ITOGON, Benguet – Indigenous peoples from barangay Ampucao reaffirmed their support to the Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA) 103 of the Itogon Suyoc Resources, Inc. (ISRI) because it complied with the requisites of the free and prior informed consent (FPIC) process mandated under the pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) contrary to allegations of the hardline opposition against the said project.
Officers and members of the Council of Elders of the Itogon Indigenous Peoples Organization (IIPO) and the Ampucao Indigenous Peoples Organization (AIPO), which are the accredited barangay and municipal wide indigenous peoples organization in the locality, denounced the contention of the purported Dalicno Indigenous Peoples Organization (DIPO), an alleged break away group, that the issuance of the consent by the IIPO to the said application did not pass through the process, saying that such revelation is false, unfounded and inimical to the interest of the greater majority of the IPs in the area considering that the application had been continuously discussed publicly over the past five years.
AIPO resident Paulino Palay said that the IIPO – COEL is composed of 12 clusters with every cluster having its own COEL, including that of Dalicno, thus, it is impossible for DIPO to conclude that the issues and concerns of APSA 103 were never discussed.
He claimed that pertinent issues related to APSA 103 had been publicly discussed in various gatherings organized and supervised by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) over the past five years that is why it is impossible that those who are against the mining project did not learn about it.
The AIPO official underscored that the issues being raised by the DIPO against APSA 103 are simply a rehash of the ones that were actually addressed by the mining company that paved the way for the IIPO to grant its earlier request for a motion for reconsideration to the rejection that was issued by the group relative to the application.
According to him, the IIPO rejected the APSA 103 for various reasons that were not earlier addressed by the mining company but the NCIP rules governing the FPIC process allows the filing of a motion for reconsideration which the company availed of to further clarify the issues being raised by the directly impacted barangays.
Palay added that the company was able to satisfactorily respond and address the issues that were raised by the IPs that paved the way for the IIPO to grant the requested consent and eventually resulted to the signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the organization and the company giving way for the APSA 103.
For his part, former Ampucao barangay kagawad Marlon Pettoco pointed out that the issue on the depletion of water sources, the existing build up areas and the provision of livelihood to the IPs have all been addressed by the company through the various conditions in the MOA that is why there is no reason for the people to fear on the impact of the project to their economic activities and sources of livelihood in the area.
On the issue of water sources, Pettoco explained that all the identified water sources of the communities have been excised from the APSA 103 in response to the clamor of the affected residents.
Further, he stipulated that in terms of the build up areas, the company agreed that the said areas be declared as no mining zone so that the communities will benefit from the implementation of environmental preservation and protection and social development and management projects that will be implemented by the mining firm.
From the previous 581 hectares covered by APSA 103, the area being applied for the said mining project had been reduced by nearly 50 percent because of the areas that are to be excised and the declared no mining and buffer zones.
On the other hand, officers of various small-scale miners associations in the locality also expressed their renewed support to APSA 103 because the company supports and recognizes their activities under its big brother, small brother (BBSB) project that was launched way back in 2021.
In fact, the company earlier announced that the Dalicno Small Scale Miners Association (DASMA), which was one of the beneficiaries of the said program, was able to receive more than P40 million share from the company under the BBSB program for over three years.
However, the group’s contract with the company was not renewed because of certain violations that were committed by its members in the course of their being under the program.
AIPO officers and COEL members emphasized their willingness to reconcile with the oppositors but it seems that the latter are not inclined to work together with them for a ‘win-win’ solution to their issues and concerns.
Municipal officials also tried to intervene to find solutions to the conflict between those who are in favor and those who are against the APSA 103 but it seems the hardline oppositors refuse to listen to them and the recommended solutions to the problem.
Moreover, the IPs vowed to sustain their support to the APSA 103 of the mining company because it passed through the prescribed process and it was under the supervision of the NCIP, thus, the irregularities that are being alleged by the oppositors are mere rehash of what had been already addressed by the company during the FPIC process. By Dexter A. See