, the consensus building started wherein 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 other barangays would support. Thus, the APSA 103 was rejected.
He stipulated that a request to reconsider was filed but was delayed due to the elections.
On May 30 2022, a dialogue between the IIPO, Council of Elders/Leaders of the 9 Barangays of Itogon, and representatives of ISRI was held at the ITC Bua. The request for reconsideration on the resolution of non-consent adopted by the Elders/Leaders of Itogon Ancestral Domain on the proposed APPLICATION FOR PRODUCTION SHARING AGREEMENT (APSA 103) was discussed.
During the dialogue, ISRI answered to the 14 issues and concerns which led to the resolution of non-consent. During the open forum, representatives of MGB-CAR and ISRI answered to clarifications as well as other queries and concerns raised.
Ducayag narrated that the then late Mayor Victorio T. Palangdan also expressed his hope that if the IPs were to reconsider their non-consent, it should be in a win-win situation. 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 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 3 directly impacted barangays changed their decision to “YES” to negotiations. Had they not manifested such, the FPIC wouldn’t have pushed through.
The first negotiations were held on April 4, 2023 starting with the customary ritual. The 3 directly impacted barangays presented their terms and conditions. This was followed by a meeting among 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 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 Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) on August 2, 2023 wherein the participating 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.
However, on the said date, Ducayag disclosed that 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. But didn’t attend the next 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 being 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.
Ducayag underscored that 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 but also to give them a chance to submit their own terms and conditions which they agreed to submit by August 22.
On August 29, 2023, the Council of Elders/Leaders (COELs) of the IIPO met with Representatives of ISRI to discuss the letter of Simpa, Dalicno, Lolita, and Tangke Community received last August 24 2023. The letter was addressed to Attys. Atanacio Addog and Severino Lumiqued of the NCIP; Engr. Luis Sarmiento, President of ISRI; and Rosita Bargaso, IIPO President.
While the media had been reporting on the rejection of the Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA 103) of the ISRI, the August 24 letter 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.
Ducayag asserted that all of these concerns had actually been addressed in the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the IIPO who are the recognized Itogon Ancestral Domain holders, representing the Nine Barangays of Itogon; and the proponent, ISRI; which was negotiated for Five (5) long months. The agreement also benefits them since it will make it easier for them to conduct mining operations legally and responsibly. The stoppage order on SSMs has not been lifted yet and the only legal way is to apply their operations as a “Minahang Bayan”. These apart from the assistance their community will be receiving as provided for in the MOA as well as the provisions for environmental protection and rehabilitation which is supposed to be the responsibility of the small-scale miners.
“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. Is there any excuse for ignorance?” he asked.