LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Cordillera office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP-CAR) questioned the Cordillera office of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB-CAR) for allegedly issuing an exploration permit to a mining company to explore mineral ore deposits covering portions of the Baguio-based Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), the Loakan airport and parts of Itogon town.
Lawyer Roland Calde, NCIP-CAR regional director, said the issuance of an exploration permit to Golden Era is considered to be illegal because it failed to pass through the free and prior informed consent (FPIC) process of the affected indigenous peoples.
He claimed the company must have first secure the consent of the affected IPs and ICCs before it was issued the permit and his agency was obviously bypassed when it this exploration permit was issued.
“We were not aware of the conduct of the FPIC process that is why we were surprised to know that it was issued a permit by the MGB-CAR,” Calde stressed.
The NCIP-CAR official added the agency, in close coordination with the city government, will be initiating the appropriate proceedings to nullify the issued permit because it was invalid from the start.
Golden Era applied for an exploration permit over a 444-hectare land area covering several barangays in Baguio City, particularly some parts of PEZA, the whole Loakan airport, and Itogon, Benguet.
Under the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), companies intending to explore, utilize and develop the resources of the State which falls within the ancestral domain of indigenous peoples must first secure the free and prior informed cent of the affected indigenous peoples.
According to him, the NCIP-CAR was preparing for the conduct of a field-based investigation on the company’s application for exploration permit when they were informed that the said company was already issued the exploration permit which caught them by surprise.
While it is true that the MGB-CAR issued the exploration permit to the company, Engr. Fay W. Apil, MGB-CAR regional director, claimed it was clearly stipulated in the said permit that the company was required to secure the consent of the affected communities within six months from its issuance and present the matter to the local government units concerned.
Apil admitted the company is obviously rushing to comply with the conditions of the permit because it is about to expire, saying that the matter on the compliance of the company to the FPIC was already endorsed to the NCIP for the company to comply with the process and that there was no intention on their part to evade the said requirement.
The MGB-CAR official explained if the company will not be able to comply with the stipulated conditions of the exploration permit, it would automatically expire, thus, no exploration-related activities can push through.
By HENT
