MANKAYAN, Benguet – The indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples (ICCs-IPs) in the municipality denied the proposed mining exploration to be undertaken by the Cordillera Exploration, Inc. (CEXCI) within their ancestral domain due to the alleged impact of the company’s environmentally-critical activity to the town’s state of environment.
In addition to the resolution of no consent by the ICCs-IPs, tribal elders have attached to the same written positions by some of the barangays stating their opposition to the company’s proposed mining exploration.
Among the reasons that were cited by the ICCs-IPs in issuing their resolution of no consent include the fact that mining exploration is not separated from mining operations; IPs need to protect the remaining environment and resources of the municipality, especially water; mining creates division and conflict among the ICCs-IPs and the negative experiences of the IPs on the ongoing mining operations of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMC) such as the claim that their ancestral domain is part of their mining patent.
Of the town’s 12 barangays, 7 voted against the company’s mining exploration, 3 voted in favor while 2 barangays were undecided.
The barangays that rejected the mining exploration are Cabiten, Colalo, Guinaoang, Balili, Tabio, Bulalacao and Taneg; the barangays that were in favor of the exploration were Palasaan-Suyoc, Bedbed and Poblacion while the barangays that are undecided are Sapid and Paco.
Earlier, CEXCI has a proposed mining exploration project within the ancestral domain of Mankayan known as EXPA116-CAR. The said project underwent the free and prior informed consent (FPIC) process as prescribed in the revised FPIC guidelines of 2012 promulgated by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to determine whether or not the same shall be accepted by the concerned ICCs-IPs.
The ICCs-IPs of the Mankayan ancestral domain in the course of the FPIC process were able to arrive at a consensus not to give their consent to the subject project covered by the concerned barangay consensus supporting documents and the attendance sheets during the ancestral domain-wide consensus building held recently.
Mankayan is one of the five first-class municipalities and one of the three towns that rely on mining as its major source of income that supports the enhanced delivery of basic services and the implementation of priority development projects of the local government.
Moreover, the 6 upland barangays are known to be the vegetable-producing communities primarily because of the vast tracks of vegetable farms that are existing in the said areas while the 6 lowland barangays are said to be the mining communities due to the presence of the operation of large and small-scale mining operations in various barangays.
Mankayan is situated in the northwestern portion of Benguet and is within reach via the Abatan-Mankayan-Cervantes secondary national arterial road and is also near the western towns of Mountain Province such as Bauko, Tadian and Sabangan. By HENT
